The nominees for the 39th Annual Blues Music Awards have been announced. The awards represent a collection of acclaimed performers and rising stars that reflect the breadth and diversity of today’s blues music scene.
Leading the nomination pack for this year’s BMAs is harmonica wizard, Rick Estrin. With his group The Nightcats, Estrin is up for Band of the Year, as well as Album of the Year and Traditional Blues Album for Groovin' In Greaseland. Estrin, a past BMA winner, also is up for Traditional Blues Male Artist, Best Instrumentalist: Harmonica, B.B. King Entertainer of the Year and Song of the Year for his tune “The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere.” Additionally, Nightcats’ guitarist Christoffer “Kid” Andersen is among the Instrumentalist-Guitar contenders.
The B.B. King Entertainer of the Year and Song of the Year look to be hotly contested categories because they feature acts with multiple nominations. Don Bryant (4 nominations) and Wee Willie Walker (5 noms) are contenders in both categories. Estrin, meanwhile, faces the duo Mike Ledbetter and Monster Mike Welch for Album of the Year, Traditional Blues Album, and Band of the Year. Ledbetter also is a B.B. King Entertainer of the Year contender and is in the running for Contemporary Blues Male Artist and Instrumentalist–Vocals, while Welch ranks among the Instrumentalist–Guitar finalists. Another multiple nominee, The North Mississippi All-Stars will battle Estrin and Ledbetter & Welch for Band of the Year and are competing for Song of the Year and Rock Blues Album honors too.
The Blues Foundation will present the 39th Annual Blues Music Awards on Thursday, May 10 at 7 p.m. at The Memphis Cook Convention Center. Individual tickets cost $150 per person; Regular Tables for 10 are $1,500 and Premium Tables for 10 are $1,800 each. All tickets can be purchased at blues.org beginning Jan. 9. The Blues Foundation’s block of rooms at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown Hotel will be open for reservations on January 9th, and Sheraton reservation links will be up on blues.org that day too.
This year, the Blues Foundation will be handing out 26 BMAs as they have added a pair of new categories. There now is a Blues Rock Artist of the Year award to go along with Blues Rock Album of the Year. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mike Zito, Walter Trout, Jason Ricci and Eric Gales are all candidates for this honor. The other new category is Instrumentalist-Vocals, which will honor the great voices that make songs so memorable. Beth Hart, Don Bryant, John Nemeth, Michael Ledbetter, Sugaray Rayford and Wee Willie Walker compose this category’s impressive list of performers.
The complete list of 39th Blues Music Award nominees can be found below as well as on the Blues Foundation’s website.
39th Blues Music Award Nominees
Acoustic Album of the Year
Catfish Keith - Mississippi River Blues
Doug MacLeod - Break the Chain
Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi - Sonny & Brownie's Last Train
Harrison Kennedy - Who U Tellin’?
Mitch Woods - Friends Along The Way
Rory Block - Keepin' Outta Trouble
Acoustic Artist
Doug McLeod
Guy Davis
Harrison Kennedy
Rory Block
Taj Mahal
Album of the Year
Don Bryant - Don't Give Up on Love
Monster Mike Welch and Mike Ledbetter - Right Place, Right Time
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats - Groovin' In Greaseland
TajMo - TajMo
Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra - After a While
Band of the Year
The Cash Box Kings
Monster Mike Welch and Mike Ledbetter
Nick Moss Band
North Mississippi All-Stars
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats
B.B. King Entertainer of the Year
Bobby Rush
Michael Ledbetter
Rick Estrin
Sugaray Rayford
Taj Mahal
Best Emerging Artist Album
Altered Five Blues Band - Charmed & Dangerous
Larkin Poe - Peach
Miss Freddye - Lady of the Blues
R.L. Boyce - Roll and Tumble
Southern Avenue - Southern Avenue
Tas Cru - Simmered & Stewed
Contemporary Blues Album of the Year
Beth Hart - Fire on the Floor
Corey Dennison Band - Night After Night
Ronnie Baker Brooks - Times Have Changed
Selwyn Birchwood - Pick Your Poison
TajMo – TajMo
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Beth Hart
Karen Lovely
Samantha Fish
Shemekia Copeland
Vanessa Collier
Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Keb' Mo'
Michael Ledbetter
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Selwyn Birchwood
Toronzo Cannon
Historical Album of the Year
Jimmy Reed, Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee-Jay Singles – Craft Recordings
John Lee Hooker, King of the Boogie – Craft Recordings
Luther Allison, A Legend Never Dies – Ruf Records
The Paul deLay Band, Live at Notodden ’97 – Little Village Foundation
Various, American Epic: The Collection – Sony Legacy
Instrumental-Bass
Benny Turner
Bob Stroger
Larry Fulcher
Michael "Mudcat" Ward
Patrick Rynn
Instrumentalist-Drums
Jimi Bott
June Core
Kenny Smith
Tom Hambridge
Tony Braunagel
Instrumentalist-Guitar
Anson Funderburgh
Chris Cain
Christoffer "Kid" Andersen
Monster Mike Welch
Ronnie Earl
Instrumentalist-Harmonica
Billy Branch
Dennis Gruenling
Jason Ricci
Kim Wilson
Rick Estrin
Instrumentalist-Horn
Al Basile
Jimmy Carpenter
Nancy Wright
Trombone Shorty
Vanessa Collier
Instrumentalist- Pinetop Perkins Piano Player
Anthony Geraci
Henry Gray
Jim Pugh
Mitch Woods
Victor Wainwright
Instrumentalist - Vocals
Beth Hart
Don Bryant
John Németh
Michael Ledbetter
Sugaray Rayford
Wee Willie Walker
Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female)
Annika Chambers
Diunna Greenleaf
Janiva Magness
Miss Freddye
Ruthie Foster
Rock Blues Album of the Year
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - Lay It On Down
Mike Zito - Make Blues Not War
North Mississippi Allstars - Prayer for Peace
Savoy Brown - Witchy Feelin'
Walter Trout - We're All In This Together
Rock Blues Artist
Eric Gales
Jason Ricci
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Mike Zito
Walter Trout
Song of the Year
“The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere” – written by Rick Estrin
“Don’t Give Up On Love” – written by Scott Bomar and Don Bryant
“Don’t Leave Me Here” – written by Kevin R. Moore, Taj Mahal, and Gary Nicholson
“Hate Take a Holiday” – written by Willie Walker, Anthony Paule, and Ernie Williams
“Prayer for Peace” – written by Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson, and Oteil Burbridge
Soul Blues Album of the Year
Don Bryant - Don't Give Up on Love
Johnny Rawls - Waiting for the Train
Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm - Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm
Sugaray Rayford - The World That We Live In
Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra - After a While
Soul Blues Female Artist
Bettye LaVette
Denise LaSalle
Mavis Staples
Trudy Lynn
Vaneese Thomas
Soul Blues Male Artist
Curtis Salgado
Don Bryant
Johnny Rawls
Sugaray Rayford
William Bell
Wee Willie Walker
Traditional Blues Album of the Year
The Cash Box Kings - Royal Mint
Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio - Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio
Kim Wilson - Blues and Boogie Vol. 1
Monster Mike Welch and Mike Ledbetter - Right Place, Right Time
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats - Groovin' In Greaseland
Various Artists - Howlin' At Greaseland
Traditional Blues Female Artist
Annika Chambers
Diunna Greenleaf
Janiva Magness
Miss Freddye
Ruthie Foster
Traditional Blues Male Artist
John Primer
Kim Wilson
Lurrie Bell
R.L. Boyce
Rick Estrin
