Joe Bonamassa' next solo studio album Royal Tea was inspired by his British heroes Jeff Beck, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and Cream. Recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, the album will be released on October 23rd.
 

Royal Tea brings Bonamassa full-circle. "This whole adventure," admits Joe, "was a bucket-list thing for me." This album reconnects the 43-year-old with the guitar-slinging kid from upstate New York, who stumbled across the best of British blues music in his dad's vinyl collection – whose influences have shaped him to be the player he is today. "I would have been about twelve years old, and it was the sound I heard in my head. Like, 'OK, I'm in. That's what I want to be'."

The ten original tracks on Royal Tea were co-written by Joe and a cast of homegrown notables including former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, ex-Cream lyricist Pete Brown and piano man Jools Holland. "Writing this record in London has done its job," reflects Bonamassa. "It really does sound inherently British. Bernie and I, we finish each other's sentences. We're cut from the same cloth." Bonamassa's long-standing producer Kevin Shirley and regular touring band flew in for the recording sessions, which included Anton Fig (drums), Michael Rhodes (bass) and Reese Wynans (keyboards).