The 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards

The 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards will be held in Memphis, TN on May 9-10, 2019. The Awards show will be held at the Orpheum Theatre on May 9th and the Memphis Cook Convention Center on May 10th.

Introduction

Since 1980, the Blues Foundation has celebrated the best in blues recordings and performances at the annual Blues Music Awards. Drawing from a voting body of over 4,000 music professionals, awards are given in categories including Best Album, Best Band, Song of the Year, and more. This year’s event will take place on May 9th at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, Tennessee.

Winners

The 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards, presented by The Blues Foundation, were held in Memphis, Tennessee on May 9, 2019. The Awards show was hosted by John Nemeth and Shemekia Copeland. Blues music legends and up-and-comers alike were in attendance to accept their awards and celebrate the genre.

Best Male Artist

The BMAs are the highest honors given to blues musicians. The awards are administered by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve blues heritage, celebrate blues recording and performance, expand worldwide awareness of the genre, and ensure that the future generations of blues musicians have a venue to call their own.

This year’s BMAs were held in Memphis, Tennessee on May 10, 2018. The awards show was hosted by Blues greats Taj Mahal and Shemekia Copeland. Mahal won the prestigious B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award, while Copeland took home the Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year award.

Other winners included Buddy Guy (Best Male Artist), Koko Taylor (Best Traditional Blues Female Artist), Joe Bonamassa (Best Contemporary Blues Male Artist), William Bell (Best Historical Album), and ZZ Ward (Best Song).

The complete list of winners can be found here:

http://www.bluesfoundation.org/blues-music-awards/

Best Female Artist

The winner for Best Female Artist at the 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards is Shemekia Copeland!

Best Band

The award for Best Band went to The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. The Indiana-based band is fronted by Reverend Peyton, who is known for his virtuoso fretwork on the National Resonator Guitar. The band also features Wife, who plays washboard, and Max Bangwell on drums.

Best New Artist

The best new artist award goes to an artist who has released a blues album for the first time or who has made a significant breakthrough into the blues genre.

This year’s nominees are:

-Harrison Kennedy
-Jarekus Singleton
-Shemekia Copeland
-Tedeschi Trucks Band
-The London Souls

Best Album

The best album nominees for the 42nd annual Blues Music Awards have been announced, and the list includes some familiar names. Taj Mahal, Shemekia Copeland, Joe Bonamassa, John Németh and Keb’ Mo’ are among the artists up for the top prize.

The full list of nominees is below. The winners will be announced on May 10 at a ceremony in Memphis.

Best Album:
-Taj Mahal, “Maestro”
-Shemekia Copeland, “America’s Child”
-Joe Bonamassa, “Redemption”
-John Németh, “Feelin’ Freaky”
-Keb’ Mo’, “Oklahoma”

Performances

The 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards ceremony was held on May 9, 2019, at the Memphis Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. The event was hosted by the Blues Foundation. The event featured several live musical performances, including an opening performance by Shemekia Copeland.

Best Performance

The best performance is awarded to an artist whose work during the eligibility period distinguished himself/herself from all other performers in the field of Blues music.

Best Collaboration

The 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards were held on Thursday, May 10, in Memphis, Tennessee. The event handed out awards in several categories, with the “Best Collaboration” award going to Mike Zito andcypress Hill for their song “Life.”

Best Instrumentalist

Best Instrumentalist – Acoustic

Chris Smither wins his first BMAs in the Best Instrumentalist – Acoustic category. In the early days of his 50-plus year career, the New Orleans-born and Boston-based singer/songwriter/guitarist was part of the so-called “Boston blues scene” that also nurtured such artists as Bonnie Raitt, J. Geils, Dickie Betts and Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett. His song “I Feel the Same” was recorded by Raitt on her breakthrough album Give It Up, and his “Love You Like a Man” became a Top 40 hit for her.

Lifetime Achievement Awards

The 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards are finally here and the nominees for the Lifetime Achievement Awards have been announced! This year, the nominees are Mavis Staples, Buddy Guy, and Taj Mahal. All three nominees have had an incredible impact on the blues music scene and have been influential in shaping the sound of the blues today.

Best Male Artist

The Best Male Artist category is reserved for a male artist who has released an outstanding body of work and has been an influential force in the development, evolution and continued success of the blues. This year’s nominees have all made significant contributions to the advancement of the blues and are all deserving of this prestigious award.

Best Female Artist

The award for Best Female Artist went to Shemekia Copeland. She is an American blues singer, who has been active since the late 1990s. Copeland is the daughter of Texas bluesman Johnny Copeland. Her album Turn the Heat Up, released in 2000, was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Best Band

The best band award is presented to the group that has shown outstanding musicianship, creativity, and performance during their career. This year’s nominees are:

The Alabama Shakes
Formed in 2009, The Alabama Shakes have released three studio albums, with the most recent being 2016’s Sound & Color. The band is composed of lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard, bassist Zac Cockrell, drummer Steve Johnson, and guitarist Heath Fogg.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Formed in 1974, The Fabulous Thunderbirds are a blues rock band from Texas. The band has released fifteen studio albums, with the most recent being 2019’s Powerful Stuff. The band is composed of frontman Kim Wilson, guitarists Johnny Moeller and Mike Keller, bassist Ronnie James Weber, and drummer Jay Moeller.

Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy is a legendary blues guitar player who has been active since the 1950s. He has released twenty-seven studio albums, with the most recent being 2018’s The Blues Is Alive and Well. At age eighty-two, Buddy Guy is still touring and playing shows all over the world.