Blues great Bonamassa learned more than guitar from B.B. King

B.B. King was of course a blues-guitar genius. But that wasn’t the only instrument he mastered.

Joe Bonamassa learned as much at an early age. A masterful bluesman himself, Bonamassa opened for King beginning when Bonamassa was just age 12. He was later on King’s 80th-birthday tour in 2005.

During that tour, Bonamassa tried to figure out a new device for storing music.

“The iPod had just come out and I was sitting in the back of B.B.’s bus, and I explained to him, ‘I can’t figure out how to get music from the computer into this thing,’” said Bonamassa, headlining at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Friday night. “So he showed me how to do it. Here’s an 80-year-old man showing a guy in his 20s how to work this thing.

“B.B. was so generous with his time during all stages of our friendship.”

The 46-year-old headliner says he appreciates those moments more today than he did in real time.

“When you’re that young, and you’re around somebody like that, you kind of take it for granted,” Bonamassa said. “You’re not really conscious of the magnitude of these people. But then the years wind on and you’re like, oh my God, what a thrill it was to live those adventures.”

Bonamassa is playing The Chelsea for the first time this weekend. The show is his second stop on his latest U.S. tour, seven dates this summer and resuming in October as his latest album, “Blues Deluxe Vol. 2,” is due for release.

The project is a follow-up to “Blues Deluxe,” behind which Bonamassa broke it big 20 years ago. The new album features two originals and eight classic covers, with such Bonamassa favorites as Bobby “Blue” Bland, Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac and Albert King.

Following Friday’s show at The Chelsea, Bonamassa is venturing to new environs and new formats on his current tour. He’s playing an orchestral show at the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday.

“This will be my first time playing and experiencing the Hollywood Bowl, and also playing with a full orchestra,” Bonamassa said.

His fans in Vegas know him from a different scale of venue, the Railhead at Boulder Station, as a pioneer in the hotel’s Boulder Blues Series. This was just as he was filling his first iPod.

“We played there every month, it seemed,” Bonamassa said. “It was pretty cool. You know, Vegas has been a very nice and a very great experience for us. You can give me a guitar and an amp and a working microphone, with the kind of band that we carry, I’m confident in the outcome.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.