The winners of the Blues Music Awards 2019 were announced last night at a bash in Memphis which was emceed by Little Steven Van Zandt. The event brings together Blues performers, industry representatives, and fans from all over the world to celebrate the best in Blues recordings and performances from the previous year. The BMAs are generally recognized as the highest honor given to blues musicians and are awarded by vote of Blues Foundation members.
Congratulations to all of this year’s winners which include the Proper distributed artists Shemekia Copeland, Sugaray Rayford, Rory Block, Marcia Ball and Nick Moss.
The Winners
- Acoustic Album: Journeys to the Heart of the Blues – Joe Louis Walker/Bruce Katz/Giles Robson
- Acoustic Artist: Rory Block
- Album: America’s Child – Shemekia Copeland
- B.B. King Entertainer: Michael Ledbetter
- Band: Welch-Ledbetter Connection
- Best Emerging Artist Album: Free – Amanda Fish
- Blues Rock Album: The Big Bad Blues – Billy F Gibbons
- Blues Rock Artist: Eric Gales
- Contemporary Blues Album: America’s Child – Shemekia Copeland
- Contemporary Blues Female Artist: Danielle Nicole
- Contemporary Blues Male Artist: Kenny Neal
- Instrumentalist-Bass: Danielle Nicole
- Instrumentalist-Drums: Cedric Burnside
- Instrumentalist-Guitar: Monster Mike Welch
- Instrumentalist-Harmonica: Dennis Gruenling
- Instrumentalist-Horn: Vanessa Collier
- Instrumentalist-Pinetop Perkins Piano Player: Marcia Ball
- Instrumentalist-Vocals: Michael Ledbetter
- Song: “No Mercy In This Land” Written By Ben Harper and Performed by Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite
- Soul Blues Album: I’m Still Around – Johnny Rawls
- Soul Blues Female Artist: Annika Chambers
- Soul Blues Male Artist: Sugaray Rayford
- Traditional Blues Album: The Blues is Alive and Well – Buddy Guy
- Koko Taylor Award for Traditional Blues Female Artist: Ruthie Foster
- Traditional Blues Male Artist: Nick Moss