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The winners of the 30th Annual Blues Music Awards were announced at a ceremony in Memphis this past weekend, and the surprises were few. Legends like Buddy Guy and B.B. King both took home a fistful of awards for work related to their 2008 albums Skin Deep and One Kind Favor , respectively. Guy's Skin Deep won for Album of the Year and Contemporary Blues Album of the Year. King's One Kind Favor earned King the Traditional Male Artist of the year and the album won Traditional Album of the Year.
Also doing well were Janiva Magness and Eden Brent. Both women were heavily nominated and come out with multiple awards. Magness took home the Entertainer of the Year Award as well as Contemporary Female Artist of the Year. Eden Brent's Mississippi Number One won the Acoustic Album of the Year and Brent took home Acoustic Artist of the Year.
Of the other major awards, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials took home Band of the Year honors, while Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm edged out young phenoms Homemade Jamz Blues Band in the Best New Artist Debut category.
Here is the full list of winners for the 30th Blues Music Awards:
- Acoustic Album of the Year: Mississippi Number One – Eden Brent
- Acoustic Artist of the Year: Eden Brent
Album of the Year: Skin Deep – Buddy Guy
Band of the Year: Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials - B.B. King Entertainer of the Year: Janiva Magness
- Best New Artist Debut: 2 Man Wrecking Crew – Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm
- Contemporary Blues Album of the Year: Skin Deep – Buddy Guy
- Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year: Buddy Guy
- Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year: Janiva Magness
- DVD: M For Mississippi: A Road Trip Through the Birthplace of the Blues – Broke & Hungry Records, Cathead Blues & Mudpuppy Recordings
- Historical Album of the Year: Albert Collins Live at Montreux 1992 – Eagle Records
- Instrumentalist-Bass: Mookie Brill
- Instrumentalist-Drums: Willie “Big Eyes” Smith
- Instrumentalist-Guitar: Sonny Landreth
- Instrumentalist-Harmonica: Billy Gibson
- Instrumentalist-Horn: Deanna Bogart
- Instrumentalist-Banjo: Otis Taylor
- Pinetop Perkins Piano Player: Marcia Ball
- Rock Blues Album of the Year: Mess of Blues – Jeff Healey
- Song of the Year: “Let Life Flow” – Kenny Neal
- Soul Blues Album of the Year: Simply Grand – Irma Thomas
- Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year: Etta James
- Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year: Bobby Rush
- Traditional Blues Album of the Year: One Kind Favor – B.B. King
- Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year: B.B. King
- Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year: Koko Taylor
