McCartney’s Not Only Rocker to Visit Syracuse – Bonamassa Was Here in March

Paul McCartney isn't the only rock legend to play Syracuse so far this year. Utica's Joe Bonamassa played the Landmark Theatre back on March 11th and he rocks the house.

Bonamassa, now a worldwide Blues legend, is arguably one of the best guitarists in all of music and he showed off his incredible talents in front of a full house earlier this year.

Check out Smoking' Joe's Set List from March 11, 2022

When the lights went down for the opening of Bonamassa, he came out to a recording of John Sebastian's 1976 hit song, Welcome Back, which was the theme to TVs Welcome Back Kotter. When the lights came up, the crowd welcomed him back to Syracuse.

3/11/22

Welcome Back Kotter

Evil Mama

Dust Bowl

Love Ain't a Love Song

Midnight Blues
(Gary Moore cover)

The Heart That Never Waits

I Didn't Think She Would Do It

Just 'Cos You Can Don't Mean You Should

Pain and Sorrow

A Conversation With Alice

Lonely Boy

The Ballad of John Henry

Encore:

Woke Up Dreaming

Mountain Time

About half way through the show, Bonamassa reminisced a bit, thanking the crowd for supporting him over the years and spoke about his early days when he lived in Utica. When just a kid at the age of 12, Bonamassa made music news when he played on the stage of Utica's Stanley Theater with Blues icon BB King. From that day forward, Bonamassa was on a trajectory for greatness.

Many believe that Bonamassa's Blues genre is the only thing that keeps him from becoming a household name. It 2021, Bonamassa appeared on the remake of the television gameshow, To Tell The Truth. Not everyone knew he was the Blues legend, and that caught the attention of fans.