Introducing the Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom, a faithful recreation of his legendary ‘Black Beauty’

NASHVILLE, TN – Epiphone is proud to continue its decades-long signature relationship with blues-rock legend Joe Bonamassa. Today, Epiphone has released an attainable version of Bonamassa’s pristine and rare, vintage 1959 Black Beauty Les Paul™ Custom, bringing this remarkable instrument—offering vintage tone, elegant craftsmanship, and the unmistakable spirit of Bonamassa in a guitar built to inspire—to a wider audience. The Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom is a limited-edition model now available worldwide at authorized dealers, Gibson Garage locations, and on www.epiphone.com.

Joe Bonamassa is widely renowned for his guitar-playing prowess and as a world-class guitar collector. One prized gem in his collection is his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Custom. The original Les Paul Custom became known as the “Black Beauty,” and examples from the late 50s are highly sought after, but this particular guitar is quite unique. Joe’s guitar is a rare custom order with two pickups instead of the standard three-pickup configuration. Adding to its allure, it also sports Grover® Imperial™ tuners and a Bigsby® vibrato tailpiece.

Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom

Designed to be both faithful and accessible, the Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom features an Antique Ebony finish over a solid mahogany body, accented by aged multi-ply binding on the top and back. The mahogany neck sports a 1959 Rounded Medium C profile and is topped with a bound ebony fretboard, complete with 22 medium jumbo frets and dressed up with pearloid block inlays. The multi-ply bound 60s Kalamazoo-style headstock features the Epiphone logo and the iconic Custom Split Diamond inlay in mother-of-pearl and is outfitted with a low-friction Graph Tech® nut for excellent tuning stability.

Watch the interview and demo with Joe Bonamassa re his Epiphone ’59 Les Paul Custom: HERE.

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Take a masterclass with Joe Bonamassa and Dinesh Lekhraj on the Gibson Gear Guide today as Joe shares his advice on continually growing as a musician and shows off the tips and tricks that shape his live sound, dive in HERE.

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The Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom is powered by a pair of punchy-sounding Epiphone ProBucker™ Custom pickups, which are wired to individual volume and tone controls using high-quality CTS® potentiometers for outstanding tonal versatility and reliability. As is fitting for a Les Paul Custom, the hardware is gold, including a LockTone™ Tune-O-Matic™ bridge, the Grover tuners, and the Bigsby B70 vibrato tailpiece. The combination of these elements creates an instrument that is not only visually stunning but also remarkably versatile in its sound. The Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom comes with a certificate of authenticity and a hardshell case with “Nerdville” graphics. This limited-edition Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom is a tribute to a legendary guitarist and an iconic guitar. It represents both a lasting investment and excellence in musical instrument craftsmanship. This release will be available in a limited quantity of 1,000 exclusively through Epiphone, the Gibson Garage, and authorized Epiphone dealers. In addition, a limited run of 300, with an exclusive custom inlay on the fretboard, will be available via the Joe Bonamassa webstore.

Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom

Joe Bonamassa with his new Epiphone ’59 Les Paul Custom

Blues-rock superstar Joe Bonamassa is one of the most celebrated performing musicians of today. As a 4X GRAMMY®-nominated artist and 15x Blues Music Award Nominee (4X winner), he recently notched his 29th No. 1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart with his latest studio release, Breakthrough, hailed as his most adventurous and genre-defying album to date. Live at the Hollywood Bowl With Orchestra became his 28th No. 1. Bonamassa has become a living legend with an astounding multi-genre catalog, releasing more than 50 albums, including studio and live recordings, as well as collaborative projects like Black Country Communion and Rock Candy Funk Party.

Recently, Bonamassa released Blues Summit 100 — a massive 32-track project featuring multiple artists paying tribute to B.B. King; listen HERE. Bonamassa returns to the road this fall and will continue through his spring 2026 tour, dates below and HERE.

Catch Joe Bonamassa on tour in the following cities:

U.S. FALL TOUR 2025

November 3 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theatre

November 5 – Toronto, ON – The Theatre at Great Canadian Toronto

November 7 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre

November 8 – Fort Wayne, IN – Embassy Theatre

November 10 – Rockford, IL – Coronado Theatre

November 11 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre

November 14 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theater

November 15 – Houston, TX – Hobby Center

November 18 – Corpus Christi, TX – American Bank Center Selena Auditorium

November 19 – Abilene, TX – Abilene Auditorium

November 21 – Midland, TX – Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center

November 22 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater

November 23 – Shreveport, LA – Shreveport Municipal Auditorium

November 25 – Fayetteville, AR – Walton Arts Center

November 26 – St. Louis, MO – Stifel Theatre

November 29 – New Orleans, LA – Saenger Theatre

November 30 – Montgomery, AL – Montgomery Performing Arts Centre

December 2 – Savannah, GA – Johnny Mercer Theatre

December 3 – Sarasota, FL – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

December 5 – Estero, FL – Hertz Arena

December 6 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live

U.S. SPRING TOUR 2026

February 21 – South Bend, IN – The Morris Performing Arts Center

February 23 – Cedar Rapids, IA – Paramount Theatre

February 25 – Madison, WI – Overture Center for the Arts

February 27 – Peoria, IL – Prairie Home Alliance Theater

February 28 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre

March 2 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts

March 4 – Springfield, MA – Springfield Symphony Hall

March 6 – Westbury, NY – Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair

March 7 – Pittsburgh, PA – Benedum Center

March 8 – Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie Center for the Arts

March 10 – Reading, PA – Santander Performing Arts Center

March 11 – Virginia Beach, VA – Sandler Center

March 13 – Durham, NC – DPAC

March 14 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena

March 17 – Knoxville, TN – Knoxville Civic Auditorium

March 19 – Huntsville, AL – VBC Mark C. Smith Concert Hall

March 20 – Macon, GA – Atrium Health Amphitheater

March 21 – Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound

March 25-29, 2026 – Miami, FL – Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea XI +

April 10-12, 2026 – Miramar Beach, FL – Sound Wave Beach Weekend +

+Sold Out

EU TOUR 2026

April 22 – Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena

April 24 – Rotterdam, NL – Rotterdam Rtm Stage

April 25 – Paris, FR – La Seine Musicale

April 27 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU – Luxembourg Rockhal

April 29 – Mannheim, DE – SAP Arena

May 1 – Chemnitz, DE – Stadthalle Chemnitz

May 2 – Nürnberg, DE – Psd Bank Nürnberg Arena

May 3 – Zürich, CH – Hallenstadion

May 6 – London, UK – Royal Albert Hall

May 7 – London, UK – Royal Albert Hall

October 21 – Helsinki, FL – Veikkaus Arena

October 23 – Stockholm, SE – Stockholm Avicii Arena

October 24 – Oslo, NO – Oslo Spektrum

October 25 – Gothenburg, SE – Göteborg Partille Arena

October 27 – Copenhagen, DK – K.B. Hallen København

October 29 – Rostock, DE – Stadthalle Rostock

October 30 – Berlin, DE – Uber Arena

October 31 – Dortmund, DE – Westfalenhalle

November 4 – Milan, IT – Unipol Forum

November 6 – Toulouse, FR – Zénith Toulouse Métropole

November 7 – Barcelona, ES – Barcelona Sant Jordi Club

Following are more photos of the Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom:

Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom front headstock

Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom close up of knobs

Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’59 Les Paul Custom guitar case

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About Joe Bonamassa:

Blues-rock superstar Joe Bonamassa is one of the most celebrated performing musicians of today. A four-time GRAMMY-nominated artist and 15-time Blues Music Award nominee (with four wins), he recently achieved his 28th No. 1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart with his latest live album and concert film, Live at the Hollywood Bowl With Orchestra. Joe has just released his highly acclaimed 17th studio album, Breakthrough, described as his most adventurous and genre-defying work to date.

Bonamassa has become a living legend with an astounding multi-genre catalog. He has released more than 50 albums, including studio and live recordings, as well as collaborative projects with his genre-bending side bands: Black Country Communion and Rock Candy Funk Party.

A prolific writer constantly seeking to expand his eclectic musical horizons, Bonamassa maintains a tireless work ethic—whether in the studio, on the road, or collaborating with other artists to spark new music. In recent years, he has produced a wide array of albums for artists such as Joanne Shaw Taylor, Marc Broussard, Larry McCray, Jimmy Hall, and others through his independent labels, Journeyman Records and KTBA Records. He also founded Journeyman LLC, a full-service artist management, record label, concert promotion, and marketing company dedicated to building awareness for independent artists worldwide. Visit http://www.jbonamassa.com for more information.

About Epiphone:

For over 150 years, Epiphone has been a leading innovator in instrument design with models like the Casino, the Texan, and Masterbilt Century Archtop Collection. Epiphone began as the “House of Stathopoulo” family business in Sparta in the 1870s and rose to fame during the jazz age in Manhattan before joining Gibson brands in 1957. Today, Epiphone continues to make history from its headquarters in Nashville, TN. Epiphones have powered classic recordings by Les Paul, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones along with today’s top artists like Peter Frampton, Gary Clark Jr., Tommy Thayer of KISS, and Lzzy Hale. Epiphone offers innovation, history, and a lifetime guarantee. Whether you are learning your first song in your bedroom, or rocking an arena, Epiphone has always been there, for everyone, for every generation, for every stage. For more information, visit Epiphone.com and follow us on X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.