Blues Music Award Nominees 2016

Blues Foundation Releases

2016 Blues Music Award Nominees

The Blues Foundation has announced the nominees for its annual Blues Music Awards, to be presented at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday May 5 2016.

James Harman leads the Awards with five nominations, while Anthony Geraci and Sugaray Rayford have four nominations each.

The 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 2016 edition of the awards will mark the 37th year that the ceremony has been held.

37th 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

Beth Hart – photo by Jim Jacob

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

Fiona Boyes

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

Joe Louis Walker

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

Bettye LaVette – photo Jim Jacob

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

Dave Alvin

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Cash Savage Is At The Door

 

CASH SAVAGE & THE LAST DRINKS

NEW SINGLE

“RAT-A-TAT-TAT”

I saw Cash Savage and the Last Drinks at The Flying Saucer Club earlier this year, just before the band embarked on a European tour.  It was a memorable night.  I recall the intensity that Cash always brings with her, mixed with the joy of performing with a group of musicians that seem to be loving every minute of being on stage together.  When I assemble and publish the list of my best live shows for 2015 (out by the end of the month), that gig will definitely be in the mix.

Ruby Boots USA Tour 2015

Ruby Boots – Photo By Jim Jacob

Spotlight On Americana Festival #13

​Talented Australian alt.country performer Ruby Boots will be touring the USA this year, including appearances at The Americana Music Festival in Nashville.

Hot on the heels of her excellent 2015 release Solitude, her star is definitely on the rise and I would encourage any American reader out there in the vicinity of the September shows to go along.

USA Tour Dates

10 Sep Los Angeles, CA The El Cid 8:00pm

11 Sep Escondido, CA The Gopher Hole 6:00pm

12 Sep Julian, CA Julian Station 1:00pm.

19 Sep Nashville TN The 5 Spot 1:00pm Americana Festival

20 Sep Nashville TN, Blue Bar 5:30pm Americana Festival

23 Sep Franklin, TN Music City Roots 5:00pm

24 Sep New York City Rockwood Music Hall 8:00pm

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Christopher Coleman Collective – New Single

Christopher Coleman, Nashville TN

Born from luck, fortune, serendipity and whatever else it is that the music gods preside over, comes “Just Like A Needle”, the new single from Christopher Coleman and his Collective.

Recorded in a barn in the south of Sweden, where Coleman was mixing the Collective’s debut album, the four-verse, no-chorus track meanders through Coleman’s complex thoughts and emotions, playing out like a stream of consciousness; a dream state.

Joan Baez To Receive Amnesty Award / Australian Tour 2015

Joan Baez to receive Amnesty International’s highest award

on the eve of her Australian tour

20 Sep 1966, Grenada, Mississippi, USA — Dr. Martin Luther King is shown leading a group of black children to their newly integrated school in Grenada, Mississippi, escorted by folk singer Joan Baez and two aides, Andy Young (L) and Hosea Williams (next to Baez). — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

With her mesmerizing voice and unwavering commitment to peaceful protest and human rights for all, Joan Baez has been a formidable force for good.

– Secretary General of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty

The Weeping Willows To Record New Album

Australian Duo

The Weeping Willows

Pozible Crowd funding campaign

 

The Weeping Willows are a Melbourne Australia-based duo, comprising Laura Coates and Andrew Wrigglesworth.  The pair’s style combines Americana/country/folk and deftly blend strong storytelling, well-crafted harmonies and excellent playing.  The Willows have launched a Pozible crowd funding campaign to help raise funds towards recording their next album in Los Angeles, California.

Richard Thompson – New Album – Still

Thompson and Tweedy

 Richard Thompson’s New Album Is Still

Produced By Jeff Tweedy of Wilco

Out June 2015

Renowned guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson is set to release Still, an album of new music, produced by Jeff Tweedy on June 23 via Concord Records in the U.S. and June 29 via Proper Records internationally.  Still will be available in several configurations including a twelve-track CD, a twelve-track double 180-gram vinyl album and a deluxe CD package that includes the five song Variations EP, from a previously unreleased session.

Still was recorded in a two-story rehearsal loft in Chicago over the course of just nine days with Wilco’s Tweedy at the helm, backed by several longtime players from both Thompson’s and Tweedy’s bands.  Thompson enlisted Tweedy’s production skills in an effort to shake up his own creative approach to making records.  “It turned out to be really good idea,” says Thompson.  “Jeff is musically very sympathetic.  Although some of his contributions are probably rather subtle to the listener’s ear, they were really interesting and his suggestions were always very pertinent.”

Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion 2015 – Line-up Announced

Annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion
Music Festival Lineup Announced

Steve Earle & The Dukes, Dr. Dog and Delbert McClinton Headlining

Birthplace of Country Music (BCM), parent organization of Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, revealed a stellar lineup of artists for the 15^th annual festival.  The three-day music celebration honoring Bristol’’s unique music history as the site of the legendary 1927 Bristol Sessions will be held September 18 —to 20, 2015 in Historic Downtown Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia.

I travelled to Bristol last October as part of The Crooked Road music heritage trail and spent a few days in this delightful historic town right on the Tennessee and Virginia border.  There’s plenty to do here even without the festival – visit the outstanding Birthplace of Country Music Museum, the nearby Carter Family Fold and many other historic points.

Last year Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion attracted more than 60,000 visitors, artists, vendors, and volunteers.

Lachlan Bryan Free CD – USA Tour 2015

To my USA readers.

Talented Australian alt. country and Americana troubadour Lachlan Bryan is heading back to the USA for an extensive tour April/May 2015 and might well be coming your way.

Barunga Festival 2015

Barunga, Australia’s most important Indigenous festival is back for its thirty year anniversary June 5 to 7 2015, with its headline musical acts Paul Kelly, Gurrumul, Sammy Butcher and Neil Murray (ex-Warumpi Band) announced today. 

The site of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s Barunga Statement in 1988 where he famously committed the Australian government to a treaty with its Indigenous people within the life of the then-current parliament, the music, sport and cultural festival holds a special place in the still-ongoing history of reconciliation. 

A small town two hours south of Katherine in the Northern Territory, Barunga is a thriving Indigenous community and the festival is a unique attraction—an event that welcomes non-Indigenous people to experience the culture and customs of both traditional and modern Aboriginal life, but that is focused on presenting a program for Indigenous people as its core mandate. 

“Barunga Festival is a celebration of culture,” said festival director and Skinnyfish Music CEO Mark Grose.  “The event is stronger than ever and attracts Indigenous clans from across the Northern Territory and beyond where they can meet, compete, discuss and celebrate their links and their diversity.  It’s also a place for non-Indigenous people to come and get a taste of the real Australia with their families”. 

The Festival has a strong history of showcasing the Katherine region and supporting remote indigenous communities to come together and celebrate the positive aspects of community life through football, basketball, softball, music (contemporary and traditional), traditional arts and culture.  Visitors of all ages are encouraged to join in the festivities and enjoy this unique opportunity to engage with a remote Indigenous community.

“The Barunga Festival is a great event and is part of the Government’s FestivalsNT calendar of cultural and sporting events.  The Northern Territory Government is proud to be supporting this event with a total of $110,000 in support to the festival, the inaugural Road Safety Short Film Competition and the Festival sports program,” Chief Minister Adam Giles said. 

The 2014 Festival attracted around 3,000 visitors from far and wide, and garnered national and international media coverage.  In 2015, this much-loved Territory event promises to deliver a diverse program of music, sport, culture, art, dance, circus, kids’ activities, workshops and healthy foods. 

Gurrumul