Blues Award Season

Compiled by DJ Arwen

Its Award Season!!! Announcements have come out from three amazing organizations where Blues music and the incredible artists are celebrated.  These nominations highlight the exceptional talent within the blues community and its continued influence on the broader music industry. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners across these esteemed organizations for their remarkable achievements in blues music.

2025 International Blues Challenge Winners:

Band Division

Winner: Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal
2nd Place Band: Ra’shad the Blues Band
3rd Place Band: Dylan Salfer Band

Solo/Duo Division

Winner: Joce Reyome
2nd Place: 2 Blues for You

Best Guitar Award

Winner: Dylan Salfer

Memphis Cigar Box Guitar Award (Best Solo/Duo Guitarist)

Winner: Nic Charles

Lee Oskar Harmonica Award (Best Harmonica Player)

Winner: Jock Webb Sr.

Best Self-Produced CD

Winner: Piper & The Hard Times – Revelation

The 2025 Grammy nominations were announced on Friday, November 8, 2024. The Blues Grammy Nominations are:

Best Traditional Blues Album:

Hill Country Love — Cedric Burnsideic Burnside
Struck Down — The Fabulous Thunderbirds
One Guitar Woman — Sue Foley
Sam’s Place — Little Feat
Swingin’ Live at The Church in Tulsa — The Taj Mahal Sextet

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 — Joe Bonamassa
Blame It on Eve — Shemekia Copeland
Friendlytown — Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour
Mileage — Ruthie Foster
The Fury — Antonio Vergara

Best American Roots Performance:

Blame It on Eve” — Shemekia Copeland
“Nothing In Rambling” — The Fabulous Thunderbirds Featuring Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo” , Taj Mahal & Mick Fleetwood
“Lighthouse” — Sierra Ferrell
“The Ballad of Sally Anne” — Rhiannon Giddens

Best Americana Performance:

YA YA” — Beyoncé
“Subtitles” — Madison Cunningham
“Don’t Do Me Good” — Madi Diaz Featuring Kacey Musgraves
“American Dreaming” — Sierra Ferrell
“Runaway Train” — Sarah Jarosz
“Empty Trainload of Sky” — Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

Best American Roots Song:

“Ahead Of the Game” — Mark Knopfler, songwriter (Mark Knopfler)
“All In Good Time” — Sam Beam, songwriter (Iron & Wine Featuring Fiona Apple)
“All My Friends” — Aoife O’Donovan, songwriter (Aoife O’Donovan)
“American Dreaming” — Sierra Ferrell & Melody Walker, songwriters (Sierra Ferrell)
“Blame It on Eve” — John Hahn & Will Kimbrough, songwriters (Shemekia Copeland)

Best Americana Album:

The Other Side — T Bone Burnett
$10 Cowboy — Charley Crockett
Trail Of Flowers — Sierra Ferrell
Polaroid Lovers — Sarah Jarosz
No One Gets Out Alive — Maggie Rose
Tigers Blood — Waxahatchee

The Blues Foundation has announced the nominees for the 2025 Blues Music Awards (BMAs), which will take place on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at the Renasant Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. The BMAs are widely regarded as the highest honor in blues music, celebrating outstanding achievements in blues recordings and performances from the previous year. Winners are determined by votes cast by members of the Blues Foundation. Here are the 2025 Blues Music Awards Nominees:

BB King Entertainer of the Year

Duke Robillard
Mr. Sipp (Castro Coleman)
Rick Estrin
Shemekia Copeland
Sugaray Rayford

Album of the Year

Blame It on Eve, Shemekia Copeland
Fine By Me, Curtis Salgado
Hill Country Love, Cedric Burnside
Person of Interest, Billy Price
What Are You Waiting For? Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra featuring Willy Jordan

Band of the Year

Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra
John Nemeth and the Blue Dreamers
Nick Moss Band
Rick Estrin and the Nightcats
Southern Avenue

Song of the Year

“Blues For My Dad” performed and written by Chris Cain
“Blues In My DNA” performed and written by Ronnie Baker Brooks
“Mama, I love you” performed by Albert Castiglia and written by Albert Castiglia, Kevin Burt, & Jerry Jemmott
“Tough Mother” performed by Shemekia Copeland and written by John Hahn & Will Kimbrough
“Watch the World Go By” performed by Eden Brent and written by Bob Dowell & Eden Brent

Best Emerging Artist Album

8000 Miles to the Crossroads, Prakash Slim
Carry On, Destini Rawls
Drifter, Jovin Webb
Go Be Free, Sonny Gullage
Revelation, Piper & The Hard Times

Acoustic Blues Album

Naked Truth, Tinsley Ellis
One Guitar Woman, Sue Foley
Raw Blues 2, Doug Macleod
The Legend of Sugarbelly, Guy Davis
Things Done Changed, Jerron Paxton

Blues Rock Album

About Time, Dennis Jones
Broken, Walter Trout
Life is Hard, Mike Zito
Righteous Souls, Albert Castiglia
Struck Down, The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Contemporary Blues Album

Blame It on Eve, Shemekia Copeland
Blues In My DNA, Ronnie Baker Brooks
Do It My Own Way, Vanessa Collier
Good Intentions Gone Bad, Chris Cain
The Hits Keep Coming, Rick Estrin & the Nightcats

Soul Blues Album

Fine By Me, Curtis Salgado
Human Decency, Sugaray Rayford
Person of Interest, Billy Price
REVIVAL, Kat Riggins & her Blues Revival
What Are You Waiting For? Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra featuring Willy Jordan

Traditional Blues Album

Crawlin’ ’Kingsnake, John Primer & Bob Corritore
Getaway Blues, Eden Brent
HAPPY HOUR, Mitch Woods
Hill Country Love, Cedric Burnside
Roll With Me, Duke Robillard

Acoustic Blues Artist

Doug MacLeod
Eric Bibb
Guy Davis
Keb’ Mo’
Kevin Burt

Blues Rock Artist

Albert Castiglia
Mike Zito
Tab Benoit
Tommy Castro
Walter Trout

Contemporary Blues Female Artist

Beth Hart
Carolyn Wonderland
Danielle Nicole
Ruthie Foster
Vanessa Collier

Contemporary Blues Male Artist

Chris Cain
Johnny Sansone
Mike Zito
Mr. Sipp (Castro Coleman)
Ronnie Baker Brooks

 Soul Blues Female Artist

Annika Chambers
Candice Ivory
Kat Riggins
Thornetta Davis
Vaneese Thomas

Soul Blues Male Artist

Alabama Mike
Billy Price
Curtis Salgado
Johnny Rawls
William Bell

Traditional Blues Female Artist (Koko Taylor Award)

Diunna Greenleaf
Eden Brent
Rhiannon Giddens
Sue Foley
Teeny Tucker

Traditional Blues Male Artist

Cedric Burnside
Duke Robillard
Jimmie Vaughan
John Primer
Jontavious Willis

Instrumentalist – Bass

Benny Turner
Bob Stroger
Jerry Jemmott
Michael ”Mudcat” Ward
Rodrigo Mantovani

Instrumentalist – Drums

Chris Peet
Derrick D’Mar Martin
June Core
Kenny ”Beedy Eyes” Smith
Tony Braunagel

Instrumentalist – Guitar

Chris Cain
Christoffer ”Kid” Andersen
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Eric Gales
Ronnie Baker Brooks

Instrumentalist – Harmonica

Billy Branch
Bob Corritore
Kim Wilson
Mark Hummel
Rick Estrin

Instrumentalist – Horn

Jimmy Carpenter
Doug James
Deanna Bogart
Trombone Shorty
Vanessa Collier

Instrumentalist – Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player)

Anthony Geraci
Ben Levin
Bruce Katz
Eden Brent
Mitch Woods

Instrumentalist – Vocals

Beth Hart
Billy Price
Curtis Salgado
Danielle Nicole
Ruthie Foster