In January 2016, Joe Bonamassa made a short acoustic tour in
the United States with Anton Fig (drums)
and Reese Wynans (piano),
alongside Chinese-American cellist and erhuist Tina Guo, American mandolin and banjo player Eric Bazilian, Egyptian percussionist Hossam Ramzy, and Australian backing vocalists Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins and Gary Pinto. The tour ended with two performances at New York City's Carnegie
Hall on January 21 and 22, which were described in the
tour's press release as being the recognition of one of Bonamassa's
"childhood dreams".
Speaking to Guitarist magazine about the shows, Bonamassa
recalled that "Carnegie was a life-long dream because I was a born New
Yorker. Carnegie was this mystical place, you know? They don't run many
non-classical concerts through there. To make it there and to do two nights with this incredible nine-piece acoustic band
really means something to me and it was great”.
