2023 Blues Music Awards nominees announced
The Blues Foundation has announced nominees for the 44th annual Blues Music Awards. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on May 11th in Memphis, Tennessee.
B.B. King Entertainer of the Year
Tommy Castro
Band of the Year
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Song of the Year
Buddy Guy “The Blues Don’t Lie” (Tom Hambridge)
Best Emerging Artist Album
Dylan Triplett / Who Is He?
Acoustic Blues Album
Charlie Musselwhite / Mississippi Son
Blues Rock Album
Albert Castiglia / I Got Love
Contemporary Blues Album
Buddy Guy / The Blues Don’t Lie
Soul Blues Album
Sugaray Rayford / In Too Deep
Traditional Blues Album
John Németh / May Be the Last Time
Acoustic Blues Artist
Doug MacLeod
Blues Rock Artist
Albert Castiglia
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Ruthie Foster
Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Soul Blues Female Artist
Thornetta Davis
Soul Blues Male Artist
Curtis Salgado
Traditional Blues Female Artist (Koko Taylor Award)
Sue Foley
Traditional Blues Male Artist
John Primer
Instrumentalist – Bass
Danielle Nicole
Instrumentalist – Drums
Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith
Instrumentalist – Guitar
Laura Chavez
Instrumentalist – Harmonica
John Németh
Instrumentalist – Horn
Deanna Bogart
Instrumentalist – Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award)
Anthony Geraci
Instrumentalist – Vocals
Shemekia Copeland
Can’t believe u left out Anthony Gomes in the awards. ☹️☹️☹️
Very hard to believe Anthony Gomes was not included !!! should have been at the top of the list 😒
I agree but you have to remember this is like the Rock n Roll hall of fame you gotta be in the club to be recognized. I have known Anthony since 2002 and he is the real deal but not a conformist to the old school blues even though BB King loved his style the blues club is not going to give in to the new style that AG offers! Remember Elvis was a renegade !
I can not believe you have not included Eliza Neals, with her album Badder to the Bone. Independent Labels are not given a far Shake!!!
Where’s Eliza Neal
100 % agree. Anthony Gomes should be included.
Bro where’s Edgar winter?!
Never forget the greatest blues artist Peter Green .
Hello? Joe Bonamassa!
Where’s Joe Bonamassa
Who made up this list ? Buddy Guy and TTB belong but you missed a lot of people who have dedicated years to the Blues.
Just like our government! If you don’t pay the right man your dues, you don’t get nominated to bring the blues.😔
I am totally stunned that the most talented blues guitarist on the planet, Joe Bonamassa, is not included in any category. Makes me question the legitimacy of these awards.
Absolutely agree.
Totally agree…many issues with the list.
More Tedeschi Trucks Band, please!!!!!
Totally agree with you.
Where’s Joe Bonamassa?
Nominated for a Grammy but not a Blues Music Award? Need to look at his body of work in 2022. No one has created, produced, played with and advocated more for Blues music & musicians than Joseph Leonard Bonamassa!!
Nice to see Joanna Connor nominated but no Joe Bonamassa or Samantha Fish?? Really?
How about Robin Trower
I miss Robert Jon & the Wreck. In my eyes they are the current pioneers in Blues and Southern Rock – besides Selwyn.
What about Jeremiah Johnson? New tunes rocked the charts.
Stupid where is Greg Allman Eric Clapton these people don’t know or understand
.. another year and Davy Knowles is still not on the lists… Wow!!!
My personal opinion is that there is a lot of “mainstream” blues that it’s nothing else than rock played within a twelve-bars format songs, over-produced and over-polished. Real Blues is slowly going to disappear, I’m afraid.
Over 50 years in the business, a huge contributor to the genre from the beginning and is still being overlooked. Blues Rock Album category should have nominated Robin Trower and 2022 album No More Worlds to Conquer. Terrific album through and through. No disrespect to the current nominees but come on, what’s it going to take for this guy to get some of the recognition he clearly deserves?
Where the hell is Joe Bonamassa??!!
Not adding Joe Bonamasa makes as much sense as Dolly Pardon in the Rock and roll Hall of Fame. I think you missed th mark voters.
Why no Susan Tedeschi or Derek Trucks. Ok I’m a fan ofThe Tedeschi Trucks band but both should still be on the lists.
Joe Bonamassa too, Samantha Fish, Beth Hart.
Where’s Marcus King!
Tab Benoit should be candidate best guitar player
I’m so happy to see Laura Chavez up for Instrumentalist – Guitar!!!! I’d love to see her win this!
Anthony Gomes not even nominated for Blues Rock Album?! Shame on the Blues Music Awards for not including him. Painted Horse is the epitome of a blues/rock song, that whole album oozed blues/rock – Anthony even had Ray Luzier (Korn) on drums and Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Winery Dogs) on bass for his High Voltage Blues release! With all due respect to the artists nominated, you guys missed the mark by not including Anthony Gomes.