Keeping The Blues Alive 501(c) is a nonprofit organization founded by Bonamassa aimed at promoting and preserving the heritage of blues music.

Through regularly scheduled events, Keeping The Blues Alive will help to create awareness about the blues and its impact on our culture, while educating and empowering the next generation of youth. Bonamassa will donate his time throughout select cities on his U.S. tour to an hour long, educational, entertaining, and inspiring lecture for students aged 13-21.

As Keeping The Blues Alive expands, its goal will include providing funding for music and educational programs. It also seeks to provide televised exposure of blues music to replace the loss of music education in schools. If you are unfamiliar with Joe's music, enjoy this free download of his recent hit single, "Dust Bowl" http://bitly.com/dustbowldownload.

Bonamassa's hour-long program is designed for students aged 13 - 21. During the events, he plays live, discusses the origins of blues music and his life as a musician, offers guitar technique and emphasizes the blues' relevance to contemporary music. He links it to modern blues idioms as well as connecting it to rock 'n roll, hip-hop and other genres, often featuring current and contemporary interpretations of traditional American blues songs. All of this is achieved by instilling a message that through perseverance, hard work, and dedication, one can achieve the dreams they desire.

"Securing the future of blues music, and helping its legacy as an original American art form live on, is something to which I am deeply committed. In introducing blues to a younger generation, and hopefully inspiring others to support it and play it, my hope is that the music will remain a living, breathing tradition carried forth by new practitioners all the time," said Bonamassa.