Gerry Hundt's Since Way Back was more fun for me than any record in I don't know how long. Now I love Robert Randolph and you'll never hear me suggest he shouldn't be recognized for his instrumental virtuosity — he's spectacular — but Hundt's mandolin work really impressed me, and he was a sentimental favorite for me in the instrumentalist category. Tommy Castro's Painkiller album won the Contemporary Blues Album of the Year, but it didn't top The Killborn Alley Blues Band's Tear Chicago Down for me.

Those disappointments aside, this is a fine list of winners and evidence that 2008 was a great year for the blues. Bring on '09!  Here is the full list of winners:

1. DVD - Kenny Wayne Shepherd – 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads
2. Traditional Blues Male Artist - Hubert Sumlin
3. Traditional Blues Female Artist - Koko Taylor
4. Acoustic Artist - Bobby Rush
5. Acoustic Album - Bobby Rush - Raw
6. Pinetop Perkins Piano Player - Honey Piazza
7. Instrumentalist-Guitar - Bob Margolin
8. Soul Blues Male Artist - Bobby Rush
9. Soul Blues Female Artist - Irma Thomas
10. Soul Blues Album - The Holmes Brothers – State of Grace
11. Historical Album - Epic/Legacy – Breakin’ It UP, Breakin’ it DOWN
12. Contemporary Blues Album - Tommy Castro - Painkiller
13. Contemporary Blues Female Artist - Bettye LaVette
14. Contemporary Blues Male Artist - Tab Benoit
15. Instrumentalist-Harmonica - Kim Wilson
16. Instrumentalist-Bass - Bob Stroger
17. Instrumentalist-Drums - Sam Lay
18. Instrumentalist-Horn - Deanna Bogart
19. Instrumentalist-Pedal Steel- Robert Randolph
20. Best New Artist Debut - Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy – Cotton Field to Coffee House
21. Song - “Gonna Buy Me a Mule” – Koko Taylor
22. Traditional Blues Album - Koko Taylor – Old School
23. Album - Watermelon Slim & the Workers – The Wheel Man
24. Band - Watermelon Slim & the Workers
25. B.B. King Entertainer - Tommy Castro