Joe Bonamassa announces new album "The Spirit Of Rory Live From Cork"
Joe Bonamassa has announced the upcoming release of “The Spirit Of Rory Live From Cork”, a powerful live album and film capturing his deeply personal tribute to Irish blues guitar legend Rory Gallagher, recorded during a series of sold-out performances in Gallagher’s hometown of Cork, Ireland last summer. The album will be released Friday June 19th via Bonamassa’s own J&R Adventures, with pre-orders starting today. The album is available to pre-order / pre-save now HERE.
You can listen to the first three live singles: Walk On Hot Coals (Live), Bullfrog Blues (Live), and Who’s That Coming? (Live) on your preferred service HERE.
You can also watch the live performance of Walk on Hot Coals live from Cork on YouTube below:
For Bonamassa, the project was never approached as a casual homage. Gallagher’s music has been part of his life since childhood, and the weight of performing it in Cork, with the blessing of Rory’s family and in front of audiences who carry his legacy so personally, was something he felt immediately. “I never had the honour to meet him, but his music and musicianship loom large in my life,” Bonamassa writes in a personal foreword accompanying the release. “From my first time hearing Irish Tour ’74 I was captivated by the sheer intensity of the man and the ferocity of his approach to the electric blues.”
That impact began early. “I remember that voice and a singular guitar tone slicing through the walls of my bedroom at a very young age,” Bonamassa recalls. “My father, who exposed me to so many of the great guitarists of his era, was quick to encourage me to listen to Rory and glean what I could.”
What began as an invitation from the Gallagher family quickly became something much larger. “All these many years later I was asked by Rory’s family to consider performing some of his material and paying tribute to him at a venue in Cork,” he writes. “The very thought frightened me. Yes, I was scared to even attempt it but at the same time so honoured that his family felt that I might be up to the task.” Rather than try to reinvent the material, Bonamassa focused on meeting it with the right spirit. “I felt the very best I could hope for was to approach his catalog with humility and reverence.”
That humility shaped the project from the start. In 2024, Bonamassa traveled to Cork to announce the tribute with a small introductory performance for Rory’s family, local friends, and members of the press. The response was immediate and emotional, and what began as a single concert soon expanded into a three-night stand. “After the announcement, one show turned into three sold out shows,” Bonamassa writes. “I felt that my reputation was on the line with the Irish, but what a response!”
Photo of Rory Gallagher (c) Mick Rock
By the time the band returned in 2025, the atmosphere around the performances had only intensified. “This was Rory’s town, and Rory’s people. We weren’t going to let them down,” Bonamassa says. “The crowds on those three nights were rowdy, raucous and Cork did their favourite son proud.” The result is a live document that feels charged by that setting - deeply felt, high-wire, and rooted in the connection between artist, audience, and place.
Across 14 hand-picked songs, “The Spirit Of Rory Live From Cork” moves through the many sides of Gallagher’s catalogue - from the blistering attack of Walk On Hot Coals and Bullfrog Blues to the emotional sweep of A Million Miles Away, which will serve as the album’s focus track upon release. Other highlights include Tattoo’d Lady, Bad Penny, I Fall Apart, Calling Card, and Cradle Rock, each delivered with fire and conviction while honouring the shape and soul of the originals.
The release also captures several moments that carried special meaning across the Cork run, including Bonamassa’s performance of As The Crow Flies on Gallagher’s own 1930 National Triolian resonator guitar, loaned by the Cork Public Museum. It was a tangible connection to the artist whose presence still looms so large over the city and over generations of guitar players who followed him.
Additional footage, included on DVD and Blu-ray editions, expands the story with bonus material including The Inspiration of Rory, featuring conversations with Brian May and Slash, along with Rory’s Acoustic Guitar and Ballycotton - A Million Miles Away. Together, the audio and visual components offer a fuller picture of what these performances meant to Bonamassa, to Gallagher’s family, and to the fans who packed the room night after night.
In the end, Bonamassa sees the album as an offering - his band’s best attempt to honour a musician whose work helped shape his own. “What you hear on these recordings is our best effort to pay tribute to Rory Gallagher, a man I never met, but admire so deeply,” he writes. “His music is part of me and I’m grateful that we were able to contribute in some small way to his ongoing legacy.”
CD Track Listing
1. Cradle Rock (Live)
2. Walk On Hot Coals (Live)
3. Tattoo'd Lady (Live)
4. I Wonder Who (Live)
5. Calling Card (Live)
6. Who's That Coming? (Live)
7. Messin' With The Kid (Live)
8. Bullfrog Blues (Live)
9. Treat Her Right (Live)
10. Bad Penny (Live)
11. I Fall Apart (Live)
12. A Million Miles Away (Live)
13. As The Crow Flies (Live)
14. Back On My Stompin' Ground (Live)
DVD / Blu-ray
1. The Spirit Of Rory (Opening Scene)
2. Cradle Rock
3. Walk On Hot Coals
4. Tattoo’d Lady
5. I Wonder Who
6. Calling Card
7. Who’s That Coming?
8. Messin’ With The Kid
9. Band Introductions
10. Bullfrog Blues
11. Treat Her Right
12. Bad Penny
13. I Fall Apart
14. A Million Miles Away
15. As The Crow Flies
16. Back On My Stompin’ Ground
17. Ballycotton (End Credits)
DVD / Blu-ray Bonus Features:
● Ballycotton - A Million Miles Away
● Rory's Acoustic Guitar
● The Inspiration of Rory (A Conversation with Brian May & Slash)
Vinyl (180 gram Red Marble Double LP)
Side A
1. Cradle Rock (Live)
2. Walk On Hot Coals (Live)
3. Tattoo’d Lady (Live)
4. I Wonder Who (Live)
Side B
5. Calling Card (Live)
6. Who’s That Coming? (Live)
7. Messin’ With The Kid (Live)
8. Bullfrog Blues (Live)
Side C
9. Treat Her Right (Live)
10. Bad Penny (Live)
11. I Fall Apart (Live)
Side D
12. A Million Miles Away (Live)
13. As The Crow Flies (Live)
14. Back On My Stompin’ Ground (Live)
Photo (c) Marcus Bird
lues-rock superstar Joe Bonamassa is one of the most celebrated performing musicians of his generation. A five-time GRAMMY-nominated artist and 15-time Blues Music Award nominee - with four wins, he recently notched his 30th No. 1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart with B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100, extending his record for the most No. 1 albums in the chart’s history. With more than 50 releases spanning studio and live recordings, he has built a far-reaching, multi-genre catalogue.
Beyond performing, Bonamassa plays a significant role in today’s blues landscape as a producer and curator. Working closely with Josh Smith, he has produced albums for artists including Joanne Shaw Taylor, Marc Broussard, Larry McCray, and Jimmy Hall through his Journeyman and KTBA labels. He also curates and headlines sold-out destination events like Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea and Sound Wave Beach Weekend, while his Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation has funded hundreds of music education projects across the country.
A dedicated student of the instrument, Bonamassa is also known as one of the world’s leading guitar collectors and historians, with a deep connection to the lineage of blues and rock. For more information, visit his website HERE.
And Joe hits the our shores next month on the EU/UK leg of his 2026 tour.
EU/U.K. SPRING TOUR 2026
April 22 - Hamburg, DE - Barclays Arena
April 24 - Rotterdam, NL - Rotterdam Rtm Stage
April 25 - Paris, FR - La Seine Musicale
April 27 - Esch-sur-Alzette, LU - Luxembourg Rockhal
April 29 - Mannheim, DE - SAP Arena
May 1 - Chemnitz, DE - Stadthalle Chemnitz
May 2 - Nürnberg, DE - Psd Bank Nürnberg Arena
May 3 - Zürich, CH - Hallenstadion
May 6 - London, UK - Royal Albert Hall
May 7 - London, UK - Royal Albert Hall
Tickets are available now HERE
