Joe Bonamassa has a blunt message for the “armchair quarterbacks” and keyboard warriors who fuel toxic guitar culture online.
The blues guitar star says social media has made it easier than ever for musicians to become targets of relentless criticism, with every mistake amplified by commenters more interested in declaring winners and losers than appreciating the music.
“In the U.S., we have this term called ‘armchair quarterback,’ right?” Bonamassa tells Guitar Interactive Magazine. “That means I can sit in my chair and say to Tom Brady, ‘I could have thrown that ball better than you.’”
Bonamassa says that mentality has spread to the guitar world, where players are routinely torn apart online over the smallest mistakes.
He points to one infamous example: Nick Jonas’ widely mocked performance with Kelsea Ballerini at the 2016 ACM Awards. Jonas fluffed a guitar solo during the live broadcast in front of an estimated 11 million viewers, and the clip quickly spread across social media, spawning countless jokes, reaction videos and harsh criticism.
“There’s that classic one,” Bonamassa says. “It caused this guy to go into therapy. He goes out and clams? We’ve all done that. Everybody’s done that, like, ‘I didn’t even know what I was thinking.’ But the vitriol. It’s like, ‘What do you want him to do? Burn his guitar in effigy, or jump off a cliff?’”
Jonas later admitted the incident had a profound impact on him.
“In retrospect, I can kind of laugh about how big I thought it was,” he said. “But it did travel more than I wish it would have—and it did cause me to go into therapy.”
Recalling the performance, Jonas explained how quickly things unraveled.
“I’ve rehearsed it a million times… and as I walked towards her [Ballerini], I just went completely blank. I hit a wrong note and blacked out. I clocked that it was wrong and I couldn’t stop.”
For Bonamassa, the same competitive mindset extends beyond isolated mistakes. He says audiences often turn collaborative performances into imaginary electric-guitar duels, even when the musicians themselves are simply enjoying the moment.
“Kenny Wayne Shepherd and I have been on stage a lot together over the last five or six years. It’s not a competition,” he says. “Warren Haynes and I have been on stage a lot. We look at it like it’s fun, because we’re having fun.”
Yet some fans still approach those performances like head-cutting contests, expecting one guitarist to emerge victorious.
“What do they expect?” Bonamassa asks. “A trophy at the end? A cash prize? A judge that goes, ‘I declare the winner…’ like a fucking boxing match?”
For Bonamassa, that mentality misses the point entirely. Live music isn’t a sporting event, and treating every missed note or shared jam as a contest only makes the guitar community poorer for it.
