Bucket List! Red Rocks with Joe Bonamassa August 6th, 2023

 By Michael Yanko 

Rock Legends Photographers

     Having been a concert photographer since the 70s and shooting thousands of concerts, hundreds of festivals, and nine music cruises, Red Rocks has been on my bucket list for many years. When I got an email from Gov't Mule stating that they were playing there, it piqued my interest. When I found out that Jason Bonham was opening and that Joe Bonamassa was playing the night before, I realized it was time to make a trip to Colorado and cross this one off my list!

     Red Rocks is located in Morrison, Colorado, about a half hour outside Denver. It's surrounded by beautiful scenery, which made for a wonderful drive. We parked at the onsite museum, and then made the one-mile trek downhill to the box office to get our photo passes. The excitement in the air was already starting to build and we met some great people at the box office. One of the people we met was Joe Bonamassa's driver, and he was more than helpful with tips about the venue. The best tip of all was that there was a shuttle to take me up to the top where the venue is. The shuttle dropped me off at the backstage entrance, giving me an opportunity to capture the stunning photo on the next page.

A Night With Joe Bonamassa in Northern Florida

May 10, 2018

St. Augustine Amphitheatre
St. Augustine, Florida

By Michael Yanko
Rock Legends Photographers

St. Augustine Amphitheatre is a modern concert venue set in Anastasia State Park with state-of-the-art sound and lighting. Upon arrival at this beautiful venue one could immediately feel the energy and excitement in the air that Joe Bonamassa's concerts are famous for. The majority of the approximately 4,000 seats were filled with standing, cheering fans when Bonamassa walked out on the stage at 7:30 PM and from that moment on both the night and the people belonged to him.

Joe Bonamassa Live in 2014

Joe Bonamassa in an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter who takes his influence from a British style of rock-blues. He also performs like he is channeling Stevie Ray Vaughan at times. He is definitely a musician's musician and packed the Cincinnati Music Hall with an eager crowd that have been waiting for this night for a long time. I talked to a guy at dinner who said he bought tickets on pre-sale back in March and got balcony seats. The orchestra level to this show sold out before it even went on sale. The first set was more of an acoustic style set. The second set was electric, in more ways than one! Joe introduced his band mates and their accolades at one point in the show. He has an all-star group of musicians including Carmine Rojas (toured w David Bowie, SRV, Billy Joel), Tal Bergman (Chaka Khan), Derek Sherinian (Kiss, Alice Cooper, Dream Theater), Lenny Castro (Toto, Clapton, Booker T, John Mayer, Rolling Stones), Mats Wester, and Gerry O'Connor. Joe is on a U.S. tour all over the states through February and then sets out on a European tour in March. Photos were from side stage as pit was closed to photographers.

Images by Doug Siegel