Bonamassa opened for B.B. King at approximately 20 shows in 1989. In 1991, he performed on The Mickey Mouse Club where he is inducted into the Hall of Fame. Before he reached 18 years old, Bonamassa was playing in a band called Bloodline with the sons of Miles Davis, Robby Krieger, and Berry Oakley. Although Bloodline did not become a famous act, it attracted some attention to Bonamassa’s guitar chops.

Bonamassa’s debut studio album A New Day Yesterday was released in 2000, and features both original tunes and covers of such artists as Vic Ferrari, Rory Gallagher, Jethro Tull, and Warren Haynes. The album features a guest appearance by Gregg Allman on the tune “If Heartaches Were Nickels” and was produced by Tom Dowd. The album reached number 9 on the Billboard Blues chart.

Between 2002 and 2006, Bonamassa saw three studio albums hit number 1 on the Billboard Blues charts, and all five of his solo studio albums made the top 10.

In 2009 Bonamassa fulfilled one of his childhood dreams by playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where Eric Clapton played a duet with him.

Bonamassa’s live album Beacon Theatre–Live from New York was released in 2012. The show featured one of Bonamassa’s musical heroes, Paul Rodgers, formerly of the bands Free and Bad Company, as a guest.

March 26, 2013, saw the release of his live acoustic album An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House, which was released as a CD/DVD/Blu-ray set. This concert marked the first time Bonamassa played a wholly acoustic show. The acoustic ensemble that performed the show was assembled with the help of Bonamassa’s longtime producer, Kevin Shirley.

Over the summer of 2013, Bonamassa performed four shows in London featuring three different bands and, at one show, a horn section, covering four different sides of his music. Each show had a unique setlist. The shows were recorded for a DVD release and the set of DVDs was released in October 2013 under the name “Tour de Force.”

On December 6, 2013, Bonamassa and Beth Hart were nominated for a Grammy Award for their 2013 collaborative album SeeSaw in the Best Blues Album category.

He is also a member of the jazz-funk band Rock Candy Funk Party. They released their debut album, We Want Groove in 2013 and followed it up with Rock Candy Funk Party Takes New York – Live at the Iridium. The show was recorded over a three night stand at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. The band played Conan on February 10, 2014.

In May 2015 Bonamassa won a Blues Music Award in the ‘Instrumentalist – Guitar’ category.

Bonamassa serves as the guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Black Country Communion. The band released their fourth studio album, “BCCIV” in September 2017.

In April 2018 Bonamassa’s signature amplifier the ‘59 Twin-Amp JB Edition was released by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

On June 27, 2018, Bonamassa premiered at the Grand Ole Opry when he made a guest appearance after being introduced by Chase Bryant and playing along with him in his final song of the set, “I Need a Cold Beer.”

On January 26, 2018, Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa released Black Coffee, produced by Kevin Shirley.

On November 8, 2019, Joe celebrated 30 years as a performer while playing Detroits Fox Theatre; 4707 attended including Bob Seger, Janet Jackson and Tim Riglay.

Bonamassa affectionately refers to the area of his home with vintage gear as the “Bona-seum”. “Joe Bonamassa has been playing, buying and collecting vintage guitars and amps for most of his life. …he has a vast collection, enough to create his own museum of rare and vintage gear: the Bona-seum.” Bonamassa is also known for his love of vintage guitars known as “Bursts” (A burst is a 1958–1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard). These “Burst” guitars are among the most expensive electric guitars in the world, and Bonamassa owns several examples and he tours with them. In a 2019 Guitar World interview, Bonamassa revealed that he has more than 400 guitars and 400 amplifiers.