With an expansive list of nominees whose music stretches across genres, The Blues Foundation’s 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards (BMA) will reflect the widening influence of blues music and blues artists.
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.
Topping the nomination chart this year again are Rick Estrin & the Nightcats with five nominations; they also led last year with six nominations. Estrin is up for the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Instrumentalist Harmonica (which he won last year), and Contemporary Blues Male Artist categories. He is also credited as songwriter with Frank Bey, Kathy Murray, and Nightcats guitarist Kid Andersen for Bey’s Song of the Year entrant All My Dues Are Paid. Andersen, additionally, is battling for the best guitarist honors while Nightcats drummer Derrick “D’Mar” Martin ranks among the top drummer contestants.
Five is the lucky number for Sugar Ray & the Bluetones. The group squares off against Estrin & the Nightcats for the Band of the Year award along with Anthony Geraci’s Boston Blues Allstars, John Németh & the Blue Dreamers, and Southern Avenue. Sugar Ray Norcia is competing for Traditional Blues Male Artist and Instrumentalist Vocals honors, while the Bluetones’ Too Far From the Bar is up for Album of the Year and Traditional Blues Album. Furthermore, Bluetones’ Michael “Mudcat” Ward and Anthony Geraci are nominated for Instrumentalist Bassist and Instrumentalist Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award); the two, moreover, play together in Geraci’s Boston Blues Allstars.
Challenging Estrin for the highly competitive B.B. King Award are last year’s winner Sugaray Rayford, multi-BMA winner Lil’ Ed Williams, Shemekia Copeland, and Németh. Németh and Copeland also face off in the Contemporary Blues Album category. Németh’s other nods are for Instrumentalist Vocals, Soul Blues Male Artist, and, with the Blue Dreamers, Band of the Year. Copeland is also vying for Contemporary Female Blues Artist, Contemporary Blues Album and Album of the Year.
The 2021 BMA’s 25 categories include a number of well-known acts, both in and out of the blues world. The Blues Rock Album contenders include the long-running band Savoy Brown, while guitar ace Kenny Wayne Shepherd is a Blues Rock Artist award hopeful. Last year’s Blues Hall of Fame inductee Bettye LaVette hopes to hang on to her Soul Blues Female Artist title, and her fellow 2020 Blues Hall of Famer Billy Branch faces Fabulous Thunderbird frontman Kim Wilson in both the Traditional Blues Male Artist and Instrumentalist Harmonica categories. Multi-BMA winner Ruthie Foster is up for Instrumentalist Vocals and Contemporary Blues Female Artist; the latter category contains acclaimed performers Samantha Fish, Sue Foley, Shaun Murphy, and Copeland. Another highly competitive category, Acoustic Blues Artist, features Harrison Kennedy, Dom Flemons, Catfish Keith, Keb’ Mo’ and last year’s victor, Doug MacLeod.
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.
Widely recognized as the highest honor bestowed by the blues community, the BMAs applaud the past year’s exceptional achievements in blues music recording, performance, and songwriting, as well as supporting the blues’ rich cultural traditions. The 42nd Annual BMA program will be presented as a virtual event on June 6, 2021 starting at 4 p.m. CT. The world is invited to watch the celebration, which will be live-streamed on The Blues Foundation’s Facebook page and its YouTube channel at no charge.
Only members of The Blues Foundation can vote for the BMAs. Voting opens on January 28 and closes March 12 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Blues Foundation membership costs as little as $25 per year. Visit www.BLUES.org and click on “Join” to learn about membership, donations, and to help keep the blues thriving around the world.
Major funding for the 2021 Blues Music Awards provided by ArtsMemphis, BMI, the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise LLC, Memphis Tourism and the Tennessee Arts Commission. *Confirmed as of January 27, 2021
The complete list of Blues Music Award nominees can be found below and on The Blues Foundation’s website —www.blues.org/.
The Blues Foundation is a world-renowned Memphis-based organization whose mission is to preserve blues heritage, celebrate blues recording and performance, expand worldwide awareness of the blues, and ensure the future of this uniquely American art form. Founded in 1980, the Foundation has approximately 4,000 individual members and 180 affiliated blues societies representing another 50,000 fans and professionals worldwide. Its signature honors and events — the Blues Music Awards, Blues Hall of Fame inductions, International Blues Challenge, and Keeping the Blues Alive Awards – make it the international hub of blues music. The Blues Foundation’s COVID – 19 Blues Musician Relief Fund and HART Fund provide financial and medical assistance for musicians in need, while Blues in the Schools programs and Generation Blues Scholarships expose new generations to blues music. The Blues Hall of Fame Museum, located in Downtown Memphis, adds the opportunity for blues lovers of all ages to interact with blues music and history. Throughout the year, the Foundation staff serves the global blues community with answers, information, and news.
This year, due to COVID-19 precautions, The Blues Foundation will present the International Blues Challenge (IBC) as an engaging social media experience that combines music, memories and insights unique to IBC. Follow The Blues Foundation on Facebook and Twitter to be part of the virtual IBC that will include musical performances as well as a full calendar of online panel discussions, book talks and workshops for blues artists, industry professional and fans. Additional information will be provided in February.
42nd Blues Music Award Nominees
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
