The Blues Foundation Announces 37th Blues Music Award Nominees

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Dec. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Blues Foundation is pleased to announce the nominations for its annual Blues Music Awards, which the international organization will present at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday, May 5, 2016. The Blues Music Awards are universally recognized as the highest accolade afforded blues music performers. The annual Blues Music Awards ceremony is the premier event for blues professionals, musicians, and fans from all over the world. The focus of this celebration is to honor this rich cultural tradition by recognizing the past year's superior achievements in blues performance, songwriting, and recording.

James Harman leads the list with five nominations, with Anthony Geraci and Sugaray Rayford close behind with four nominations each.  Harman and Geraci will go head to head in three categories: Best Song, Best Album, and Best Traditional Blues Album. Harman's special gift at musical storytelling combined with the soulful sound on his newest release Bonetime propelled him to a nomination as Best Traditional Male Blues Artist, and his strong musicianship opened the door for a nomination as Best Instrumentalist-Harmonica, while Geraci's piano finesse led to a nomination for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player.  Rayford, with a more modern sound, received nods for Contemporary Blues Album and Contemporary Blues Male Artist as well as Best Song and B.B. King Entertainer. 2016 Grammy nominated Cedric Burnside and Shemekia Copeland along with Doug MacLeod, The Cash Box Kings, Victor Wainwright and Wee Willie Walker each received three nominations.

The complete list of 37^th Blues Music Award nominees can be found at www.blues.org.  Every year, the Blues Music Awards ceremony proves to be one of the best shows of the year as almost every nominee not only attends, but also performs – creating a lineup comprised of the best of the best in blues all in one evening.  A ballot will be soon be sent to all Blues Foundation members as they have the privilege of deciding which nominees will actually take home a Blues Music Award in May. In addition to the complete nominee list, membership, voting, ticket, and host hotel information can be found at The Blues Foundation's website—www.blues.org. For more information, call 901.527.2583.

Major funding is provided by ArtsMemphis and the Tennessee Arts Commission.  The 37th Blues Music Awards are also sponsored by AutoZone, BMI, Catfood Records, First Tennessee Foundation, Jontaar Creative Studios, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and Sony/Legacy.

The Blues Foundation is Memphis-based, but world-renown as THE 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 Blues Foundation has approximately 4000 individual members and 200 affiliated local blues societies representing another 50,000 fans and professionals around the world.  Its signature honors and events--the Blues Music Awards, Blues Hall of Fame, International Blues Challenge and Keeping the Blues Alive Awards--make it the international center of blues music. The recent opening of the Blues Hall of Fame Museum, in Memphis, TN, now adds the opportunity for music lovers of all ages to interact with the music and the history. For more information, log onto www.blues.org.

37^th Blues Music Award Nominees

Acoustic Album
Doug MacLeod - Exactly Like This
Duke Robillard - The Acoustic Blues & Roots of Duke Robillard
Eric Bibb - Blues People
Guy Davis - Kokomo Kidd
The Ragpicker String Band - The Ragpicker String Band

Acoustic Artist
Doug MacLeod
Eric Bibb
Gaye Adegbalola
Guy Davis
Ian Siegal

Album
Anthony Geraci & the Boston Blues All-Stars - Fifty Shades of Blue
Buddy Guy - Born to Play Guitar
James Harman - Bonetime
The Cash Box Kings - Holding Court                 
Wee Willie Walker - If Nothing Ever Changes

Band
Andy T - Nick Nixon Band
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats
Sugar Ray & the Bluetones
The Cash Box Kings
Victor Wainwright & the Wild Roots

B.B. King Entertainer
John Németh
Rick Estrin
Shemekia Copeland
Sugaray Rayford
Victor Wainwright

Best New Artist Album
Eddie Cotton - One at a Time
Igor Prado Band - Way Down South
Mighty Mike Schermer – Blues in Good Hands
Mr. Sipp - The Blues Child
Slam Allen - Feel These Blues

Contemporary Blues Album
Buddy Guy - Born to Play Guitar
Eugene Hideaway Bridges - Hold on a Little Bit Longer
Shemekia Copeland - Outskirts of Love
Sonny Landreth - Bound by the Blues
Sugaray Rayford – Southside

Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Beth Hart
Karen Lovely
Nikki Hill
Samantha Fish
Shemekia Copeland

Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Brandon Santini
Eugene Hideaway Bridges
Jarekus Singleton
Joe Louis Walker
Sugaray Rayford 

Historical Album
The Henry Gray/Bob Corritore Sessions, Vol. 1, Blues Won't Let Me Take My Rest on Delta Groove Records
Hawk Squat by J. B. Hutto & His Hawks on Delmark Records
Southside Blues Jam by Junior Wells on Delmark Records
Buzzin' the Blues by Slim Harpo on Bear Family Records
Dynamite! The Unsung King of the Blues by Tampa Red on Ace Records

Instrumentalist-Bass
Charlie Wooton
Lisa Mann
Michael "Mudcat" Ward
Patrick Rynn
Willie J. Campbell

Instrumentalist-Drums
Cedric Burnside
Jimi Bott
June Core
Tom Hambridge
Tony Braunagel

Instrumentalist-Guitar
Anson Funderburgh
Kid Andersen
Monster Mike Welch
Ronnie Earl
Sonny Landreth

Instrumentalist-Harmonica
Billy Branch
Brandon Santini
James Harman
Jason Ricci
Kim Wilson

Instrumentalist-Horn
Al Basile
Doug James
Kaz Kazanoff
Sax Gordon
Terry Hanck

Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female)
Diunna Greenleaf
Fiona Boyes
Ruthie Foster
Trudy Lynn
Zora Young

Pinetop Perkins Piano Player
Allen Toussaint
Anthony Geraci
Barrelhouse Chuck
John Ginty
Victor Wainwright

Rock Blues Album of the Year
Joe Bonamassa - Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks
Joe Louis Walker - Everybody Wants a Piece
Royal Southern Brotherhood - Don't Look Back
Tinsley Ellis - Tough Love
Walter Trout - Battle Scars

Song
"Bad Feet/Bad Hair" written and performed by James Harman
"Fifty Shades of Blue" written by Anthony Geraci and performed by Anthony Geraci & the Boston Blues All-Stars
"Gonna Live Again" written and performed by Walter Trout
"Southside of Town" written by Sugaray Rayford and & Ralph Carter and performed by Sugaray Rayford
"You Got It Good (and That Ain't Bad)" written and performed by Doug MacLeod

Soul Blues Album
Bey Paule Band - Not Goin' Away
Billy Price & Otis Clay - This Time for Real
Jackie Payne - I Saw the Blues
Tad Robinson - Day into Night
Wee Willie Walker - If Nothing Ever Changes

Soul Blues Female Artist
Bettye LaVette
Dorothy Moore
Missy Anderson
Toni Lynn Washington
Vaneese Thomas

Soul Blues Male Artist
Frank Bey
Jackie Payne
Johnny Rawls
Otis Clay
Wee Willie Walker

Traditional Blues Album
Andy T - Nick Nixon Band - Numbers Man
Anthony Geraci & the Boston Blues All-Stars - Fifty Shades of Blue
Cedric Burnside Project - Descendants of Hill Country
James Harman - Bonetime
The Cash Box Kings - Holding Court

Traditional Blues Male Artist
Cedric Burnside
Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin
James Harman
Jimmy Burns
John Primer

SOURCE The Blues Foundation