Joe Bonamassa: The Spirit Of Rory Live From Cork (Blu-ray/CD) (Released: 2026) ***PRE-ORDER***

***PRE-ORDERED ITEM, YOUR CREDIT CARD WILL BE CHARGED AT THE TIME OF CHECK OUT***

RELEASE DATE: JUNE 19TH, 2026
US ORDERS WILL SHIP: JUNE 15TH, 2026
INT'L ORDERS WILL SHIP: JUNE 8TH, 2026

If this item is purchased with additional items from the store that are not pre-order products, the entire order will be held until the ship date specified above. Please place a separate order for any non pre-order items you would like shipped separately. Orders with pre-order items will NOT be split shipped.

Joe Bonamassa has announced the upcoming release of The Spirit Of Rory Live From Cork, a powerful live album and film capturing his deeply personal tribute to Irish blues guitar legend Rory Gallagher, recorded during a series of sold-out performances in Gallagher’s hometown of Cork, Ireland last summer. The album will be released June 19th via Bonamassa’s own J&R Adventures.

For Bonamassa, the project was never approached as a casual homage. Gallagher’s music has been part of his life since childhood, and the weight of performing it in Cork, with the blessing of Rory’s family and in front of audiences who carry his legacy so personally, was something he felt immediately. “I never had the honor to meet him, but his music and musicianship loom large in my life,” Bonamassa writes in a personal foreword accompanying the release. “From my first time hearing Irish Tour ’74 I was captivated by the sheer intensity of the man and the ferocity of his approach to the electric blues.”

That impact began early. “I remember that voice and a singular guitar tone slicing through the walls of my bedroom at a very young age,” Bonamassa recalls. “My father, who exposed me to so many of the great guitarists of his era, was quick to encourage me to listen to Rory and glean what I could.”

What began as an invitation from the Gallagher family quickly became something much larger. “All these many years later I was asked by Rory’s family to consider performing some of his material and paying tribute to him at a venue in Cork,”  Joe Bonamassa writes. “The very thought frightened me. Yes, I was scared to even attempt it but at the same time so honored that his family felt that I might be up to the task.” Rather than try to reinvent the material, Bonamassa focused on meeting it with the right spirit. “I felt the very best I could hope for was to approach his catalog with humility and reverence.”

Bonamassa says. “The crowds on those three nights were rowdy, raucous and Cork did their favorite son proud.” The result is a live document that feels charged by that setting - deeply felt, high-wire, and rooted in the connection between artist, audience, and place.

Across 14 handpicked songs, The Spirit Of Rory Live From Cork moves through the many sides of Gallagher’s catalog - from the blistering attack of “Walk On Hot Coals” and “Bullfrog Blues” to the emotional sweep of “A Million Miles Away,” which will serve as the album’s focus track upon release. Other highlights include “Tattoo’d Lady,” “Bad Penny,” “I Fall Apart,” “Calling Card,” and “Cradle Rock,” each delivered with fire and conviction while honoring the shape and soul of the originals.

The release also captures several moments that carried special meaning across the Cork run, including Bonamassa’s performance of “As The Crow Flies” on Gallagher’s own 1930 National Triolian resonator guitar, loaned by the Cork Public Museum. It was a tangible connection to the artist whose presence still looms so large over the city and over generations of guitar players who followed him.

Additional footage, included on DVD and Blu-ray editions, expands the story with bonus material including The Inspiration of Rory, featuring conversations with Brian May and Slash, along with Rory’s Acoustic Guitar and Ballycotton – “A Million Miles Away”. Together, the audio and visual components offer a fuller picture of what these performances meant to Bonamassa, to Gallagher’s family, and to the fans who packed the room night after night.

In the end, Bonamassa sees the album as an offering - his band’s best attempt to honor a musician whose work helped shape his own. “What you hear on these recordings is our best effort to pay tribute to Rory Gallagher, a man I never met, but admire so deeply,” he writes. “His music is part of me and I’m grateful that we were able to contribute in some small way to his ongoing legacy.”

CD Track Listing

1. Cradle Rock (Live)
2. Walk On Hot Coals (Live)
3. Tattoo'd Lady (Live)
4. I Wonder Who (Live)
5. Calling Card (Live)
6. Who's That Coming? (Live)
7. Messin' With The Kid (Live)
8. Bullfrog Blues (Live)
9. Treat Her Right (Live)
10. Bad Penny (Live)
11. I Fall Apart (Live)
12. A Million Miles Away (Live)
13. As The Crow Flies (Live)
14. Back On My Stompin' Ground (Live)
    

Blu-ray Track Listing:

1. The Spirit Of Rory (Opening Scene)
2. Cradle Rock
3. Walk On Hot Coals
4. Tattoo’d Lady
5. I Wonder Who
6. Calling Card
7. Who’s That Coming?  
8. Messin’ With The Kid
9. Band Introductions
10. Bullfrog Blues  
11. Treat Her Right  
12. Bad Penny
13. I Fall Apart
14. A Million Miles Away
15. As The Crow Flies
16. Back On My Stompin’ Ground
17. Ballycotton (End Credits) 

Bonus Features:

• Ballycotton - A Million Miles Away
• Rory's Acoustic Guitar
• The Inspiration of Rory (A Conversation with Brian May & Slash)