Joe Bonamassa

The title “child prodigy” has often been more curse than blessing, but guitarist extraordinaire Joe Bonamassa has managed to grow comfortably into those shoes even after being hailed by B.B. King as “a legend before his time” at the age of twelve. Now 25 and a grizzled veteran of the small-club circuit as the former lead guitarist for Bloodline, the Utica, New York, native just released his second solo effort. Built on an unshakable foundation of hard-driving blues-rock guitar, So It’s Like That proves Bonamassa has a knack for channeling his influences without succumbing to them. Jimi rears his head on “Pain and Sorrow,” and Stevie Ray stands sentinel on the disc’s title cut, but Bonamassa’s riffs maintain a sense of originality, and his astounding chops are light-years beyond reproach. Though his skills as a vocalist pale in comparison, a dead giveaway to Bonamassa’s youthfulness, he knows how to push his own limits. Critics and fans are still waiting for the second coming of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Bonamassa just might be the man for the job.