2026 Blues Music Awards Winners announced
Winners have been revealed at the 2026 Blues Music Awards held on Thursday, May 7, in Memphis, Tennessee. The awards were voted on by the members of the Blues Foundation.
View the full list of winners below, which are bolded.
Acoustic Blues Album
Catfish Keith, “Sugar for Sugar – Vol. 1 2025 Summer Sessions”
Doug MacLeod, “Between Somewhere and Goodbye”
Erin Harpe, “Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me: A Tribute to Mississippi John Hurt”
Hudspeth & Taylor, “Kimuziki Live in Des Moines”
Johnny Iguana, “At Delmark”
Acoustic Blues Artist
Catfish Keith
Doug MacLeod
Eric Bibb
Kevin Burt
Rhiannon Giddens
Album of the Year
Blood Brothers Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia, “Help Yourself”
Bobby Rush & Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “Young Fashioned Ways”
D.K. Harrell, “Talkin’ Heavy”
Larry McCray, “Heartbreak City”
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, “Closer To The Bone”
B.B. King Entertainer of the Year
Castro Coleman (Mr. Sipp)
Rick Estrin
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Ruthie Foster
Vanessa Collier
Band of the Year
Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra
John Nemeth and the Blue Dreamers
Southern Avenue
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Vanessa Collier Band
Best Emerging Artist Album
Brody Buster, “Redemption”
Allison August, “August Moon”
Sean McDonald, “Have Mercy!”
Robbin Kapsalis, “THE BLUES IS IN THE HOUSE”
Kyle Rowland, “NOT HOLDING BACK!”
Blues Rock Album
Blood Brothers Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia, “Help Yourself”
Devon Allman, “BLUES SUMMIT”
Kent Burnside, “Hill Country Blood”
Tom Hambridge, “Down The Hatch”
Walter Trout, “Sign Of The Times”
Blues Rock Artist
Ana Popovic
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kirk Fletcher
Tommy Castro
Walter Trout
Contemporary Blues Album
Brandon Santini, “Which Way Do We Go?”
Carolyn Wonderland, “Truth Is”
D.K. Harrell, “Talkin’ Heavy”
Monster Mike Welch, “Keep Living Til I Die”
Southern Avenue, “Family”
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Carolyn Wonderland
Danielle Nicole
Ruthie Foster
Samantha Fish
Vanessa Collier
Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Brandon Santini
Castro Coleman (Mr. Sipp)
Chris Cain
Christone ”Kingfish” Ingram
D.K. Harrell
Instrumentalist – Bass
Benny Turner
Larry Fulcher
Michael ”Mudcat” Ward
Rodrigo Mantovani
Scot Sutherland
Instrumentalist – Drums
Chris Layton
Chris Peet
Derrick D’Mar Martin
Tom Hambridge
Tony Braunagel
Instrumentalist – Guitar
Chris Cain
Christoffer ”Kid” Andersen
Derek Trucks
Joanna Connor
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Instrumentalist – Harmonica
Billy Branch
Bob Corritore
Brandon Santini
John Nemeth
Kim Wilson
Instrumentalist – Horn
Greg Piccolo
Jimmy Carpenter
Mark Kaz Kazanoff
Regi Oliver
Trombone Shorty
Instrumentalist – Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player)
Anthony Geraci
Bruce Katz
Dave Keyes
Jon Cleary
Marcia Ball
Instrumentalist – Vocals
Candice Ivory
Danielle Nicole
John Nemeth
Shemekia Copeland
Susan Tedeschi
Song of the Year
“Mile After Mile”
written by Brandon Santini & Jeff Jensen
“Bye Bye Blues”
written by Larry McCray & Charlie Walmsley
“Can’t Catch a Break”
written by Tommy Castro & Christoffer Andersen
“Upside”
written by Tierinii Jackson, Tikyra Jackson, Ori Naftaly, Dylan Altman & Marshall Altman
“Who Was That?”
written by Emmett Ellis Jr. & Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Soul Blues Album
Dave Keller, “La Brea”
Jimmy Burns & Soul Message Band, “Full Circle”
Johnny Rawls, “Make Them Dance”
Tad Robinson Band, “Soul In Blue”
The Soul of John Black, “Soul Salvation”
Soul Blues Female Artist
Annika Chambers
Candice Ivory
Kat Riggins
Thornetta Davis
Vaneese Thomas
Soul Blues Male Artist
Alabama Mike
Curtis Salgado
John Nemeth
Johnny Rawls
Tad Robinson
Traditional Blues Album
Bobby Rush & Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “Young Fashioned Ways”
Buddy Guy, “Ain’t Done With The Blues”
Charlie Musselwhite, “Look Out Highway”
Maria Muldaur, “One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey”
Roomful Of Blues, “Steppin’ Out”
Traditional Blues Female Artist (Koko Taylor Award)
Diunna Greenleaf
Eden Brent
Maria Muldaur
Rhiannon Giddens
Teeny Tucker
Traditional Blues Male Artist
Billy Branch
Jimmie Vaughan
John Primer
Jontavious Willis
Rick Estrin
International Blues Album
Brandon Isaak, “Walkin With The Blues”
Honeybear, the Band, “I Was Wrong”
Hubert Dorigatti & Blues harp masters, “Poor Boy”
J.T.Lauritsen & The Buckshot Hunters, “Still be friends”
The Angelique Francis Band, “Not Defeated”
Joe bonamossa should be at the top of every blues list. You people suuuuuck
Opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one..
Not weighing in on the music, but a-holes… Not everyone has one. Some people get cancer down there. Then, have to have a stoma and colostomy.
Now, I imagine that really does suck…..
Joe is great, but Derek Trucks is a great choice.
We continue to go see JoeB (4 times thus far) and TTB )5 times thus far) in concert and thoroughly enjoy them both. BTW, finally saw Devon Allman’s group.. much fun, too.
Typical response these days. State your opinion AND THEN ADD A PERSONAL ATTACK. Please grow up and develop a more mature way of discussion.
Totally agree. I dont know why he keeps getting left out but this is a travesty.
Bonamasa hasn’t put together an original guitar lick…ever. Being a machine gun gets boring
Charlie Musselwhite should be at top..
Musselwhite puts more soul and style in one note than most can in a whole song
Not a big fan of the Blues Foundation. They mean well but have little oversight and contact with the local blues societies. Our local society hasn’t held an IBC contest in 15 years. They also don’t vote in the Blues Music Awards. How can you have a Blues Music Awards if the local societies are excluded from the selection process?
Kurt’s points are on target, but I am just advising readers/commentors that this website (BRR) is publishing the results of the awards, and did not orchestrate the nominees, nor final results.
Perhaps someone from the national Blues Foundation will read these comments, and initiate more local involvement.
Thank You! As i am in a blues desert, i appreciate the listings! I always LOOKUP the Artists & add them to my playlist. I would be lost to most of these wonderful artists without these lists.
GOOD JOB!
Joe Bonamossa is an amazing performer and one kick-ass blues guitarist. But he isn’t the only incredibly talented blues artists out there. He is NOT a band, a woman, a harmonica, horn, piano or bass player, nor is he a drummer. His style isn’t traditional, soul or even what most would consider contemporary. Am I surprised his name was not in the Blues Rock category? A little. But that is the only category you should be upset about. No one sucks because he didn’t win all the awards in all the categories that weren’t even about his music. Maybe if you open your mind to the diversity within the Blues you can save your rage for the REAL atrocities going on in the world.
Congrats to Christopher Kingfish Ingram. He had a stellar performance at the Oscars 2026. He is the epitome of an authentic, rising star. He is also such a good human being. He deeply cares about music and people period. His new record Hard Road is phenomenal. Support the single SSS. This project will definitely be a Grammy nomination soon.
Author T Younger ♥️
Thanks for publishing the list. Now I’ll have some new music to check out!! I already like most of the artists on this list that I’m familiar with and I really enjoy finding new artists! I am really happy to see Curtis Salgado get recognition. He’s wonderful live and has been a solid performer for decades!! Our local Blues society hosted Curtis for a show and he’s a hell of a nice guy and very kind to his fans. We enjoyed working with him.
Anthony Gomes should be on here somewhere.
I have been following the blues foundation for many years and artists featured are very. Professional and at the top of their game. My gripe is it’s the same 70 percent group of artists every year and most of them perform on the Blues Cruise . Check out all the blues mags and listen to who they are featuring. You will be surprised at the quality of some of the music. The Blues Foundation see seems to be becoming a closed club