MEMPHIS, TN (CelebrityAccess) — Shemekia Copeland, Rick Estrin, John Németh, Sugaray Rayford, and Lil’ Ed Williams are among the artists who have been nominated for the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year as part of The Blues Foundation’s 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards.
Estrin and his band the Nightcats lead the pack for 2021 with five nominations, including band of the year, and Estrin’s nomination for Instrumentalist Harmonica (which he won last year), as well as the contemporary blues male artist award.
Estrin, along with Frank Bey, Kathy Murray, and Nightcats guitarist Kid Andersen, were nominated for songwriter of the year for Bey’s Song of the Year entrant All My Dues Are Paid.
Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite, Bobby Rush, Ronnie Earl & The Broadcaster, Sugar Ray & The Bluetones, and Shemekia Copeland are all in the running for Album of the Year, while Lil’ Ed Williams, Shemekia Copeland, and Németh are all in the running for contemporary blues album of the year.
Winners are selected by ballot by members of the Blues Foundation. Voting for this year’s awards opens on January 28 and closes March 12 at 11:59 p.m. CT.
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.
Set for June 6th as a virtual event in light of the ongoing pandemic, the 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards is considered to the most prestigious honor for working blues musicians. The show starts at 4PM CT and will be live-streamed as a ticketed event via the Blues Foundation’s Facebook page and its YouTube channel.
Editor’s Note: This event was incorrectly reported as a free livestream when it is, in fact, a ticketed event. We apologize for the error. Tickets can be purchased here: https://boxoffice.mandolin.com/collections/42nd-blues-music-awards
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
