Vote for the Blues Blast Music Awards!

BLUES FANS: VOTE FOR THE BLUES BLAST MUSIC AWARDS! Voting for the 2014 Blues Blast Music Awards is now open to anyone who is a Blues Blast magazine subscriber. Subscriptions are FREE and an automatic part of the voting process on the website. Blind Pig artists and recordings are well represented on the ballot: "REMEMBERING LITTLE WALTER" Traditional Blues Album Unequaled live tribute to the harmonica icon from five of the finest harp players on the current blues scene - Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia, and James Harman.  The album was named winner of two major 2014 Blues Music Awards - "Best Traditional Album" "Album of the Year." It also received a 2014 Grammy nomination for "Best Blues Album." BILLY BRANCH   Song of the Year - "Going To See Miss Gerri One More Time" “Going To See Miss Gerri One More Time” is a moving song about a lost chapter in the cultural history of Chicago’s black population, the story of Gerri Oliver, long-time proprietor of the Palm Tavern in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, an area rich with African-American history that’s been called the ‘Harlem of the Midwest’  Much of that history unfolded in the legendary nightspot that Gerri presided over from 1956 until the city shut it down in 2001. In its heyday, the Palm Tavern was the hot spot for celebrities such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Sammy Davis, Jr., Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Quincy Jones, and Dinah Washington.  It was, in short, as the Chicago Tribune put it, “a landmark in Chicago history and American musical culture.” The song, written by Billy Branch, is the centerpiece of Blues Shock, the first studio CD from the three-time Grammy nominee with his band in fifteen years.  Living Blues said the composition is “nothing less than the story of the Great Migration itself, exemplified in the life trajectory of one remarkable woman…by any objective standard, both an eloquent piece of storytelling and an appropriate tribute.” Branch calls it simply “the best song I’ve ever written.” To watch a concept video of the song, please click HERE. DAMON FOWLER Sean Costello Rising Star Award Song of the Year - "Old Fools, Bar Stools, and Me" Damon Fowler has emerged as on the foremost practitioners of American roots music.  No Depression said, "A blend of sacred steel, backwater blues and howling, greasy swamp rock, Fowler's music is a primal, atavistic sound that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.  Hittin' the Note magazine called him "one soul-oozin', rock 'n' rollin', swamp stalkin' blue monster of a talent." "Old Fools, Bar Stools, and Me" is a track from his latest release, Sounds of Home, which was produced by swamp blues master Tab Benoit. To watch a live performance of this song, please click HERE. SHAWN HOLT AND THE TEARDROPS New Artist Debut Album - "Daddy Told Me" Shawn Holt is the son of the late legendary blues master, Magic Slim.  Fronting his old man's band, Shawn carries on Slim's unique sound and legacy with his debut recording, Daddy Told Me.  The album quickly rose to the #1 slot on the Living Blues radio chart and has been critically acclaimed.  Vintage Guitar said it is "hard to beat this strong debut."    The album won the prestigious 2014 Blues Music Award for "Best New Artist Debut."  The high energy, hard-driving sound of the Teardrops is still alive and well with Shawn.  The Chicago Blues Guide said that Shawn has "proved conclusively he has what it takes to maintain the family legacy." To vote for the Blues Blast Music Awards, please click HERE.