Joe Bonamassa went looking for Joanna Connor. This matters because Bonamassa has one of the most extensive and most carefully curated collections of vintage guitars and amplifiers on earth — his “Nerdville” house in Nashville is a museum of pre-CBS Fenders and original-issue Gibsons — and he does not typically need to go looking for anyone. But he had seen the viral video of Connor’s slide guitar performance at the 2014 North Atlantic Blues Festival, and he recognized something that the 1.5 million YouTube views had also recognized: a guitarist doing something that most guitarists could not approximate, delivering the raw, unprocessed, visceral impact of classic Chicago slide guitar through a Les Paul and a solid-state amplifier. He sought her out. He offered to produce the record “he felt Joanna had always had in her and should deliver to the world.” The result was 4801 South Indiana Avenue (2021) — the address of Chess Records, the foundational label of Chicago electric blues — which Bonamassa produced featuring himself, Josh Smith, and musicians from his own band, recorded on vintage gear at Nerdville. “I mean, his studio is a candy store,” Connor said. “It was like a kid in a candy store.”
Joanna Connor was born on August 31, 1962, in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. She began playing guitar at seven and became serious about it at fourteen, taking lessons in Delta blues and slide technique from a local instructor named Ron Johnson. At seventeen she played her first professional gig. At twenty-two she made the decision that has defined her entire adult life: she moved to Chicago, the city where the specific blues tradition she had absorbed from her mother’s record collection (Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy) was a living, present reality rather than a historical artifact. She joined Dion Payton’s band. She became the house band at the Checkerboard Lounge and Kingston Mines — the Chicago blues clubs where the tradition was maintained nightly by the musicians who had created it. She backed legends including Hubert Sumlin, Buddy Guy, and Jimmy Rogers. She took a hiatus from touring in 2005 to raise her daughter. When she returned, she was better than when she left — deeper, more confident, with the specific mature musicality that only years of dedicated practice produce. She has now released fourteen studio albums across forty years of professional music making. She endorses Gibson Guitars, Victoria Amps, Mesa Boogie Amps, Orange Amps, and LaBella Strings. She lives in Chicago.
Background: Kingston Mines, Checkerboard Lounge, Viral Slide Video, Bonamassa, 4801 South Indiana Avenue
Connor’s formation as a slide guitarist was both formal and informal simultaneously. The formal element: the lessons from Ron Johnson in Worcester, who taught her Delta blues technique and the specific physical approach to slide playing. The informal element: the daily, nightly, years-long immersion in Chicago’s blues club circuit that began when she moved to the city in 1984. Kingston Mines — the North Side Chicago blues club that has been a primary venue for authentic Chicago blues since 1969 — became her professional home in a way that few venues become a musician’s specific artistic environment. Two fifteen-plus-year residencies at Kingston Mines and the House of Blues gave her the kind of playing experience that no amount of practice can substitute: the specific discipline of making music in front of a live audience every night, week after week, for fifteen years.
The Chicago blues community’s attitude toward women guitarists was not universally welcoming. “I felt that way for years,” she has said of the pressure to prove herself. “It took me about 15 years to get respect. I’ve pretty much played with everybody, so I’m kind of established now.” The specific culture of the Chicago blues club — demanding, unforgiving of pretension, allergic to what Connor herself calls “sweethearts” who “couldn’t hold a gig in Chicago” — shaped her approach to the guitar as a working instrument: you play to fill rooms, you develop a sound loud enough to be heard over a band playing at full volume, you develop a personality powerful enough to hold a crowd’s attention. The Orange Crush Pro 120’s role in her current rig — a solid-state amp chosen because “I like an amp with enough clean power because many venues we play there is a possibility I won’t even be mic’ed and my rhythm sections slam” — is the direct expression of this practical, club-derived philosophy.
The 2014 North Atlantic Blues Festival viral video — shot with a smartphone, shared without production polish, showing Connor playing Walking Blues with a slide technique that stops time — is the document that brought her to the world’s attention in the way that thirty years of club playing had not. Bonamassa saw it. The video’s impact lies not in production value but in the specific physical authority of the playing: the Les Paul, the slide, the rhythm section, and Connor in the middle of it all making exactly the sound she has spent thirty years developing. By the time the video went viral, she was fifty-two years old. She had been playing like that for decades. The world was catching up.
The Rig: Joanna Connor’s Guitars, Amps, and Effects
Guitars
2019 Gibson Les Paul Modern (Current Primary Live Guitar): Joanna Connor’s current primary touring guitar is a 2019 Gibson Les Paul Modern — the contemporary production Les Paul with weight relief, a slim-taper neck profile, and the BurstBucker Pro Alnico humbucker pickups that Gibson uses on their production Modern models. “Armed with the same Les Paul Modern” for live performance, as Guitar World confirms. The Les Paul Modern is a working musician’s instrument rather than a collector’s: its weight-relieved mahogany body makes it lighter than a vintage Les Paul, its slim-taper neck suits fast playing and extended performance sets, and its production-level construction provides consistency and reliability. For a guitarist who plays 100-plus shows annually, these practical considerations are as important as tonal character. The Les Paul’s humbucking pickups provide more output and more warmth than Stratocaster single-coils — well-suited to the powerful, authoritative slide playing that Connor delivers at full band volume without amplifier overdrive.
2018 Gibson Les Paul Custom Mickey Baker Edition (Flatwound Strings, Bonamassa Sessions Primary Guitar): The guitar Connor used for the primary tracking on 4801 South Indiana Avenue was a 2018 Gibson Les Paul Custom Mickey Baker edition — a guitar strung with flatwound strings. Mickey Baker was a New York jazz-blues guitarist whose “Mickey Baker’s Complete Course in Jazz Guitar” method books influenced generations of guitarists, and whose playing style — warm, rounded, specifically jazz-inflected blues — is reflected in the flatwound stringing of this instrument. Flatwound strings have a smooth, warm character fundamentally different from roundwound strings: they have less friction against the fingertip (important for slide technique), produce less finger noise on the frets, and have a darker, more jazz-adjacent tonal character. Connor strung this Les Paul with flatwounds specifically for the vintage-gear Bonamassa session — the combination of a 2018 Les Paul Custom through a 1955 Fender Deluxe with flatwound strings is a deliberate reach back to the specific tonal character of 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues recordings, where such combinations were standard.
1955 Fender Deluxe (Recording Guitar, From Bonamassa’s Collection): While not Connor’s own guitar, the 1955 Fender Deluxe that Bonamassa provided for the recording sessions deserves specific documentation: “We kept it simple — a 1955 Fender Deluxe. A 2018 Les Paul Custom Mickey Baker with flatwound strings, and my 2019 Les Paul Modern.” The 1955 Fender Deluxe is a single 12-inch speaker tweed combo from the high point of Fender’s tweed production period — the same vintage amplifiers that have influenced every subsequent generation of blues and rock guitar amplification. Bonamassa’s collection of vintage Fenders is among the most extensive and most carefully documented in the world; using a 1955 Deluxe for the Chess Records tribute album was a specific tonal decision about authenticity.
1990 Gibson Les Paul Classic 60 Reissue (Earlier Primary Guitar, Guitar Player Interview): In the Guitar Player interview that documented her rig before the Bonamassa-era update, Connor described “my trusty 1990 Les Paul Classic 60 reissue” as her main guitar. The Les Paul Classic 60 reissue is based on the 1960 Gibson Les Paul design — the last year of the original Les Paul before Gibson introduced the SG body style, featuring a thinner neck profile than earlier 50s Les Pauls and the specific combination of pickups and body construction that defines the “60s” Les Paul sound. Its presence in her earlier rig and the subsequent move to the 2019 Les Paul Modern reflects a guitarist who updates her equipment when better working tools become available rather than staying with the same instrument out of sentiment.
Mexican Fender Stratocaster (Third Guitar, Gig Flexibility): Alongside her Les Pauls, Connor keeps a Mexican-made Fender Stratocaster in her working collection — the MIM (Made in Mexico) Stratocaster that provides the single-coil clarity and the Stratocaster’s specific tonal character for contexts where the Les Paul’s humbucker warmth is not ideal. “I also use a Mexican-made Fender Strat,” she confirmed in Guitar Player. The MIM Strat’s status as a working guitar rather than a collector’s instrument is consistent with her practical philosophy: a guitar used for gigs because it sounds right for specific material, not displayed because of its provenance.
Dean Performer E Acoustic-Electric: A Dean Performer E acoustic-electric also appears in Connor’s documented rig — providing acoustic performance capability within her electric-oriented touring setup. The Dean Performer E is an affordable acoustic-electric with a built-in preamp system, suited to performance contexts where acoustic sound is required without the feedback problems of a traditional acoustic guitar on stage.
Slide Guitar Technique — Glass and Steel: Connor’s slide guitar technique is her most discussed and most celebrated dimension — the physical approach that makes the viral video what it is. She uses both glass and metal slides depending on the material and the specific tonal character required. Glass slides give a warmer, smoother tone with slightly less sustain; metal slides (typically steel or brass) give a brighter, more cutting tone with more sustain. Her technique — the specific way she mutes unwanted strings, controls vibrato, maintains intonation, and moves across the full range of the Les Paul’s neck — reflects decades of development and is documented in instructional interviews more thoroughly than almost any contemporary slide guitarist.
LaBella Strings (Roundwound for Live, Flatwound for Specific Studio Work): Connor endorses LaBella Strings — a New York string manufacturer whose history includes both acoustic and electric guitar strings and whose flatwound electric strings are among the most celebrated in the jazz guitar tradition. Her live playing uses LaBella roundwound strings; the flatwound stringing of the Mickey Baker Les Paul for the Bonamassa sessions was a specific studio choice for the vintage-recording aesthetic rather than her standard live setup.
Amps
Orange Crush Pro 120 Combo (Current Primary Live Amp, Solid-State): Joanna Connor’s current primary live amplifier is an Orange Crush Pro 120 combo — a solid-state 120-watt amplifier that she chose specifically for its clean power and volume capability. “I like an amp with enough clean power because many venues we play there is a possibility I won’t even be mic’ed and my rhythm sections slam,” she told Guitar World. The decision to use a solid-state amplifier is notable among professional blues guitarists, who almost universally favor tube amplifiers for their natural breakup and harmonic character. Connor’s reasoning is purely practical: the Crush Pro 120’s solid-state circuit provides consistent clean volume regardless of how hard the rhythm section plays, without the thermal sensitivity and potential instability of high-powered tube amplifiers at live club volumes.
The choice is consistent with her Chicago club blues philosophy: the guitar needs to cut through, the amplifier needs to be reliable, and the tonal character of her playing comes from her hands and her slide, not from amplifier saturation. Getting her tone from technique rather than from tube warmth reflects the same approach that the original Chicago blues masters used — many of the Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf recordings that define the genre were made through amplifiers valued for their volume and projection rather than their tonal complexity.
Victoria Cherry Bomb (Boutique Tube Amp, Named Endorsement): Connor has an endorsement deal with Victoria Amps, and the Victoria Cherry Bomb appears in her documented rig as an alternative tube amplifier option. Victoria Amplifier Company builds hand-wired tube amplifiers in the tradition of vintage American designs — the Cherry Bomb in particular is a lower-wattage boutique instrument designed for specific studio and smaller venue applications where its natural tube saturation is appropriate. The Cherry Bomb’s tube warmth suits Connor’s slide work in smaller, intimate contexts where the Orange’s solid-state power isn’t necessary.
Roland JC-120 (Earlier Live Amp): In the Guitar Player interview documenting her pre-Bonamassa rig, Connor mentioned using “a Roland JC-120” as one of her amplifier options. The Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 — a solid-state 120-watt stereo combo with built-in chorus — is one of the most widely used professional amplifiers in the world, valued for its extreme cleanliness and consistency. It preceded the Orange Crush Pro in her solid-state clean amplifier approach, reflecting a consistent preference for volume and reliability over tube character.
Peavey Chorus 400 (Early 1980s, Earlier Live Amp): A Peavey Chorus 400 from the early 1980s also appears in her earlier rig documentation — another solid-state amplifier, this time with built-in chorus, reflecting the same preference for clean power that defines her amplifier philosophy across all periods of her career.
Mesa/Boogie Amplifiers (Endorsement): Connor also holds an endorsement with Mesa/Boogie — which provides her with Mesa Boogie amplifiers as part of the endorsement package. The Mesa/Boogie connection alongside the Orange and Victoria endorsements gives her access to a range of amplifier options for different contexts, though her primary live choice has been the solid-state Orange Crush Pro for its volume and reliability.
Effects
Boss Blues Driver (Primary Overdrive, Live Constant): Connor’s primary effects pedal is a Boss Blues Driver — the compact, affordable, widely available overdrive that has been a standard blues guitar tool since its introduction in 1995. “Just why the humble BOSS Blues Driver is such a handy thing to have,” as the guitarguitar.co.uk interview frames its discussion of her pedal choice. The Blues Driver provides a mild, bluesy overdrive with a specific character: it clips asymmetrically (one side more than the other), creating a harmonic content that sounds slightly compressed and slightly tube-like without requiring an actual tube circuit. Connor uses it for the primary drive character in her live sound, pushing the clean solid-state amplifier signal into the specific tonal territory that the Orange Crush Pro’s clean circuit doesn’t naturally provide.
Boss Super Chorus / Boss Chorus CE-2 (Chorus, Time-Based): A Boss chorus pedal — described as both “Boss Super Chorus” in the Guitar Player interview and “Boss Chorus” in other documentation — provides the subtle chorus texture in her live signal chain. The Boss chorus family produces the analog chorus warmth that adds spatial dimension to sustained guitar notes without obvious synthetic character. For slide guitar in particular, a subtle chorus adds a slightly “airy” quality to sustained slide notes that suits the specific expressive character of the technique.
MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay (Delay): An MXR Carbon Copy analog delay provides the echo character in her signal chain — “a delay of some sort,” in her own description of the minimalism of her live setup. The Carbon Copy’s warm, slightly degrading analog delay repeats suit the blues context better than the precision of digital delay for most applications.
Minimalist Live Philosophy: Connor’s live effects philosophy is consistently minimalist. “A Boss Chorus, Boss Blues Driver and ‘a delay of some sort’,” as Guitar World summarizes her stage pedal selection. “She uses little else to bolster her raw sound.” This minimalism is not a style choice but a practical reality of playing Chicago blues at club volume: the raw, physical impact of her slide technique on a loud guitar through a clean amplifier is the sound. Effects complications would obscure what she does rather than enhance it.
Studio Context (4801 South Indiana Avenue — No Effects): For the Bonamassa-produced 4801 South Indiana Avenue sessions, Connor used no overdrive effects at all — “first time ever,” she said. “I mean I’ve done some tracks where I played more jazz stuff, maybe one per album, and I’ll play with no effects; maybe a chorus pedal but no overdrive. But usually I’m stompin’ on those pedals!” The “no effects at all, just plain vintage gear, straight through old-school amps” approach for the Chess Records tribute album was a deliberate tonal decision: the 1955 Fender Deluxe and the Mickey Baker Les Paul with flatwounds, raw and direct, was the specific sound that Chess Records needed to sound like Chess Records.
Playing Style & Tone Philosophy
Joanna Connor’s playing style is the most physically powerful and the most Chicago-rooted in contemporary blues slide guitar. The viral video’s impact derives from a specific quality: the size and force of her sound, which does not sound like a woman playing blues guitar for genre-adjacent contemporary audiences, but like a Chicago South Side club guitarist playing for an audience that expects maximum physical impact and will leave if they don’t get it. “Nobody talks about my rhythm playing,” she has noted, “but to me, it’s the most important thing.” The rhythm playing — the specific percussive authority of her chord work between slide passages — is what gives the slide playing its context and its power.
Her tone philosophy is direct: the volume, the authority, and the rawness come from technique rather than from gear complexity. The Boss Blues Driver into the solid-state Orange provides a consistent, reliable overdrive platform; the slide technique provides the actual tonal expression. The choices she made in the Bonamassa sessions — “no effects at all, just plain vintage gear, straight through old-school amps” — are the most authentic version of her core approach: guitar, amp, and technique, without anything in between that doesn’t serve the song.
Her Vintage Guitar magazine comment about “sweethearts” who “couldn’t hold a gig in Chicago” is relevant gear philosophy as well as professional assessment: the gear she uses is gear that helps her hold gigs in Chicago, not gear that makes her sound acceptable to audiences who prefer their blues smooth and undemanding. The Orange Crush Pro 120’s 120 watts of solid-state clean power is the sound of a guitarist who plays in venues where the rhythm section slams and the PA might not be mic’ing the guitar. You need enough volume. You need to be reliable. Everything else follows from that.
How to Sound Like Joanna Connor
Guitar: A Gibson Les Paul — any production model — with a medium-to-heavy slide (steel or brass for the Connor attack; glass for softer passages). The Les Paul’s humbucking pickups provide the output and warmth for slide playing at high volumes. The specific guitar matters less than the slide technique and the physical authority of the right hand.
Amp: A clean, high-power amp — solid-state or high-headroom tube — that provides maximum volume without early breakup. The Orange Crush Pro 120 is the authentic current choice. Roland JC-120 is a widely available equivalent. For the vintage approach (the Bonamassa studio sessions): a tweed Fender Deluxe or comparable low-wattage boutique tube amp at moderate-to-high volume.
Amp Settings (Orange Crush Pro 120 / Clean High-Power Solid-State):
| Control | Setting (0–10) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | 6–8 | Loud — Connor plays at full club volume with no PA mic |
| Bass | 5–6 | Full — Les Paul humbuckers need bass support at volume |
| Mid | 6–7 | Forward — slide guitar needs midrange for note definition |
| Treble | 5–6 | Present but not harsh — slide needs treble for upper harmonics |
| Presence | 5 | Moderate — clarity for the highest slide notes |
Effects: Boss Blues Driver (drive at 9–11 o’clock, volume at unity or slightly above) for mild grit. Boss chorus for subtle spatial texture on sustained notes. MXR Carbon Copy for slapback or longer delay. Keep it minimal — Connor’s approach is three pedals maximum. The technique is the sound.
Influence & Legacy
Joanna Connor’s legacy is inseparable from the specific Chicago blues tradition she has maintained and represented for forty years. She is, in the assessment of anyone who has seen her perform in the Kingston Mines or the House of Blues residencies, the most authentic current practitioner of the Chicago electric blues tradition that runs from Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf through Hubert Sumlin (whom she backed) and Buddy Guy (whom she jammed with) to the present. That she is a white woman from Brooklyn maintaining a tradition created by Black men from the Mississippi Delta is a biographical complexity she has acknowledged directly — “I felt that way for years” about having to prove herself — and that the tradition itself has validated through the acceptance of the Chicago blues community.
The Bonamassa connection — his production of 4801 South Indiana Avenue, his recognition of her as a peer-level blues guitarist who deserved the full Nerdville vintage-gear treatment — places her in the most visible current commercial context for traditional blues guitar. Alongside Samantha Fish (Series 2 #133), Ana Popovic (Series 2 #137), and Ally Venable (Series 2 #139), she represents one of the most significant generations of female blues guitarists since the genre’s founding figures.
Her candor about the specific difficulty of breaking into the Chicago blues scene — “It took me about 15 years to get respect” — is as instructive for aspiring blues guitarists as any technique lesson. The blues is a community, and community respect is earned through sustained, excellent performance in live settings, not through records or videos alone. The viral slide video was the world catching up to what the Kingston Mines regulars had known for decades.
Internal Links:
- Samantha Fish, Connor’s peer in contemporary women’s blues guitar at #133
- Ana Popovic, another contemporary female blues guitarist at #137
- Ally Venable, the next generation of blues guitar following Connor’s tradition at #139
- Joe Bonamassa, who produced 4801 South Indiana Avenue and provided vintage gear for the sessions (Series 1)
Frequently Asked Questions: Joanna Connor Guitars & Gear
What guitar does Joanna Connor play?
Connor’s current primary live guitar is a 2019 Gibson Les Paul Modern — a weight-relieved production Les Paul with BurstBucker Pro Alnico humbuckers. For the Bonamassa-produced 4801 South Indiana Avenue sessions, she used a 2018 Gibson Les Paul Custom Mickey Baker edition strung with flatwound strings alongside a 1955 Fender Deluxe from Bonamassa’s collection. Earlier in her career, her primary guitar was a 1990 Gibson Les Paul Classic 60 reissue. She also keeps a Mexican-made Fender Stratocaster and a Dean Performer E acoustic-electric in her working collection.
What amplifier does Joanna Connor use?
Her current primary live amplifier is an Orange Crush Pro 120 combo — a 120-watt solid-state amplifier. “I like an amp with enough clean power because many venues we play there is a possibility I won’t even be mic’ed and my rhythm sections slam.” She holds endorsements with Victoria Amps, Mesa/Boogie, and Orange Amps. The Victoria Cherry Bomb is used for smaller venues and studio contexts. Earlier rigs used a Roland JC-120 and a Peavey Chorus 400 — also solid-state, reflecting a consistent preference for clean power over tube character in her live setup.
What made the 4801 South Indiana Avenue album special?
4801 South Indiana Avenue (2021), produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, is Connor’s fourteenth album and a deliberate tribute to Chess Records — the foundational Chicago blues label whose address is the album title. Bonamassa provided vintage gear from his Nerdville collection for the sessions: Connor used a 1955 Fender Deluxe and a 2018 Les Paul Custom Mickey Baker with flatwound strings. The signal chain was entirely effects-free — “first time ever,” she said, noting that she normally “stomps on those pedals” live. The raw, direct approach produced what she and Bonamassa considered the most authentic blues record of her career.
Why does Joanna Connor use a solid-state amplifier?
Connor’s choice of solid-state amplification (Orange Crush Pro 120, Roland JC-120, Peavey Chorus 400) is driven by the specific demands of Chicago club blues: “I like an amp with enough clean power because many venues we play there is a possibility I won’t even be mic’ed and my rhythm sections slam.” The solid-state amp provides consistent clean volume regardless of thermal conditions and without the fragility of high-powered tube amplifiers in hard-working club contexts. Her tone comes from her slide technique rather than from amplifier saturation — a fact that makes the distinction between tube and solid-state less musically relevant for her than for players who rely on amp breakup for their overdrive.
What effects does Joanna Connor use?
Connor’s live effects are minimal: a Boss Blues Driver as primary overdrive, a Boss chorus pedal for subtle texture, and “a delay of some sort” (documented as an MXR Carbon Copy in Guitar Player). “Armed with the same Les Paul Modern and a minimal pedal selection consisting of a Boss Chorus, Boss Blues Driver and ‘a delay of some sort’, she uses little else to bolster her raw sound.” For studio recording, particularly on 4801 South Indiana Avenue, she uses no overdrive effects at all — straight into vintage amplifiers.
How did Joanna Connor get into the Chicago blues scene?
Connor moved to Chicago from Worcester, Massachusetts in 1984 at twenty-two — drawn to the city where the blues tradition she had absorbed from her mother’s record collection (Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy) was a living, active community. She joined Dion Payton’s band and became the house band at the Checkerboard Lounge and Kingston Mines, backing blues legends including Hubert Sumlin and Buddy Guy. Two fifteen-plus-year residencies at Kingston Mines and the House of Blues gave her the specific live playing experience of the Chicago blues tradition. “It took me about 15 years to get respect,” she has said — a testament to the demanding standards of the Chicago blues community.
What is the viral slide guitar video and what made it go viral?
The viral video that brought Connor to international attention was a performance at the 2014 North Atlantic Blues Festival in Rockland, Maine, where she was filmed playing Walking Blues with her signature slide technique. The video reached 1.5 million YouTube views and was seen by Joe Bonamassa, who subsequently sought her out to produce 4801 South Indiana Avenue. Its impact derives from the specific physical authority of the playing — the size of the sound, the raw, unprocessed impact of the slide technique, and the sense that what is happening on screen is the real thing rather than a polished commercial presentation of the blues.
