Joe Bonamassa is to pay tribute to Rory Gallagher with a pair of shows in Gallagher's hometown of Cork next summer. The two shows, on July 1 and 2, form part of the annual Live At The Marquee series of gigs, and will mark the 30th anniversary of Gallagher's death in 1995. Bonamassa will perform the set from Gallagher's Irish Tour '74 album at the shows
Gallagher's legendary 1974 tour, which saw him play on both sides of the sectarian divide, included a booking at Belfast’s Ulster Hall at a time when the threat of violence kept most artists away from the city. The tour, which later became the subject of an acclaimed documentary, was promoted by Jim Aiken, whose son, Peter Aiken, is behind the Bonamassa shows.
"Those gigs with Rory in the Ulster Hall were legendary,” Peter Aiken tells the Irish Times, “Nobody was playing Belfast at the time, but Rory was, and you had 2,000 fans packed in there, people left their politics and their religion at the door, fans from both communities just came together to enjoy his music."
Bonamassa has praised Gallagher in the past, saying, "As soon as I heard Cradle Rock, I was hooked. I thought, 'This is what I want to be when I grow up.'"
In July it was announced that Gallagher's iconic 1961 Fender Stratocaster – which was played onstage by Bonamassa during a show at Hammersmith Apollo in London in October 2011 – was to be sold.
In the months since, a campaign has been launched to bring the guitar home to Cork, and the Irish Government has discussed the possibility of acquiring the instrument as an object of national cultural importance before it goes to auction. The sale is scheduled for October 17.
Tickets for Joe Bonamassa plays Rory Gallagher go on sale on Friday October 4 at 10am local time from Ticketmaster Ireland.
