Joe Bonamassa announces new Abbey Road-recorded solo album Royal Tea

Joe Bonamassa has announced his long-awaited new solo record, Royal Tea, due for release on October 23.

The album was recorded in Abbey Road Studios, and sees Bonamassa take inspiration from his British electric guitar heroes Jeff Beck, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and Cream.

Fans can hear the latest taste of the album now in the form of slow-build ballad Why Does It Take So Long To Say Goodbye.

Of the album, Bonamassa told Guitar World, “I actually wrote most of the record in England, working with [former Whitesnake guitarist] Bernie Marsden and Pete Brown.

“If you’re not familiar with Pete Brown, he was the poet that wrote a lot with [Cream’s] Jack Bruce for Disraeli Gears - stuff like Sunshine of Your Love and SWLABR, that really killer ’60s beatnik poetry.

“I’ve immersed myself in my roots… Abbey Road’s a bucket-list item for me, as far as wanting to set up shop there and do a record.”

Alongside the album, Bonamassa has revealed plans to perform a Livestream Concert from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on September 20, where he’ll play the entirety of the new album before the official release, tap into his back catalogue, and even invite a few rising blues-rock stars onto the stage.

Tickets are available now, each of which includes a $1 donation to Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation. Royal Tea can be preordered from JoeBonamassa.com - the full tracklisting is as follows:

1. When One Door Opens 
2. Royal Tea 
3. Why Does It Take So Long To Say Goodbye 
4. Lookout Man! 
5. High Class Girl 
6. A Conversation With Alice 
7. I Didn't Think She Would Do it 
8. Beyond The Silence 
9. Lonely Boy 
10. Savannah