Blues Music Awards nominees announced
Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Elvin Bishop of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Dion are each BMA nominees this year. Silkroad Ensemble Artistic Director and trained opera singer Rhiannon Giddens is contending for the Koko Taylor Award for Traditional Blues Female Artist, while Bernard Purdie, the legendary sideman for James Brown and Aretha Franklin among others, is competing for top drummer honors. The Soul Blues Album category includes That’s What I Heard by Blues Hall of Fame inductee Robert Cray, recipient of the Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award. The exciting new music presented by these and other BMA nominees reveal the genre’s evolution and vitality.
This year’s nominees also illustrate how blues artists traverse generations, with ages spanning seven decades. Ninety-two-year-old Jimmy Johnson‘s Every Day of Your Life is among Traditional Blues Album selections. With 150 years between them, Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite have also been nominated in the Traditional Album category with 100 Years of Blues; the album is also up for Album of the Year. Eighty-seven-year-old Bobby Rush received doubled nominations for Rawer Than Raw for Album of the Year and Acoustic Album of the Year, while 81-year-old William Bell is a Soul Blues Male Artist contender. Dion is one of the first-timers along with younger colleagues like Richard Ray Farrell (Acoustic Blues Album); Kat Riggins (Contemporary Blues Album); and Sonny Green (Soul Blues Album). Youth ruled at the 2020 BMAs as 21-year-old Christone “Kingfish” Ingram came away the big winner, taking home five awards. This year, he will hope to be crowned again as top guitarist and Contemporary Blues Male Artist. Andrew Alli, “King” Solomon Hicks, Jose Ramirez, Ryan Perry, and Betty Fox Band comprise a quartet of talented up-and-coming blues stars aspiring to follow in Ingram’s footsteps by winning Best Emerging Artist Album.
BB King Entertainer of the Year
Shemekia Copeland
Rick Estrin
John Németh
Sugaray Rayford
Lil’ Ed Williams
Album of the Year
100 Years of Blues, Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite
Rawer Than Raw, Bobby Rush
Rise Up, Ronnie Earl & The Broadcaster
Too Far From the Bar, Sugar Ray & The Bluetones featuring Little Charlie
Uncivil War, Shemekia Copeland
Band of the Year
Anthony Geraci & The Boston Blues Allstars
John Németh & The Blue Dreamers
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats
Southern Avenue
Sugar Ray & The Bluetones
Song of the Year
“All My Dues Are Paid” – written by Kathy Murray, Rick Estrin, Frank Bey, Kid Andersen (performed by Frank Bey)
“All Out of Tears” – written by Walter Trout (performed by Walter Trout)
“Blues Comin’ On” – written by Dion DiMucci and Mike Aquilina (performed by Dion Feat. Joe Bonamassa)
“Is It Over” – written by Don Bryant and Scott Bomar (performed by Don Bryant)
“Uncivil War” – written by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough (performed by Shemekia Copeland)
Best Emerging Artist Album
Hard Workin’ Man, Andrew Alli
Harlem, King Solomon Hicks
Here I Come, Jose Ramirez
High Risk Low Reward, Ryan Perry
Peace In Pieces, Betty Fox Band
Acoustic Blues Album
Dustin Arbuckle & Matt Woods, Dustin Arbuckle & Matt Woods
Prove It On Me, Rory Block
Rawer Than Raw, Bobby Rush
Three Pints of Gin, Richard Ray Farrell
Traveling Man – Live, Watermelon Slim
Blues Rock Album
Ain’t Done Yet, Savoy Brown
Ice Cream In Hell, Tinsley Ellis
Mike Zito and Friends – Rock ‘n’ Roll: A Tribute to Chuck Berry, Mike Zito
Mississippi Suitcase, Peter Parcek
Ordinary Madness, Walter Trout
Contemporary Blues Album
Cry Out, Kat Riggins
My Blues Pathway, Kirk Fletcher
Self-Made Man, Larkin Poe
Stronger Than Strong, John Németh
Uncivil War, Shemekia Copeland
Soul Blues Album
All My Dues Are Paid, Frank Bey
Found! One Soul Singer, Sonny Green
That’s What I Heard, Robert Cray Band
Where Have All The Soul Men Gone, Johnny Rawls
You Make Me Feel, Don Bryant
Traditional Blues Album
100 Years of Blues, Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite
Blueswoman, Nora Jean Wallace
Every Day of Your Life, Jimmy Johnson
Rise Up, Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters
Too Far From the Bar, Sugar Ray & The Bluetones featuring Little Charlie
Acoustic Blues Artist
Dom Flemons
Catfish Keith
Harrison Kennedy
Doug MacLeod
Keb’ Mo’
Blues Rock Artist
Tinsley Ellis
Reverend Peyton
Ana Popovic
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Mike Zito
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Shemekia Copeland
Samantha Fish
Sue Foley
Ruthie Foster
Shaun Murphy
Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Selwyn Birchwood
Chris Cain
Rick Estrin
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
J.P. Soars
Soul Blues Female Artist
Annika Chambers
Thornetta Davis
Bettye LaVette
Dorothy Moore
Terrie Odabi
Soul Blues Male Artist
William Bell
Don Bryant
John Németh
Johnny Rawls
Curtis Salgado
Traditional Blues Female Artist (Koko Taylor Award)
Rory Block
Rhiannon Giddens
Diunna Greenleaf
Trudy Lynn
Teeny Tucker
Traditional Blues Male Artist
Billy Branch
Sugar Ray Norcia
John Primer
Jontavious Willis
Kim Wilson
Instrumentalist Bass
Willie J. Campbell
Larry Fulcher
Danielle Nicole
Patrick Rynn
Michael “Mudcat” Ward
Instrumentalist Drums
Tony Braunagel
June Core
Derrick “D’Mar” Martin
Bernard Purdie
Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith
Instrumentalist Guitar
Christoffer “Kid” Andersen
Chris Cain
Laura Chavez
Kirk Fletcher
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Instrumentalist Harmonica
Billy Branch
Rick Estrin
Dennis Gruenling
Jason Ricci
Kim Wilson
Instrumentalist Horn
Mindi Abair
Jimmy Carpenter
Doug James
Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff
Nancy Wright
Instrumentalist Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award)
Mike Finnigan
Anthony Geraci
Johnny Iguana
Bruce Katz
Jim Pugh
Instrumentalist Vocals
Thornetta Davis
Ruthie Foster
John Németh
Sugar Ray Norica
Sugaray Rayford
I miss Joe Bonamassa – Royal Tea
Yup …. MAJOR glaring omission with no Joe Bonamassa “Royal Tea” ….
Yup …. MAJOR glaring omission with no Joe Bonamassa “Royal Tea” …
So did the “British” blues rock orientation of Royal Tea make the BMA turn a blind eye to Joe Bonamassa? A sin of omission BMA! Joe had a stellar year in 2020 of performance, production, promotion and philanthropy. Shame!
I was thinking the same thing his name is nowhere on any of these awards.
Stunning omission of bonamassa. Shocking really.
No nominations for Joe Bonamassa’s Royal Tea? Do they have something against him? It was a fantastic album
Joining the chorus questioning the omission of Joe Bonamassa.
Sure looks like he’s been blacklisted.
Is this the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
And Beth Hart,gets no nomination. I heard the rest,and she is clearly the best. And no JB. This is sad, sad. Now,I have the blues. What’s really going on?