He was discovered performing the guitar at the tender age of 10 by none other than BB King, a man who knows a thing or two about such a subject! The King of the Blues himself sang his praises even before he'd landed a gig, but by 12 years old he was performing as support for the man himself, as well as Robert Cray and Joe Cocker, to name a few.

By the 21st-century, Bonamassa had started a recording career that has been no less successful. Album-by-album, the guitarist has inched his way into more households with his past quartet of full-length releases earning Top 40 placings. His most-recent, "Driving Towards the Daylight", flirted with the top spot last spring (it reached #2) which has resulted in this month's UK tour selling out.

All of which bodes well for his next slew of concerts booked for the autumn. Billed as The Guitar Event of the Year, you'd be forgiven for thinking here's a man with a tour who's blowing his own trumpet - and why not, when you've achieved what he has. Trumpets are not his thing anyway - guitars are and you'll hear electric and acoustic ones chiming out tracks from across his career when Bonamassa hits the UK again.

After the diversion of headlining a show at this year's Hampton Court Festival in June, Joe Bonamassa will return in the autumn. First stop is Cardiff on 18th September, followed by Manchester, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and more until Brighton on the 28th.

Tickets on sale now, priced from £35 upwards.