Twenty years after the release of his best-selling "Blues Deluxe," which celebrated the U.S. government-proclaimed "Year of the Blues" with a mix of originals and reinterpretations of classic songs, superstar Joe Bonamassa takes stock of how far he and the genre have come with "Blues Deluxe Vol. 2," due out October 2023 via J&R Adventures. With two new originals and eight new covers that include some of the most important names in blues - from Bobby "Blue" Bland and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac to Albert King - Bonamassa returns to his roots on Blues Deluxe 2, breathing new life into the classics that have shaped his own art. "If someone had told me 20 years ago that my career would last long enough to see the 20th anniversary of this little record called 'Blues Deluxe,' I'm sure I would have laughed," Bonamassa says. "Blues Deluxe was my last chance after being dropped by two major record companies and my booking agent. That's when my manager, Roy Weisman, had his first 'all-in' moment. We would go back into the studio and make a record. A record that would hopefully set the direction of my future career." "On Blues Deluxe Vol. 2, I asked my great friend Josh Smith to produce a record to accompany the anniversary edition of the first album and hopefully show a little bit of how I've evolved over the last 20 years," Bonamassa adds. "The contrast between a cocky 26-year-old and an established 46-year-old is considerable. Is the fire still burning like it was back then? Am I still hungry to play? Am I even still good enough to pay tribute to my heroes one more time? The answer lies somewhere in this album." "When Joe asked me to produce Blues Deluxe Vol. 2, I knew immediately what I wanted to accomplish," Smith adds. "I wanted fans to hear the totally natural, laid-back Joe that I hear when we're just goofing around and playing guitars. He was really in the moment and felt fully supported, and I know he really 'went all out' on everything." To announce the album, Bonamassa has released the latest single, "Twenty-Four Hour Blues," a rousing reinterpretation of Bobby "Blue" Bland's classic song featured on one of Bonamassa's favorite albums of all time, "Dreamer." The new version features one of Bonamassa's best vocal and guitar solos of all time. "The outro guitar solo is incredible," comments Smith. "It happened live on the floor and has some deep lines that you've probably never heard Joe play before. The band is absolutely killer, and Calvin Turner did an incredible string and horn arrangement. I'm very proud of this piece." "Part of my approach to these new recordings was to see if I've matured musically over the years and if I've gotten better as a player," Bonamassa says. "I'm happy to say that I'm a much better singer than I was 20 years ago - even though I still don't really call myself a 'singer,' I can carry a tune a little better now than I could back then." The announcement of Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2 follows the release of the lead single "I Want To Shout About It," originally sung by Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters. Bonamassa's upbeat version features solos from Reese Wynans on organ and Paulie Cerra on sax, as well as some great adlibs from vocalists Dannielle DeAndrea and Charles Jones as the track draws to a close. "Shout About It is a song that originally came from the great Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters with Darrel Nullisch on vocals," Smith adds. "It's a hard song to sing, and Joe really stepped up to the plate and sang it perfectly. It's a real rave-up, party song. Joe has been playing it live lately and the crowd is loving it!" Featuring Reese Wynans (keyboards), Calvin Turner (bass), Lamar Carter (drums), Kirk Fletcher (guitar) and Smith (guitar), other highlights of Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 include Guitar Slim's "Well, I Done Got Over It," Bobby Parker's "It's Hard But It's Fair" and "Is It Safe To Go Home," a new song Josh Smith wrote for Joe. "I knew I wanted to really challenge him vocally," Smith adds. "I'd heard him sing things I'd never heard on an album when we were just playing around or producing for other artists. So the songs were chosen and written with that in mind. If you listen to the vocals on 'Twenty-Four Hour Blues' and 'Is It Safe To Go Home,' you'll hear that Joe really puts his foot down.