MEMPHIS, TN (CelebrityAccess) — ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, blues guitarist Buddy Guy, and Boston-based blues artist Anthony Geraci are among the nominees for the 40th annual Blues Music Awards.
The nominees, announced by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation, are generally recognized as the highest honor given to blues musicians and are awarded by vote of Blues Foundation members.
The list of nominees was led by Anthony Geraci, who picked up six nominations, including picks for Song of the Year (“Angelina, Angelina”); Album of the Year and Traditional Blues Album (Why Did You Have To Go); Traditional Blues Male Artist; Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award. His group, The Boston Blues Al-Stars, also landed a nomination for Band of the Year.
Shemekia Copeland and Nick Moss each earned four nominations, including Album of the Year. Copeland earned a nod for Vocalist of the Year and Contemporary Blues Artist, while Moss was picked for Traditional Blues Album, Artist and Band of the Year for his work with the Flat Tops.
Bobby Rush, Joe Louis Walker, and Buddy Guy, all members of the Blues Hall of Fame, also earned nominations. Rush was picked for the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award. Walker picked up an Acoustic Album of the Year nomination for “Journeys to the Heart of the Blues,” his collaboration with Bruce Katz and Giles Robson. Guy earned nods for Traditional Blues album and Song of the Year for his latest release The Blues is Alive and the single “Cognac.”
Rock artists made a showing this year, with Ben Harper earning a nomination for Song of the Year for “No Mercy In This Land”. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons was recognized for Blues Rock Album for his solo “The Big Bad Blues” and The Fabulous Thunderbirds’ frontman Kim Wilson was nominated for best harmonica instrumental.
The awards ceremony is slated to take place on May 9 at 7 p.m. at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.
Acoustic Album:
“A Woman’s Soul” — Rory Block
“Black Cowboys” — Dom Flemons
“Global Griot” — Eric Bibb
“Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues” — Joe Louis Walker/Bruce Katz/Giles Robson
“Wish The World Away” — Ben Rice
Acoustic Artist:
Ben Rice
Guy Davis
Hadden Sayers
Harrison Kennedy
Rory Block
Album of the Year:
“America’s Child” — Shemekia Copeland
“The High Cost Of Low Living” — The Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling
“Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues” — Joe Louis Walker/Bruce Katz/Giles Robson
“Rough Cut” — Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager
“Why Did You Have To Go” — Anthony Geraci
B.B. King Entertainer:
Beth Hart
Bobby Rush
Lil’ Ed Williams
Michael Ledbetter
Sugaray Rayford
Band of the Year:
Anthony Geraci & The Boston Blues All-Stars
Larkin Poe
Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials
Nick Moss Band
Welch-Ledbetter Connection
Best Emerging Artist Album:
“Burn Me Alive” — Heather Newman
“Free” — Amanda Fish
“Heartland And Soul” — Kevin Burt
“Tough As Love” — Lindsay Beaver
“Wish The World Away” — Ben Rice
Blues Rock Album:
“The Big Bad Blues” — Billy F Gibbons
“High Desert Heat” — Too Slim and the Taildraggers
“Live At The ’62 Center” — Albert Cummings
“Poor Until Payday” — The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
“Winning Hand” — Tinsley Ellis
Blues Rock Artist:
Billy F Gibbons
Eric Gales
J.P. Soars
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Tinsley Ellis
Contemporary Blues Album:
“America’s Child” — Shemekia Copeland
“Belle Of The West” — Samantha Fish
“Chicago Plays The Stones” — The Living History Band
“Hold On” — Kirk Fletcher
“Wild Again” — The Proven Ones
Contemporary Blues Female Artist:
Beth Hart
Danielle Nicole
Samantha Fish
Shemekia Copeland
Vanessa Collier
Contemporary Blues Male Artist:
Kenny Neal
Rick Estrin
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Selwyn Birchwood
Toronzo Cannon
Instrumentalist — Bass:
Danielle Nicole
Michael “Mudcat” Ward
Patrick Rynn
Scot Sutherland
Willie J. Campbell
Instrumentalist — Drums:
Cedric Burnside
Jimi Bott
June Core
Tom Hambridge
Tony Braunagel
Instrumentalist — Guitar:
Anson Funderburgh
Christoffer “Kid” Andersen
Laura Chavez
Monster Mike Welch
Ronnie Earl
Instrumentalist — Harmonica:
Billy Branch
Bob Corritore
Dennis Gruenling
Kim Wilson
Mark Hummel
Instrumentalist — Horn:
Doug James
Jimmy Carpenter
Kaz Kazzanoff
Mindi Abair
Nancy Wright
Vanessa Collier
Pinetop Perkins Piano Player (Instrumentalist – Piano):
Anthony Geraci
Bruce Katz
Jim Pugh
Marcia Ball
Mike Finnigan
Instrumentalist – Vocals:
Beth Hart
Danielle Nicole
Janiva Magness
Michael Ledbetter
Shemekia Copeland
Song of the Year:
“Ain’t Got Time For Hate,” written by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough
“Angelina, Angelina,” written by Anthony Geraci
“Cognac,” written by Buddy Guy, Tom Hambridge and Richard Fleming
“No Mercy In This Land,” written by Ben Harper
“The Ice Queen,” written by Sue Foley
Soul Blues Album:
“Back In Business” — Frank Bey
“Every Soul’s A Star” — Dave Keller
“I’m Still Around” — Johnny Rawls
“Love Makes A Woman” — The Knickerbocker All-Stars
“Reckoning” — Billy Price
Soul Blues Female Artist:
Annika Chambers
Barbara Blue
Candi Staton
Thornetta Davis
Whitney Shay
Soul Blues Male Artist:
Frank Bey
Johnny Rawls
Sugaray Rayford
Wee Willie Walker
William Bell
Traditional Blues Album:
“The Blues Is Alive And Well” — Buddy Guy
“The High Cost Of Low Living” — Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling
“The Luckiest Man” — Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters
“Tribute to Carey Bell” — Lurrie Bell & the Bell Dynasty
“Why Did You Have To Go” — Anthony Geraci
Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female Artist):
Fiona Boyes
Lindsay Beaver
Ruthie Foster
Sue Foley
Trudy Lynn
Traditional Blues Male Artist:
Anthony Geraci
Cedric Burnside
James Harman
Lurrie Bell
Nick Moss
