Who: Blues Blast Magazine from IllinoisBlues.com

What: 2008 Blues Blast Music Awards Ceremony

Where: Buddy Guy's Legends 754 S. Wabash Ave. Chicago, IL 60605 (312)-427-1190

When: Sunday November 2nd, 2008 7:00pm to 12:00 midnight (Doors open at 6:00pm)

Tickets are just $25 and will be available online at www.illinoisblues.com starting October 7th.

Contact Information: Bob Kieser (309) 267-4425 or info@illinoisblues.com

The Blues Blast Music Award Ceremonies held at the famous Buddy Guy's Legends will include confirmed appearances by nominees Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Lurrie Bell, Nick Moss, John Nemeth, The Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Dave Riley & Bob Corritore, Eden Brent, Sugar Ray Norcia, Teeny Tucker, Tim "Too Slim" Langford (from Too Slim and the Taildraggers), and Gina Sicilia. There may be a few surprise appearances by other nominees.  read more »

Vote for your favorite artists today! See the nominees below. Everyone who votes will receive a FREE subscription to the Blues Blast E-magazine full of Blues news, CD reviews, pictures and more delivered right to your inbox each week. Tell your Blues friends to vote for their favorite artists and get the FREE Blues Blast too. (Current subscribers must enter the email address where they are receiving their Blues Blast!) Voting continues until August 31st! Not familiar with some of the 2008 nominees?  read more »

The Blues Foundation has announced the recipients of the 2008 Blues Music Award Winners. Several Chicago-area blues artists are among the winners. Here they are: 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 (an excellent album; highly recommended) 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.  read more »

The 2008 Blues Music Awards were announced in the Mississippi Delta on Thursday, May 8. The winners selected by the vote of the Blues Foundation's members are. 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.  read more »

WATERMELON SLIM & THE WORKERS WIN TWO TOP INDUSTRY HONORS FOR BAND OF THE YEAR AND ALBUM OF THE YEAR The NorthernBlues Music release The Wheel Man wins Album of the Year over peers Koko Taylor, Bettye LaVette and Jimmie Vaughan. Watermelon Slim & The Workers won a pair of awards at the Memphis-based Blues Foundations 2008 Blues Music Awards (formerly W.C. Handy Awards) on Thursday May 8, 2008 at the Grand Casino Event Center in Tunica, Mississippi. Watermelon Slim is a relatively new luminary of the blues, rapidly building a career behind four albums and constant touring. In 2008 Slim was nominated for six awards, a feat matched only by the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Robert Cray. Slim has twelve nominations in the last two years, a feat unmatched in the events 29 years.  read more »

The NorthernBlues Music release The Wheel Man wins "Album of the Year" over peers Koko Taylor, Bettye LaVette and Jimmie Vaughan.

Watermelon Slim and the Workers won a pair of awards at the Memphis-based Blues Foundation's 2008 Blues Music Awards (formerly W.C. Handy Awards) on Thursday May 8, 2008 at the Grand Casino Event Center in Tunica, Mississippi...

Some musical highlights so far... Sonny Rollins at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival After seeing Rollins perhaps a dozen times over the years, I finally caught him on one of those nights (one of those sets, actually) when he seems like he can scale tall buildings. I haven't figured out the cause-and-effect equation yet, but I was happy to experience this in a place where the audience responded with equal passion. Kathleen Edwards at the Cisco Systems Bluesfest When someone becomes a "star" it can become difficult to see the transition when you live in the performer's hometown. Appearing on one of the Bluesfest's main stages, Edwards left no doubt why she's now a major concert draw around the world.  read more »