Vincent Bonelli Brings A New Single To The New Year
The Nashville singer and guitar player drops ‘Don’t Waste Time’ on January 2nd, 2026
Vincent Bonelli has a new single out, and it leans into beauty. The irony is that the song is essentially a breakup track but rather than hitting you with the harshness of animosity or a self-loathing aesthetic, it gravitates towards the construct of the joy in pain. Meaning you need to have loved and be loved to feel the full weight of despair. All of this is captured in the singer/songwriter’s release of ‘Don’t Waste Time’, that drops in the new year. On January 2nd of 2026 Bonelli will officially share the new tune across streaming services.
It’s out now! (click here)
To get to know Bonelli is to be immersed in all things’ music. He began playing the guitar at just 5 years old and by age 11 he was jamming at venues across his home city of Buffalo, New York. His smooth style and jazzy rhythms produced a full-length record by 15 years old. The record was called “Lines” and earned him a spot endorsing music gear from manufacturers like Keeley Electronics, J. Rockett Audio Designs, Walrus Audio, and Morley. A couple years later, Bonelli dropped his second album (which he again produced and mixed), self-titled ‘Vincent Bonelli’ and then the teenager made the decision to head to Nashville and get a music related degree from Belmont University.
When you listen to Vincent play, you can hear the heart that goes into it. I mentioned a sense of jazz, but he is also drenched in soul, R&B, country, and rock which makes this young talent very well versed in all genres. I get a Tedeschi Trucks Band vibe and an Amos Lee style sound when I press my ear to his ethos and dive into his previous works. In the latest parcel from the musician, I feel the blues leaking out a little bit more, but that’s what happens as you get older. I laugh, because he is hardly “old” just yet. Wait until the bitterness and back pain set in, but enough about me.
The single is saturated in electric blues-like riffs that pour in and out of the song. The backdrop is a compliment to the already powerful front with a nice garnish of horns, and some sprinkled in synth sounds. On the surface it plays like soft rock, but the undertone is deeper than just a light and playful melody. The percussion marches out from the onset and confidently steers the rudder forward and paces the track quite wonderfully.
Bonelli also has that voice. His tone is confidently sensual and his vocal cadence makes the song both endearing and rich. The passion that comes forth in lines like, “Holding onto branches that might break/ Then you smile/ I forget everything I was going to say” is moving.
His songwriting is that of a painter relaying a vivid focus in art. He creates an ambience with his words and puts you there in his space so that the listener can fully understand the gravity of all his emotions. You get lost in his words, which is a good kind of loss. They are so telling and real that you can situate them into your own story. His playing matches the verbal storyline with those drifting licks that punch and pull where they are needed. It is an eerie essence that transpires from all its moving parts.
The overtone is the desire or even the need to leave someone that you just can’t seem to let go of. Bonelli and the other players transcribe this much required path with a brilliant brushstroke. These mates that he has brought along with him on this project are Cam Gallagher (tenor saxophone), Owen Fader (soprano saxophone), Jacob Boyer (trumpet), Sesean Orlovich(drums), Tierney Sage (percussion), Travis Keys (bass), and Ethan Weissman (mastering). Bonelli wrote the song, played guitar, produced, and mixed the track.
At around the 2:50 mark of the four minute and 13 second piece he begins to bleed his instrument into a final plea. A cry out from Bonelli’s fingers lifts high into the heavens and then over the next few moments it weeps back down to earth where that beautiful saxophone and brass catch it and lay it gently onto the ground. They play out the finality of this well orchestrated number. ‘Don’t Waste Time’ lingers even when it is over and it continues to float around in the atmosphere that it once created. Bonelli has curated a stunning work that is full of emotion and honesty.
Aside from Vincent’s own artistry, he is known as a sideman guitarist and vocalist for many other artists in Nashville. He is a core member of the funk/jazz collective, Cam Gallagher and the Tasty Soul. Vincent has also performed with the likes of Owen Fader, Tiffany Johnson, Robert Montano and recorded guitar on Florine’s latest single, ‘I Hate Being Right’.
Here it is:
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