Every year, the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation honors excellence in the blues with the Slim Harpo Awards. Today it announced its 2011 honorees: Lonesome Sundown, Ray Davies of the Kinks, Mighty Sam McClain and Grammy nominee Kenny Wayne Shepherd. In a ceremony that will take place Thursday, March 24, 2011 at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge, Lonesome Sundown will receive the foundation’s “Legend” award, Shepherd will be honored as a “Pioneer” for his efforts to introduce the blues to a new generation, and the British Davies and Mighty Sam McClain will be hailed as “Ambassadors,” Davies for having performed Slim Harpo’s “Got Love If You Want It” in 1964 and being influenced by Harpo and Louisiana musicians, and McClain for a career’s worth of great blues albums.

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The Slim Harpo Awards are the kick-off event for the yearly Baton Rouge Blues Festival. Ticket information will be available in the new year. For more information, call Johnny Palazzotto in Baton Rouge at (225) 383-0968.