Blues Bash: 28th Annual Blues Award Nominees Announced
Published December 13, 2006
The Blues Foundation has released the nominees for the 28th Blues Music Awards (formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards). The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Memphis May 10, 2007.
The big story in this year's nominees is Watermelon Slim & The Workers. Slim is nominated for an impressive six awards. Nick Moss and The Flip Tops are nominated for four, and several acts, including Janiva Magness, are nominated for three.
I am thrilled to see the name Otis Rush among the nominees this year. I am also a bit curious about it. His All Your Love I Miss Loving - (Live at the Wise Fools Pub Chicago) is nominated for best historical album. It should be. It is a marvelous set and rates as one of Rush's better live albums. I liked it so much it made my Top 10 Albums of the Year List - for 2005! Well, better late than never. It is a great album and I am hoping to see it win. In fact, I might do my part to see that it does.
Anyone can be a member of The Blues Foundation and all foundation members are eligible to vote. How cool is that? The entry level membership fee is a mere $25. I would have the opportunity to cast an actual ballot for my favorite blues performer. That is tremendous! I just have to scrape up the 25 bones before voting ends in February. It would also give me an excuse to buy some more blues records so I could intelligently cast ballots in all 25 categories. This is sounding better and better all the time. I know what I want for Christmas, mom!
The problem with voting for Otis in that category, which I would - or will - is that it means voting against other tremendous nominees in that same category. I loved the John Lee Hooker box set released in October and really want to hear the Junior Wells entry. I would still vote for Otis out of loyalty and an appreciation for what a great release All Your Love... is.
One of this year's nominees, Robert Lockwood Jr., died last month. Lockwood is nominated for Traditional Male Blues Artist of the Year.
If you are planning on getting in on the voting, you can join the Blues Foundation at their website. If you need some voting prep, here are reviews on some of the nominees/nominated albums:
- Otis Rush: Montreaux|Troubles, Troubles |Confessions of a Fanboy
- Willie "Big Eyes" Smith: My Review|Jon Sobel's Review
- John Lee Hooker: My Review|El Bicho's Review
- Hubert Sumlin
- Robert Randolph
Josh Hathaway is Assistant Music Editor for BC Magazine. He is formerly an award-winning journalist and broadcaster and publishes the BC Network site Confessions of a Fanboy .
![All Your Love I Miss Loving: Live at The Wise Fools Pub Chicago [Live]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/616Z0WYQN6L._SY90_.jpg "All Your Love I Miss Loving: Live at The Wise Fools Pub Chicago [Live]")
- Blues Bash: 28th Annual Blues Award Nominees Announced
- Published: December 13, 2006
- Type: News
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Blues
- Part of a feature: 2007 Blues Music Awards
- Writer: Josh Hathaway
- Josh Hathaway's BC Writer page
- Josh Hathaway's personal site
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No problem, Joan. This will give us a lot to talk about. I have been thinking, too... Memphis is only four hours away for me.
Roadtrip?
Talk about reaching friends in high places... this article was spied by a rep for some of the BMA nominees and I am going to be getting access to some of the nominated albums. Keep your eyes open for continuing coverage of the BMAs and the nominees here at BC Magazine and on the BCRadio Podcast.
Fine blog!
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Nice job, Josh! Thanks for covering the news!