Joe Bonamassa brings 'Redemption' to Tucson Music Hall

Flip on the FM dial and you’d be hard-pressed outside of a handful of community stations to find a station devoted to the blues.

But don’t read that as a sign that blues music as a genre is dying.

“Blues music to me is in a perpetual crossroads, always; it’s never the salad years,” said blues guitar great Joe Bonamassa, largely regarded as one of the genre’s leading voices. “There’s always people saying that, ‘Oh the blues is dead. You’re the savior or Gary Clark’s the savior.’ Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, the whole genre is what you make it.”

The 41-year-old Bonamassa, on his weeks-old album “Redemption” and in his shows around the country, makes blues deeply personal and ... loud.

He brings the show to Tucson Music Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 20. We get him in the homestretch of a full year of touring that saw him in Europe over the spring and back in the U.S. this fall. Seeing the finish line is, well, a relief in many ways.

“I just want to go home,” he said from a concert stop in Memphis, then chuckled.

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During our conversation, Bonamassa talked about his new record, blues royalty B.B. King’s legacy and how he sees himself in today’s blues world.

Seeking redemption in a dozen tracks: “(‘Redemption’) is part of a series of albums. My last record was ‘Blues of Desperation’ and the next logical step was to kind of look inward and kind of address yourself about being redeemed and actually taking responsibility for one’s actions that set you on this path.”

How the record translates: “Playing it live has been very good. The songs have gone over great in the shows and that’s always a litmus test to how the record plays out. I think we’ve been six weeks No. 1 on the blues charts and that’s pretty good. It’s sold really well and people like it. That I can’t complain.”

Remembering B.B. King: Bonamassa’s connection to King goes back to his childhood. “A promoter in upstate New York booked my band to open up for him. I was 12 years old; you’re fearless like every other 12-year-old. You’re not capable of grasping that kind of history. He was a nice guy. He was a consummate gentleman.”

Keeping King’s spirit alive: “I’m carrying on the legacy that he hoped people would carry on for him when he was alive. He and I spoke about that a few times. He was one of those guys, he was very adamant about the kind of music that he helped create for 60 years on the road or more, he wanted to see that perpetuated. ... B.B. King was one of those artists like Willie Nelson and Frank Sinatra and those kind of iconic artists who define the genre of music they are in. B.B. was one of those guys that at the end of the day defined the genre, was the genre and was the heart and soul of the genre. I think these days everybody is following in his footsteps.”