Joe Bonamassa has assembled something genuinely special for B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100, and the fourth volume of tracks just dropped proves this tribute album is shaping up to be an epic collaboration honouring a legendary artist.
The latest five songs feature an extraordinary lineup: Slash, Shemekia Copeland, and Myles Kennedy unite on ‘When Love Comes To Town’, while Marcus King delivers what producer Josh Smith calls a standout performance on ‘Don’t Answer The Door’. Jade MacRae and Robben Ford bring warmth to ‘Ain’t Nobody Home’, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram brings fire to ‘Paying The Cost To Be The Boss’, and Chris Cain closes this chapter with ‘You Upset Me Baby’.
The backstories here matter. Marcus King had sung ‘Don’t Answer The Door’ unprompted during a jam session years earlier, and that memory stayed with the production team. When they finally tracked the Blues Is King arrangement with him in mind, he delivered exactly what they hoped for. Kingfish‘s track was actually the first song recorded for the entire project, setting the tone for everything that followed.
What makes this project resonate is Bonamassa’s personal connection. He opened for B.B. King as a child, and that experience clearly shaped his determination to get this centennial tribute right. “When B.B. was alive and active, he was the blues,” he explains. “You only get one shot to do this correctly.”
The full 32 track album arrives February 6th, 2026, with over thirty guest artists including Buddy Guy, Gary Clark Jr., Keb’ Mo’, Warren Haynes, and Derek Trucks. CBS Mornings recently aired a feature exploring both the album’s scope and Bonamassa’s lifelong connection to King.
Bonamassa continues touring globally, including two nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
