Club 88 Records artist: Mitch Woods - Friends Along The Way - New Release review

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Friends Along The Way, from Mitch Woods and it features a who's who in the blues business. Opening with Ma Rainey's C.C. Rider, Van Morrison on vocal and Taj Mahal on vocal and guitar, join Mitch Woods on piano for a early blues style rendition of this classic. Very nice. Oliver Perry's Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket is a great boogie with Elvin Bishop on lead guitar and vocal, joined by Woods on piano and Larry Vann on drums. Woods really lays in his notorious piano boogie style and Bishop's guitar signature is prime. John Hammond steps up on Don Roby's Mother In Law Blues, adding not only super National steel riffs but solid lead vocals. Rolling piano riffs by Woods makes this one of my favorites on the release. Springing to life is Nasty Boogie with Joe Louis Walker on lead vocal and guitar and excellent piano by Woods. Very nice. Jimmy Liggins' Saturday Night Boogie Woogie Man is a ripping way to open side two with Woods really showing what he's got on piano and excellent riffs by Bishop. Superharp James Cotton joins on Chicago Express wailing away over Woods really hammering on the piano. Excellent! Another real nice entry with Morrison and Mahal is Leroy Carr's Midnight Hour Blues with real nice vocal lead by Morrison and trademark riffs by Mahal over the melodic piano work of Woods. Marcia Ball and Woods have a cool piano boogie playoff on In The Night, a New Orleans flavored track. Maria Muldaur adds some sassy vocals on Mojo Mambo accompanied by Woods on vocal and piano. Woods really does have a cool feel on the piano making him a favorite in todays market. Wrapping the release is Worried Life Blues, with Woods on piano, Walker on guitar and vocal. A real foot stomper, penned by Lightning Hopkins, is a strong closer for a really solid release. 

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NOLA Blues Records artist: John Nemeth - May Be The Last Time - New Release Review

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, May Be The Last Time, from John Nemeth and it's really cool. Opening with traditional The Last Time and John Nemeth putting a strong gospel/R&B spin on it. With excellent lead vocal by Nemeth, Elvin Bishop on guitar, Kid Andersen on bass, Bob Welsh on guitar, Willy Jordan on drums and excellent vocal backing by Alabama Mike, Jordan, Andersen and Welsh, this is a terrific opener. With Elvin Bishop on this release it's great to see a resurrection of one of his great tracks, Rockbottom, from the Jo Baker era and featuring Nemeth on harmonica and lead vocal. Bishop steps up with his signature playing style and this release is two and 0. Very nice. Bishop gets the mic on his classic, Stealing Watermelons and with his fat guitar sound coupled with Andersen on guitar and Welsh on baritone guitar, this track is FUNKY. Wilson Pickett's, I Found A Love, works so nicely in this set with both Nemeth and Bishop favoring old soul music. Nemeth's vocals and Bishop's classic slide work really gives this track rocket fuel. Excellent! Wrapping the release is Bishop's I'll Be Glad with his clamped down squawking guitar over a solid bass line by Andersen, soulful vocals by Nemeth and excellent backing vocals by Mike, Jordan, Andersen and Welsh. This release has 11 great tracks (all eleven are great) and leaves you wanting more. This is one of those easy recommendation releases. Just buy it!

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Cleopatra Blues artist: Shirley King - Blues For A King - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues For A King, from BB King's daughter, Shirley King and it's jam packed with blues and legends. Opening with Joe Louis Walker's All Of My Lovin' , King is up front on lead vocal backed by Walker on guitar and Jurgen Engler on guitar, bass and drums. Holding firm on a R&B setup, King sets a straight 60's styling radio track. With super guitar work by Elvin Bishop under King's bluesy vocals, I Did You Wrong has a cool shuffle beat and a tight bottom. An unexpected rock gem, Steve Winwood's Can't Find My Way Home features Martin Barre with some excellent guitar and is one of my favorites and also possibly King's best vocal effort on the release. Gallow Pole maintains it's folk roots but with a rock edge and underlying guitar work by Harvey Mandel with really is a strong compliment. A rework of a Jr Wells track features vocal and harp by Wells, adding guitar by Walker, bass by Engler and strong vocal leads by King. Very cool. Wrapping the release is Etta James' At last using the conventional arrangement and featuring Kings own vocals. With the addition of Steve Cropper on guitar, a solid closer. 

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Little Village Foundation artist: The Mike Duke Project - ...Took A While - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, ...Took A While, from The Mike Duke Project and it's a soulful southern style release packed with musical elite. Opening with Little Miss Ponytail, a certain radio track, Mike Duke on lead vocal and piano leads the way with Bill Stewart on drums, Phil Yeager on bass, Ronnie Brown on guitar and Rick Kurtz on guitar. Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do features Duke with Jimmy Hall and the vocals are not only warm and solid but this is really a strong track. Let Me Be Your Fool Tonight is a real cool track with the addition of Lloyd Meadows, Angela Strehi  and Lisa Lueschner Andersen on backing vocal and featuring super accordion work by Bruce Gordon. I'm Not Sad Tonight sounds like it could be pulled right out of Van Morrison's songbook with distinct vocal phrasing and poise and the addition on Jim Pugh on B3. Very nice. Gospel flavored Torn & Scarred is Duke, accompanying his vocal lead on piano with  Andersen on bass. Short but very nice. I Can't Let You Go is a bluesy ballad with all the right notes. Certain radio compositional style and Elvin Bishop's trademark slide work makes this track a release favorite. Another soulful ballad, Coming 'Round Again is certainly one of my favorites on the release with some of Duke's best writing and vocals. Backed by Bill Connell on drums, Paul Hornsby on bass, Ray Honea on guitar Don Finney on sax, Larry Finney on trumpet and Roger Dennison on trombone, this track has real traction. Wrapping the release is Nicasio, a short piano track with Duke showing his stylistic chops. This is really a rich release on one to hear.

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ELVIN BISHOP'S BIG FUN TRIO SET FOR FEBRUARY 10 RELEASE

ELVIN BISHOP'S BIG FUN TRIO

SET FOR FEBRUARY 10 RELEASE

Deceptively loose but always tight…the raspy chuckle in Bishop’s singing and the sharp sting of his guitar are forceful and fresh, enduring and fun.     --Fresh Air, NPR

I love these guys; Bob and Willy are great musicians. With a trio there’s no place to hide – you’ve got to be pourin’ everything you got right out front, totally goin’ for it all the time. If you’ve got some real good musicians who are willing and able to do that, you’ve got something that will move people. And it’s fun!     --Elvin Bishop

Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer and blues master Elvin Bishop – along with his friends, guitarist/pianist Bob Welsh and percussionist/vocalist Willy Jordan – unleashes his latest musical mixture, Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio (AL 4973) on Friday, February 10, 2017.

Bishop told The San Jose Mercury News, “Every time I pick up the guitar, something new comes out of it. I guess you’d call me a late bloomer. When you get to be my age, you’re not expecting to be progressing or coming up with any new ideas, but for some reason, I’m lucky enough that that’s what’s happening to me.”

Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio is among his very best musical ideas ever. The music is rootsy, spirited and soulful, performed by serious musicians hell-bent on having a good time. Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio features Bishop’s down-home delivery, deep blues picking and slide guitar playfully meshing with Welsh’s piano and guitar licks and Jordan’s soul singing and propulsive cajón playing. The album’s laid-back, front-porch vibe mixes four rollicking Bishop originals with three co-writes and five raucous, well-chosen covers of songs by Lightnin' Hopkins, Fats Domino, Sunnyland Slim, Ted Taylor and Bobby Womack. And because one can never have too much fun, Bishop’s pals Kim Wilson, Charlie Musselwhite and Rick Estrin stop by the sessions, each adding his distinctive harmonica talent (and in Musselwhite’s case, vocals too) to a song. Listening to the proceedings, it’s easy to see why the Chicago Sun-Times enthusiastically declared, “It’s impossible not to like Bishop. He’s always singing something lowbrow and uplifting.”

When it comes to the formation of The Big Fun Trio, it’s best to let Elvin tell the story himself:
Me and a couple of fellas got to jamming in my studio one day and we lucked up on The Big Fun Trio. I knew Willy Jordan from when he played percussion on some of my albums, and I liked his singing and rhythm feel. This time he brought a cajón, a South American percussion instrument. It's a square box you sit on to play it, and he got some amazing sounds out of it---bass drum, snare, anything---and he's a real strong singer. Bob Welsh is a member of my regular band, an amazing talent. He plays great guitar or piano and can get a tremendous "bass" sound on his guitar.

In a trio, there's no place to hide. You need to be totally into it all the time and you got to have the right guys. The combination of the three of us clicked big time. We went out and played a couple of gigs, and it was really cool to see how the people reacted to the goin’-for-it feel of the music.

We decided we better make a CD, so here 'tis. We enjoyed the hell out of playing this music, and we hope you do the same listening to it.

According to San Francisco Bay native Jordan, who has 27 years of experience playing drums with artists including John Lee Hooker, Joe Louis Walker and Angela Strehli, making this album was “crazy different. It’s rootsy but also new. We all stayed simple to stay strong.” Welsh, originally from Covington, Louisiana, has performed and toured with Bishop, Rusty Zinn, Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Boy Arnold, James Cotton and others. Welsh says he too was blown away by the sessions. “Recording this music was fun and fresh and new to us. I had to practice more, learn some new things. The result is fearless.”

Bishop's previous release, 2014's Grammy-nominated Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, turned the music-loving world on its head. Reviews poured in from NPR’s Fresh Air, Rolling Stone, Living Blues, No Depression and many others. He appeared on TBS-Television’s CONAN and performed twice on A Prairie Home Companion (the second time, in 2015, with The Big Fun Trio). He toured across the country, bringing his smile-inducing blues music to eager fans around the world. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and soon after into the Blues Hall Of Fame. He won the Living Blues Award for Best Blues Album Of 2014 and three 2014 Blues Music Awards: Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year (for the title track) and The Elvin Bishop Band took the award for Band Of The Year.

Now, with Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio, Bishop confidently debuts his new -- yet satisfyingly familiar -- sound, ready to share the group’s happy-go-lucky vibe with listeners near and far. The trio’s instrumental, vocal and songwriting talents guarantee a boisterous good time.

VizzTone Label Group artist: Nancy Wright - Playdate! - New release review

I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, Playdate!, from Nancy Wright and it's smokin! Opening with funky, Why You Wanna Do It, Wee Willie Walker takes the lead on vocal and Nancy Wright really sails on sax. Joe Kyle Jr. sets the pace on bass with some heavy lines and J. Hansen's drum work is tight. Excellent opener! On Willie Dixon's I Got What It Takes, Kyle again sets a strong bass line and Tommy Castro brings a real nice guitar solo. This track is in the groove and Wright delivers a great sound on sax backed by Tom Poole on trumpet and Faris Jarrah on trombone.Yes He Do is a great swinger with Victor Wainwright really taking control on piano. Wright takes it higher and the two hit it out of the park. Super. Eddie Shaw's Blues For The Westside is an absolute screamer with Wright really digging in. Chris Burns' piano work on this track really stands out and Joe Louis Walker stands tall with soulful guitar riffs fluidly added throughout as well as featured in solo form. Really tasty! R&B track, Been Waiting That Long features Frank Bey on lead vocals and with it's swampy beat martin Winstad adds cool percussion to an already gritty track. Wright really squeezes the horn on this one getting it to squeal. The thoughts of Jr Walker come around as Trampled blows from Wright's horn with Kid Andersen echoing the guitar retort and Jim Pugh showing his stuff on organ. Very cool. Satisfied has a distinct revival/gospel sound with the Plymouth Church of Jazz and Justice Choir bringing up the chorus. Wright sails on sax backed by Chauncey Roberts on tambourine and handclaps. Another track with deep funk, Warranty, features Terrie Odabi on lead vocals. This track is so well crafted it is likely to get strong airplay across a number of stations. Andersen sets in some real nice guitar riffs and Wright crafts a hot sax solo giving the track real heat. New Orleans flavored, Cherry Wine, has super cool drum work and Lisa Leuschner-Andersen brings cool backing vocals. Wright down right swings it when she comes in for her solo taking it to the house. Instrumental, There Is Something On Your Mind, is a great blues track with Wright really winding up her sax and Mr Elvin Bishop answering with Red Dog on slide. This track has Bishops name written all over it and Wright really knows how to stack these cards. Excellent! Mike Schermer takes the lead on guitar on the swinging, Back Room Rock. Burns and Kyle really get the track cranking and Wright seals the deal with fat sax work on this one. Wrapping the release is laid back, Soul Blue, with Wright and Chris Cain setting the stage. Cain's guitar work cuts like a hot knife, searing through the horns and keyboard work giving the track a relaxed but crisp sound. Burns takes a real nice piano solo leading up to Wright tying everything up tight with her final chorus. This is an excellent release with plenty of blues for everyone. Check it out!



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Malaco Records artist: Grady Champion - One Of A Kind - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, One Of A Kind, from Grady Champion, and it has variety. Opening with Bump and Grind, Grady Champion on lead vocal and harp along with Ken Smith on bass, Eddie Cotton on guitar and Carroll McLaughlin on keys set an early groove, not unlike a more polished Jesus Just Left Chicago. Nice opener. With a R&B feel, Heels and Hips floats along with a really cool bass line by Smith and nice backing vocals by Champion, Jewell Bass, Eddie Cotton and Lisa Palmer. Shuffle track, House Party, gets deeper in the groove with the addition of Kimble Funchess on trumpet, Jessie PrimerIII on sax, Sydney Ford II on bari, Robert Lamkin on trombone and champion's harp backed by nice vocals by Bass and Palmer. On Life Support, Champion really gets the band swinging on harp and some of his best vocals on the release. Myron Bennett's bass work is tight and vital giving this track just the right weight. Classic, Chicago style blues track, Leave Here Running, features Theodis Ealey on guitar and Champion really opens up his harp for a super run. Ealey throws down a cool solo of his own giving this track even more spirit. Another R&B track, Move Something, has a real nice feel, pumped by the bass work of Smith and the Jackson Horns. Soul tune, One Of A Kind, is one of my favorite tracks on the release with just the right amount of warmth, a nice sax solo by Primer, guitar solo by Ealey and most soulful vocals by Champion backed by super horns and backing vocalists. Stone In My Path has an Albert King kind of feel with Champion's gravely vocals balanced against his harp punctuation over nicely executed piano work by McLaughlin. Thin Line has a rolling bass line edged along by cool backing vocals. Champion's lead vocals and harp capper gives the track a real nice feel. What A Woman has a bit of a Willie Dixon lumber with vocals along the lines of the Wolf. Mr. Elvin Bishop adds slide guitar to the track giving it that extra bit of texture. More contemporary track, When I'm Gone has a cool funky edge, with nice backing vocals from Bass and Palmer. Clean piano work by McLaughlin stands out on this track bumped along by Scott's drum work. Wrapping the release is GC Boogie, a slick instrumental featuring Champion playing harp riffs and Cotton playing guitar riffs over a plucky bass line by Bennett and McLaughlin riding on organ. Cool closer.



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THE BLUES FOUNDATION 2016 BLUES HALL OF FAME INDUCTION AND 37TH BLUES MUSIC AWARDS SET FOR MAY 4 AND 5

THE BLUES FOUNDATION 2016 BLUES HALL OF FAME INDUCTION AND 37TH BLUES MUSIC AWARDS SET FOR MAY 4 AND 5  Best in blues recording, songwriting, and performance to be celebrated at the Memphis' Cook Convention Center.  All six living Hall of Fame inductees will be in attendance MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On Thursday, May 5, 2016, the Blues Foundation will present its annual Blues Music Awards at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The Awards are universally regarded as the highest accolade afforded to blues performers, and the awards ceremony is widely recognized as the premier event for professionals, musicians and fans from around the world. The mission of the celebration is to honor the rich cultural tradition of the blues by recognizing the past year’s outstanding achievements in performance, songwriting and recording.  On May 4, at the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts, the Blues Foundation will induct five legendary artists into the Blues Hall of Fame: Elvin Bishop, Eddy Clearwater, Jimmy Johnson, John Mayall, Memphis Jug Band, and Malaco Records' Tommy Couch Sr. and Wolf Stephenson. Elected by a select group of respected blues scholars and industry veterans, Hall of Fame inductees are recognized for their musical achievements and their contributions to blues history.  Leading this year’s award nomination count are James Harman with five, and Anthony Geraci and Sugaray Rayford, who each have four. Harman and Geraci will go head to head in three categories: Best Song, Best Album, and Best Traditional Blues Album. Harman’s gift for musical storytelling, combined with the soulful sound of his newest release, Bonetime, propelled him to a nomination as Best Traditional Male Blues Artist, and his strong musicianship set the stage for his nomination as Best Instrumentalist — Harmonica. Geraci's piano finesse led to a nomination for the prestigious Pinetop Perkins Piano Player award. Vocalist-songwriter Rayford is nominated for Contemporary Blues Album and Contemporary Blues Male Artist, as well as Best Song and the B.B. King Entertainer Award.  Cedric Burnside and Shemekia Copeland, 2016 Grammy nominees, each have three nominations here, as do Doug MacLeod, the Cash Box Kings, Victor Wainwright and Wee Willie Walker (see below for a complete list of nominees).  The five new Blues Hall of Fame inductees have all had long and influential careers that have elevated each to seminal status in the blues world. Elvin Bishop was honored with the 2015 Blues Music Awards for Song of the Year. Bishop and his fellow 2016 inductees Clearwater, Johnson and Mayall all have bodies of work spanning more than half a century, and each continues to create new music and perform for new audiences. The legendary Memphis Jug Band’s music crossed racial divides during the first half of the 20th century, and inspired countless musicians to follow in their footsteps.  For their behind-the-scenes contributions, Malaco Records partners Tommy Couch Sr. and Wolf Stephenson, who founded a Southern R&B empire that continues to be an influential force, are also Blues Foundation honorees this year.  This year’s literature entry into the Blues Hall of Fame is Jeff Todd Titon’s book Early Downhome Blues: A Musical and Cultural Analysis, which has been widely recognized as one of the most important analytical studies of the blues ever written.  The Blues Hall of Fame is also honoring several historic blues recordings: The classic Big Bill Broonzy/Memphis Slim/Sonny Boy Williamson album Blues in the Mississippi Night (Nixa, 1957: United Artists, 1959), and the vintage singles “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith (OKeh, 1920), “That’s All Right” by Jimmy Rogers (Chess, 1950), Billy Boy Arnold's “I Wish You Would” (Vee-Jay, 1955), “Blues Before Sunrise” by Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell (Vocalion, 1934) and “Merry Christmas Baby” by Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers (Exclusive, 1947). The last disc, with Charles Brown on vocal and piano, is the first Yuletide song inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.  The Memphis-based Blues Foundation is internationally renowned for its tireless efforts in preserving blues heritage, celebrating blues recording and performance, expanding worldwide awareness of the blues, and ensuring the future of this uniquely American art form. Founded in 1980, the Blues Foundation has approximately 4,000 individual members and 200 affiliated local blues societies, representing another 50,000 fans and professionals around the world.    The Blues Foundation’s 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 capital of blues music. The recent opening of the Blues Hall of Fame Museum in Memphis, Tenn., now adds the opportunity for music lovers of all ages to interact with the music and its history.   Major funding is provided by ArtsMemphis and the Tennessee Arts Commission. The 37th Blues Music Awards is also sponsored by AutoZone, BMI, First Tennessee Foundation, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and Sony Legacy Recordings.  HOF tickets are $100 each, reception at 5:30pm with ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m. BMA tickets are $150 each, tables of 10 for $1500; a special pre-party will begin at 5:30 p.m.; the BMA begin at 6:30 p.m.. For more information, log onto http://www.blues.org; tickets and membership details are available at http://blues.org/blues-music-awards/2016-blues-music-awards/ # # # 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  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 Wooten 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 Prime