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 »

If you like the blues, don't leave out your favorite music when Halloween rolls around. There's all kinds of good blues songs with Halloween themes. The bass guitar and driving beat of most blues songs set the perfect Halloween music scene.

All of these songs can be found on iTunes. So read through this list and choose the artists you find interesting. Blues tunes will work well with your other Halloween favorites so don't be scared to add them to your list of Halloween songs.

Halloween Songs with a Blues Theme

I Put a Spell on You - Buddy Guy and Carlos Santana or Screamin' Jay Hawkins
I know the original is by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Sorry. I just like the Guy and Santana version a little better for my Halloween song playlist. I think it's that screamin' thing. On the other hand, screamin' fits in so much better with Halloween. You decide.  read more »

It was truly a historic night in Chicago as an all-star lineup of blues artists helped Bob Koester and Delmark Records celebrated their 55th anniversary at Buddy Guy's Legends . It's amazing to think how much blues history and culture - and how much great music - has been brought to us by Delmark. The many blues stars who performed - and there were some 20-25 of them - represent only a small portion of the artists whom Koester and crew have recorded through the years. And there are no signs it's slowing down. In fact, the whole show was videotaped for a future DVD and for broadcasting on satellite TV. Because of that, flash photography wasn't permitted, but I do have some (yes, I know - very bad) photos of the event. I uploaded them as "small" because there are so many of them. Click on the photo to see them larger; click "back" your browser to return to Today's Chicago Blues. Bob Koester, Delmark founder, received several much-deserved honors. He was sincerely touched by an official proclamation signed by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley declaring March 7 "Delmark Records Day." Here's Barry Dolins of the Mayor's Office of Special Events , the organizer for the Chicago Blues Festival , presenting the proclamation to Koester.  read more »

The music of Chicago -- gritty urban blues -- is famously about hard times, heartache and struggle.  read more »

By Reverend Keith A. Gordon, About.com

Even if blues artist Buddy Guy never played another note, sang another word, or climbed on one more stage, his place in blues music history is assured. Cutting his musical teeth in his Louisiana backyard, Guy moved to Chicago in 1957 and quickly fell in with talented West Side head-cutters like Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Magic Sam. Guy's musical collaborations with his friend, harpist Junior Wells, are among the best blues ever caught on tape.

Buddy Guy's Skin Deep, his first studio effort in 3 years, brings the legendary blues musician back to his legendary electric-blues sound after a number of critically-acclaimed musical experiments and a couple of modest non-starters. With a little help from friends like Eric Clapton and Derek Trucks, Guy has created one of the best albums of his lengthy career.  read more »

A Message from ELWOOD BLUES for Blues Festival Guide Fans HEY BLUES FANS Let me tug on your sleeve about TheBluesmobile.com , a new window into the world wide web of blues. As a Blues Fest Fan, I think you'll like my website as a source of all things blues, from the latest news to archived interviews. THE HOUSE OF BLUES RADIO HOUR STREAM. The House of Blues Radio Hour is streaming straight from our site to your ears. Check out the Hour, as well as our new feature LIVE on TheBluesMobile.com . Our first episode features the incredible voice of Daniela Cotton. BUDDY GUY MONTH. Our good friend Buddy Guy has a new CD called SKIN DEEP and to celebrate weve got all kinds of special stuff on TheBluesMobile.com .  read more »