Joe Bonamassa is changing his tune on AI. The blues guitarist and longtime vintage-gear obsessive, who has previously warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence, now believes generative AI has a place in the modern music industry — particularly for up-and-coming artists trying to get noticed.
Speaking to Blues Rock Review at Eric Clapton’s all-star Crossroads Guitar Festival, Bonamassa acknowledged that musicians are already using generative AI tools such as Suno to help create music, and he doesn’t see much point in pretending otherwise.
“There’s cats calling people out for using [generative AI software] Suno to write lyrics,” he says. “There’s going to be the ones who say, ‘I don’t even know what Suno is.’ That’s BS.
“Everyone knows what it is and everybody’s seen what it can do. Now, do I hear it in some music? Absolutely. Did I just listen to 200 blues records and hear it a few times? Absolutely.”
The 49-year-old guitarist isn’t exactly blind to industry trends. Bonamassa has already been opening the door to digital modelers, after years of championing vintage equipment, and he now appears to be taking a more pragmatic view of AI, too.
He acknowledges that fighting the technology — as Brian May, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Page have done — may ultimately be a losing battle.
“We’re in the entertainment business,” he continues. “If someone uses Suno to write a lyric, it’s not a high crime or misdemeanor. When you’re on your way up, you’re in 2026 and you’re trying to get noticed… They want to be known, they want to be famous, they want to be rich.”
Bonamassa suggests that, for emerging artists, AI can simply be another tool in the box — something that gives them “a leg up” while they try to establish themselves. That doesn’t necessarily mean surrendering their own creativity to a machine.
“You know that’s happening,” he says. “We’d be very remiss to just bury our head in the sand, say it’s not, because it is.”
For Bonamassa, the more interesting question is what happens when that AI-generated music reaches listeners. And he has a particularly striking example in mind.
“He’s on Billboard’s Blues Chart every single week,” Bonamassa says, before revealing that the artist in question, Eddie Dalton, is an AI-generated character. Dalton isn’t a real person, but his music has reportedly accumulated more than 410,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
“He’s a legitimate artist in the eyes of some,” Bonamassa says. “The fans will respond to what they respond to. When people want to zone out, and they want to put music on in the car, if they like AI music, that’s 100% their right.
“If they want to put on a Marcus King record, if they want to put on an Eric Gales record or whoever, that’s their right.”
It’s a notably pragmatic position from a guitarist who has previously warned about AI-generated deepfakes. And while Bonamassa clearly isn’t suggesting that AI should replace musicians, he seems increasingly resigned to the idea that it will be part of the musical landscape whether artists like it or not.
That landscape is already changing. Guitarist Jen Majura stepped down from Evanescence, citing AI as one factor in her decision to step away from music, while AI tone-sculpting continues to generate debate among guitarists.
Brian May, meanwhile, has made another attack on AI — albeit one that arguably demonstrates why human beings still have plenty to offer. The Queen guitarist has also confirmed that the band’s touring days are over, so don’t expect an AI Freddie Mercury to be taking the stage anytime soon.
