History
In 2007, publisher and editor Bob Kieser launched Illinois Blues Blast. [1] [3] The publication began with an email list of approximately 1,000 subscribers. [1] The initial focus was on album reviews and performance schedules for artists in Illinois and the surrounding Midwest. [1] In 2008, the publication was rebranded as Blues Blast Magazine. [1] The shift coincided with the establishment of the annual Blues Blast Music Awards. [1] In 2013, the publication was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame. [4]
The magazine is a digital publication distributed weekly. [2] Its editorial content focuses on the contemporary Blues scene and its history. The magazine operates with a staff of over 20 writers and photographers, and has published over 900 consecutive weekly issues, which includes over 5,500 music reviews and 670 artist interviews. [2] The publications is the largest publicly available online repository of Blues information. [2]
Blues Blast Music Awards
The Blues Blast Music Awards are an annual set of awards presented by the magazine since 2008. [1] [5] Although the Awards are noted for being the largest fan-voted awards in the Blues genre, its nominees are determined solely by a group of Blues music industry professionals, including music critics, journalists, festival promoters, music venue managers, producers, and musicians. [6]
According to the magazine, the Awards results in two forms of recognition for artists. First, since award nominees represent the "best of" choices from Blues critics, an artist is recognized as having earned the equivalent of a "critics' award" honor by being nominated. [7] Second, because the award winners are determined by the votes of Blues fans, an artist is recognized as having won the equivalent of a "people's choice award" honor in the category they were nominated. [7]
The Awards are hosted at a live ceremony featuring performances from the nominated artists. [1] For its first several years, the ceremony was held at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. [1] In 2023, the 16th annual awards were held for the first time in Peoria, Illinois, at the 3300 Event Center, and served as a fundraising benefit for the Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research. [8] [9] The Awards has also presented the Sean Costello Rising Star Award, which was named in honor of blues musician Sean Costello. [5]
The Awards recognize artists across a wide spectrum of blues sub-genres. In 2024, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats won Contemporary Blues Album for The Hits Keep Coming, in a category that also included nominees Selwyn Birchwood and Anthony Geraci. [10] The award for Traditional Blues Album went to John Primer & Bob Corritore for Crawlin' Kingsnake, with other nominees including Nick Moss and Monster Mike Welch. [10] Christone "Kingfish" Ingram was named Male Blues Artist, and Sue Foley was named Female Blues Artist. [10] Other nominees have include Shemekia Copeland, Bobby Rush, Bai Kamara and Elvin Bishop. [11] [12]
The Awards recognize achievement in the following categories: [13] [14]
Album:
- Contemporary Blues Album
- Traditional Blues Album
- Soul Blues Album
- Rock Blues Album
- Acoustic Blues Album
- Live Blues Album
- Historical or Vintage Recording
- New Artist Debut Album
Artist:
- Blues Band of the Year
- Male Blues Artist
- Female Blues Artist
- Sean Costello Rising Star Award
Performance:
- Electric Guitar Player of the Year
- Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year
- Slide Guitar Player of the Year
- Bass Guitar Player of the Year
- Keyboard Player of the Year
- Drummer of the Year
- Harmonica Player of the Year
- Horn Player of the Year
- Vocalist of the Year
Video:
- Blues Music Video of the Year
2025 Blues Blast Music Awards
On July 7, 2025, Blues Blast announced the following nominees of the 2025 Blues Blast Music Awards: [14]
| Contemporary Blues Album | Traditional Blues Album |
|---|
| |
| Soul Blues Album | Rock Blues Album |
|---|
| |
| Acoustic Blues Album | Live Blues Album |
|---|
- Giles Robson & John Primer – Ten Chicago Blues Classics
- Johnny Iguana – At Delmark
- Prakash Slim – 8000 Miles To The Crossroads
- Eva Rose & David Pippin – Black Water Blues
- Catfish Keith – Shake Me Up
- Guy Davis – The Legend of Sugarbelly
- Lee Kanehira – The Chicago Blues Piano Trio!!
| - Willie Buck – Live at Buddy Guy's Legends
- The Blues Giants – Live at Groove Now
- Eric Johanson – Live In Mississippi
- Tas Cru – Tas Cru Band LIVE
- Sean Chambers – Live Featuring The Savoy Brown Rhythm Section
- Bruce Katz Band – Back In Boston Live
|
| Historical or Vintage Recording | New Artist Debut Album |
|---|
| - Jad Tariq – Jad Tariq Sings
- Jovin Webb – Drifter
- Jubu Smith – JUBU
- Fran Drew and the Lucky Strikes – Trial by Fire
- Jantso Jokelin – Spark of Luck
- Christopher Wyze & the Tellers – Stuck in the Mud
|
| Blues Band Of The Year | Male Blues Artist |
|---|
| |
| Female Blues Artist | Sean Costello Rising Star Award |
|---|
| |
| Producer Of The Year | Electric Guitarist Of The Year |
|---|
| |
| Acoustic Guitarist Of The Year | Slide Guitarist Of The Year |
|---|
| |
| Bass Guitarist Of The Year | Keyboard Player Of The Year |
|---|
| |
| Percussionist Of The Year | Harmonica Player Of The Year |
|---|
| |
| Horn Player Of The Year | Vocalist Of The Year |
|---|
|
|
| Blues Video Of The Year |
|---|
|
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
