Why You Should Go to The Blues Music Awards

Why You Should Go to The Blues Music Awards

Story and Photos by Ray Proetto of Blues Power Photo

 

 Thursday, May 10^th, 2018: What a Night in Memphis!

The Blues Music Awards (BMAs) is a massive event on a grand scale just like the Oscars. It is held at the Memphis Cook Convention Center. It occurs each year on the second Thursday in May and is produced by The Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is, “preserving blues heritage, celebrating blues performance and recording, expanding worldwide awareness of the blues, and ensuring the future of this uniquely American art form.”

The ceremony was hosted by Steven Van Zandt, contained 26 categories of awards, an incredible array of talented blues performers, and the rare opportunity to meet face to face with so many of these gifted musicians. This live production took place on an enormous stage with two giant video screens and contained one virtuoso performance after another! If you are a blues fan or just a fan of good music and have never been to this event, it’s time to give it a try.

 

Not Just One Event

There are always quite a few events surrounding the BMAs that only add to their enjoyment. This means that if you are willing to arrive a day or two early and stay late, you will enjoy several days of non-stop blues nirvana. As mentioned above, the BMAs are held on the second Thursday of May. This year it fell on May 10^thand other BMA sponsored and non-BMA sponsored *** events included the following:

Tuesday, May 8^that Minglewood Hall 8PM, Little Steven (Steven Van Zandt) and the Disciples of Soul live in concert.

Wednesday, May 9^th at 1PM, the Bob Porter talk and book signing at the Blues Hall of Fame Museum.

Wednesday, May 9^that 5:30PM, the Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held at the Halloran Centre For Performing Arts.

Wednesday, May 9^thfrom 9PM – after Midnight, Big Llou’s 6^thAnnual Hall of Fame Tribute Jam at the spacious downtown venue, The Warehouse. This event benefitted the Blues Foundation and Generation Blues. (I attended this event).

*** Wednesday, May 9^thfrom 9PM – 2AM, if you didn’t make it to Big Llou’s, there was another all night Jam at the Rum Boogie Café on Beale Street featuring over 30 blues musicians.

Thursday, May 10^thfrom 11:30AM – 1:30PM, Icons by Michael Maness art reception meet and greet at the Blues Hall of Fame Museum.

Thursday, May 10^th from 1PM – 3PM, The Recording Academy’s Reception Celebrating the BMAs at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown.

Thursday, May 10^thfrom 5:30PM – 1AM, The Blues Music Awards!

Friday, May 11^that 4PM, the 7^thAnnual Play-It-Forward Fundraiser for Generation Blues at the Hard Rock Café. This event was hosted by the Andy T Band and featured many BMA nominees and other artists.

***Friday, May 11^th, from 9PM – 1AM, Vizztone’s Blues Party on Beale – hosted by Bob Margolin and featuring many guest performers at the Rum Boogie Café.

***Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 11-13^th, The Cotton Patch Blues Festival in Holly Springs MS. This event was hosted by Robert Kimbrough Sr. and included the Kimbrough brothers and a long list of Hill Country blues musicians. (I attended this event after the BMAs).

***Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13^thThe Caravan Music Festival, Clarksdale Mississippi.

All these events add up to several days in a row of great music!

For example, a trip to Memphis for the BMAs could start with a Jam on Wednesday night and end at one of the two above-mentioned blues festivals on Sunday. That’s five straight days of blues! Plus, be sure to visit to the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame on Main Street in Memphis and the not to be missed, Stax Museum of American Soul, also located in Memphis.

 

Let the Party Begin

The evening began in the Grand Lobby of the Memphis Cook Convention Center directly across the Street from the Memphis Sheraton Hotel.

I could feel the electricity in the air as I entered the convention center. Attendee’s dress varied from casual to decked-out. Men were wearing everything from jeans to tuxes and the women ranged from one-piece outfits to designer dresses. A short walk to the reception counter and within a minute I had my credit card sized event pass. This pre-awards party included a football field sized room with a stage and live music at the far end. The meet and greet was a chance to say hello to friends, fans, blues artists, publishers, producers, radio personalities, blues society representatives, and whoever purchased a ticket. The entire crowd projected an open congenial attitude and a willingness to chat with anyone in the room. It was an hour and a half to meet and speak to anyone attending the event.

The first person I happened upon was my friend Lucy Kate Piper, a young drummer from England who has been playing in and around Clarksdale Mississippi. Next I bumped into some regular Clarksdale musicians, David Dunavent and Seth Hill who introduced me to George Klein (President of the Atlanta Blues Society) and his wife. And that is how it goes. It’s one introduction after another and the thrill of meeting some of your favorite blues musicians.

One very special moment occurred when I approached my favorite Soul Blues performer Curtis Salgado. He introduced me to his beautiful companion Suzanne by referring to himself as Suzanne’s boyfriend. We spoke at length about past record producers he’s worked with and how he has self produced his last two CDs. After a much too brief conversation, it was time for the main event.

 

The Show Must Go On

The crowd made their way up the escalator to another large lobby and the Grand Ballroom. The awards ceremony included a delicious salmon dinner, blues performances and award presentations in the Grand Ballroom. The vast Ballroom was a sea of tables each seating ten. I didn’t plan ahead this year so I was near the back row of tables. Although I sometimes couldn’t see the musicians clearly, they were larger than life on two giant screens on either side of the stage. Steven Van Zandt acted as host for the evening and did a stand up job. His opening comments eloquently stressed how in these times of division, music brings us all together. Award presenters included Tony Joe White, Joe Louis Walker, Candi Staton, Janiva Magness, David Porter, and Ruthie Foster.

The Big winners for the night included Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal who won Contemporary Blues Album and Album of the year awards for their album, “TajMo.” Keb’ Mo’ also won Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the year and Taj Mahal won both Acoustic Artist and B.B. King Entertainer of the Year.

Rick Estrin was a three-time winner this year with the award for Traditional Blues Male Artist, Song of the Year for “The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere,” and the Band of the year award for Rick Estrin and the Nightcats.

Curtis Salgado won Soul Blues Male Artist of the year for the second year in a row. He made the most entertaining acceptance speech of the night as he announced he didn’t deserve the award. He said, “I stole everything I know from Wee Willie Walker.” He then went on to name 20 other musicians he “stole” from. “It doesn’t seem right,” he said, “I learned everything from all of you, but I’ll take it.” He also thanked his girlfriend Suzanne for her support and said, “We’ll put this by the bed tonight.”

I have been a fan of Robert Cray for as long as I can remember. This year, he teamed up with the Hi-Rhythm players to win Soul Blues Album of the year for “Robert Cray and Hi Rhythm.” Hi Rhythm includes Archie Turner, a keyboard player extraordinaire whose sound is the epitome of soul and blues. Robert Cray was not present but Mr. Turner and crew accepted the award on his behalf. Later, I would be lucky enough to speak with Mr. Turner in the lobby.

One of my favorite live performers, Jason Ricci won the award for Instrumentalist – Harmonica. He was also nominated for Rock Blues Artist of the year, with that award going to Mike Zito. Although I was pleased with his nominations and win, I believe it was a crime that his 2017 album, “Approved by Snakes” was not nominated for an award. In addition, he was my personal choice for B.B. King Entertainer of the year and I believe his band should have been nominated for Band of the year.

You can read about Jason Ricci’s live show and the “Approved by Snakes” album in the Articles section of this web site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the women’s side, Mavis Staples repeated as Soul Blues Female Artist of the year with Ruthie Foster taking the Traditional Blues Female Artist award. Samantha Fish took home Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the year and Beth Hart won Instrumentalist – Vocals, winning over five male nominees.

The Memphis band, Southern Avenue, fronted by the powerhouse singing of Ms. Tierinii Jackson won the Best Emerging Artist Album award. The band also features Ms. Jackson’s sister, Tikyra Jackson on drums, Ori Naftaly on guitar, Daniel McKee on bass, and Stax music academy alumnus, Jeremy Powell on keyboards.

To see a full list of ALL the winners and nominees see the bottom of this article.

 

Live Blues is What It’s All About

The BMA awards program listed 21 separate performances for the evening. The first artist to really grab my attention was Mitch Woods. He sang a slow blues song with simply beautiful piano playing. Piano blues seems to be somewhat of a lost art these days. The electric guitar has put it in the background except for a few survivors like Mr. Woods and the evening’s Pinetop Perkins Piano Player award winner, Victor Wainwright. Mr. Wainwright has won the award four out the past six years.

The North Mississippi Allstars were impressive with their new song “Prayer for Peace,” featuring background singers and Luther Dickinson’s moving guitar licks. The band ended their short set with Luther switching to drums and Cody Dickinson playing his psychedelic electric washboard.

Relative newcomer Vanessa Collier was nominated for both Instrumentalist – Horn and Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the year. She joined forces on stage with guitarist Laura Chavez for two songs. Although she is garnering a lot of attention for being a blues singer who plays saxophone, Ms. Collier sat and played guitar as she sang “It Don’t Come Easy.” Her voice was strong with a nuanced style for an enjoyable performance. Both songs featured a great deal of Laura Chavez’ fine guitar playing. Ms. Collier really belted out the lyrics for their second song before playing some soulful saxophone.

Larkin Poe really hit the mark with a heavy electric rock and Hill Country blues sound. Front and center for the band are the sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell who both play guitar. Megan played laptop style slide guitar but never bothered to sit. She does it all standing up! Their brief set left me wanting to hear more of their music. Although they have been around for some time, they were nominated in the Best Emerging Artist Album category for “Peach.”

Harrison Kennedy earned a nomination for Acoustic Album of the year and performed his first song a cappella keeping time with only a rice shaker. The song harked back to field work songs and was moving in its simple power.

Veteran Rick Estrin and the Nightcats performed “Lookin for a Woman” to great applause. This band was tight! and every member contributed to the fantastic energy Mr. Estrin projected. It is no wonder they are so popular.

Best Emerging Artist Album winners Southern Avenue really wowed the audience. The band’s lead singer Tierinii Jackson stands all of five feet tall and delivered the most impressive vocal performance of the evening. With power to spare, I was afraid her voice was going to knock down the back wall of the Grand Ballroom! Power was not her only asset. She also demonstrated range and subtlety in her singing. The band’s first song had a hard rock edge to it while their second entitled, “Don’t Give Up,” had a call and response gospel feel. I have no doubt this band will find continued success.

Another band that continues to impress is the Monster Mike Welch and Mike Ledbetter Band. Their “I’m Gonna Move to Another Country” was a fantastic slow blues burner that showcased the talents of everyone in the band. They were winners of Traditional Blues Album of the year for “Right Place Right Time” and nominated for Band of the year. In addition, Mike Ledbetter was nominated for Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the year and Instrumentalist – Vocals. “This band is boatloads of fun to watch live and they really deliver the goods.

 

More Mingling in the Lobby

Of course there were so many more excellent blues performances including Keb’Mo’, Sugaray Rayford, Selwyn Birchwood and Walter Trout just to name a few. I took frequent breaks from my seat to mingle with some of my favorite musicians in the lobby. It was a privilege to meet and speak with so many talented musicians. Here is a taste of some of those meetings:

Diunna Greenleaf was nominated for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the year. I asked about her performance at the Hall of Fame Jam the night before? Ms. Greenleaf said she sang “Take My Hand Precious Lord.” She chose it because it was one of Dr. Martin Luther King’s favorite Hymns. The song has some additional personal meaning for Ms. Greenleaf. She said it was made famous by Mahalia Jackson who was one of her mother’s friends.

Questioning Jason Ricci about his next project, he promised the next album “will be all light and fun.” This will follow his “Approved by Snakes” album, which is a phenomenal recording, but is also a very personal and dark statement. He added, “Yeah, it was killing me performing those songs night after night.” I can’t wait to hear the new creative journey Jason and the band take us on next.

I was fortunate to run into Archie Turner of Hi Rhythm who won a BMA with Robert Cray for Soul Blues Album of the year. He entertained a small audience with a story about how his former band Black Rock performed at the Fillmore West just before it closed down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vanessa Collier seemed genuinely thrilled to hear I enjoyed her performance. You can literally feel the joy emanating from this young woman as she pursues her blues career.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was getting late and I was running out of steam as Steven Van Zandt jammed on stage with Mike Zito. What an evening! As I rode the escalator down to the street level you could not wipe the smile off my face. Surely you are convinced it’s time to check out the Blues Music Awards. See you next year in Memphis.

If you enjoyed this article, share it with your friends and read more in the Articles and Blog sections of this web site.

 

Full list of 2018 BMA Category Nominees with the Winners in Bold Italics:

Band of the Year
The Cash Box Kings
Monster Mike Welch and Mike Ledbetter
Nick Moss Band
North Mississippi All-Stars
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats

B.B. King Entertainer of the Year
Bobby Rush
Michael Ledbetter
Rick Estrin
Sugaray Rayford
Taj Mahal

Best Emerging Artist Album
Altered Five Blues Band – “Charmed & Dangerous”
Larkin Poe – “Peach”
Miss Freddye – “Lady of the Blues”
R.L. Boyce – “Roll and Tumble”
Southern Avenue – “Southern Avenue”
Tas Cru – “Simmered & Stewed”

Contemporary Blues Album of the Year
Beth Hart – “Fire on the Floor”
Corey Dennison Band – “Night After Night”
Ronnie Baker Brooks – “Times Have Changed”
Selwyn Birchwood – “Pick Your Poison”
Taj Mahal and Keb’Mo” – “TajMo”

Contemporary Blues Female Artist 
Beth Hart
Karen Lovely
Samantha Fish
Shemekia Copeland
Vanessa Collier

Contemporary Blues Male Artist 
Keb’ Mo’
Michael Ledbetter
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Selwyn Birchwood
Toronzo Cannon

Historical Album of the Year
Jimmy Reed, “Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee-Jay Singles” – Craft Recordings
John Lee Hooker, “King of the Boogie” – Craft Recordings
Luther Allison, “A Legend Never Dies” – Ruf Records
The Paul deLay Band, “Live at Notodden ’97” – Little Village Foundation
Various, “American Epic: The Collection” – Sony Legacy

Instrumentalist — Bass
Benny Turner
Bob Stroger
Larry Fulcher
Michael “Mudcat” Ward
Patrick Rynn

Instrumentalist — Drums
Jimi Bott
June Core
Kenny Smith
Tom Hambridge
Tony Braunagel

Instrumentalist — Guitar
Anson Funderburgh
Chris Cain
Christoffer “Kid” Andersen
Monster Mike Welch
Ronnie Earl

Instrumentalist — Harmonica
Billy Branch
Dennis Gruenling
Jason Ricci
Rick Estrin
Kim Wilson

Instrumentalist — Horn
Al Basile
Jimmy Carpenter
Nancy Wright
Trombone Shorty
Vanessa Collier

Instrumentalist — Pinetop Perkins Piano Player 
Anthony Geraci
Henry Gray
Jim Pugh
Mitch Woods
Victor Wainwright

Instrumentalist — Vocals
Beth Hart
Don Bryant
John Németh
Michael Ledbetter
Sugaray Rayford
Wee Willie Walker

Rock Blues Album of the Year
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band – “Lay It On Down”
Mike Zito – “Make Blues Not War”
North Mississippi Allstars – “Prayer for Peace”
Savoy Brown – “Witchy Feelin’”
Walter Trout – “We’re All In This Together”

Rock Blues Artist 
Eric Gales
Jason Ricci
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Mike Zito
Walter Trout

Song of the Year
“The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere” – written by Rick Estrin
“Don’t Give Up On Love” – written by Scott Bomar and Don Bryant
“Don’t Leave Me Here” – written by Kevin R. Moore, Taj Mahal, and Gary Nicholson
“Hate Take a Holiday” – written by Willie Walker, Anthony Paule, and Ernie Williams
“Prayer for Peace” – written by Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson, and Oteil Burbridge

Soul Blues Album of the Year
Don Bryant – “Don’t Give Up on Love”
Johnny Rawls – “Waiting for the Train”
Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm – “Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm”
Sugaray Rayford – “The World That We Live In”
Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra – “After a While”

Soul Blues Female Artist
Bettye LaVette
Denise LaSalle
Mavis Staples
Trudy Lynn
Vaneese Thomas

Soul Blues Male Artist
Curtis Salgado
Don Bryant
Johnny Rawls
Sugaray Rayford
William Bell
Wee Willie Walker

Traditional Blues Album of the Year
The Cash Box Kings – “Royal Mint”
Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio – “Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio”
Kim Wilson – “Blues and Boogie Vol. 1”
Monster Mike Welch and Mike Ledbetter – “Right Place, Right Time”
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats – “Groovin’ In Greaseland”
Various Artists – “Howlin’ At Greaseland”

Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female)
Annika Chambers
Diunna Greenleaf
Janiva Magness
Miss Freddye
Ruthie Foster

Traditional Blues Male Artist 
Kim Wilson
John Primer
Lurrie Bell
R.L. Boyce
Rick Estrin

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