Last night, Tab Benoit was the big winner at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis. He picked up the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award, Best Contemporary Blues Male Artist award, and Best Contemporary Blues Album award for Medicine. Benoit was up against Johnny Sansone in a number of categories, but Sansone won for Best Song for the title track for his 2011 album, The Lord is Waiting and the Devil is Too. Though he wasn’t up for any awards, perhaps the night’s biggest winner was Anders Osborne, who co-produced Benoit and Sansone’s albums. It was on the strength of those efforts that he won OffBeat‘s Best of the Beat Producer of the Year Award earlier this year.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band won two awards—Album of the Year for Revelator and Best Band—and Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks each won awards on their own. Here are the nominees and the winners.
Acoustic Album
Conversations in Blue – David Maxwell & Otis Spann
Brand New Eyes – Doug MacLeod
Misery Loves Company – Mary Flower
Shake ‘Em on Down – Rory Block
Acoustic Artist
Eric Bibb
David Maxwell
Doug MacLeod
Guy Davis
Mary Flower
Rory Block
Album of the Year
Revelator – Tedeschi Trucks Band
Chicago Blues A Living History The (R)evolution Continues – Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch, Lurrie Bell, Carlos Johnson
Rock and a Hard Place – Eugene Hideaway Bridges
The Lord is Waiting and the Devil is Too – Johnny Sansone
Evening – Sugar Ray & the Bluetones
Medicine – Tab Benoit
B.B. King Entertainer
Tab Benoit
Candye Kane
Lil’ Ed
Ruthie Foster
Tommy Castro
Band
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Bo-Keys
Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials
Sugar Ray & the Bluetones
Tommy Castro Band
Trampled Under Foot
Best New Artist Debut
Runaway – Samantha Fish
Choice Cuts – Big Pete
Bad Girl – Demetria Taylor
Leave the Light On – Sena Ehrhardt
The Mighty Mojo Prophets – The Mighty Mojo Prophets
Contemporary Blues Album
Medicine – Tab Benoit
Unconditional – Ana Popovic
Don’t Explain – Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa
The Skinny – Ian Siegal & the Youngest Sons
The Lord is Waiting and the Devil is Too – Johnny Sansone
Tommy Castro Presents The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue–Live! – Various Artists
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Susan Tedeschi
Ana Popovic
Bettye LaVette
Candye Kane
Janiva Magness
Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Tab Benoit
Joe Louis Walker
Johnny Sansone
JP Soars
Tommy Castro
DVD
Live At Antone’s – Ruthie Foster (Blue Corn)
An Evening at Trasimeno Lake – Ana Popovic (ArtisteXclusive)
Live at Montreux 2010 – Gary Moore (Eagle Rock)
The Emporium to the Orpheum – Trampled Under Foot (Redwood)
All Jams on Deck – Various Artists (Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise & Mug-Shot Productions)
Play the Blues – Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton (Rhino)
Gibson Guitar Award
Derek Trucks
Duke Robillard
Kirk Fletcher
Lurrie Bell
Michael Burks
Historical Album
Chess – Smokestack Lightning/The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960 (Howlin’ Wolf)
Bear Family – Texas Flyer 1974-76 (Freddie King)
Delmark – Hoodoo Man Blues (Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band with Buddy Guy)
Electro-Fi – Teardrops Are Falling – Live in 1983 (George “Harmonica” Smith)
Virgin – The Essential Modern Records Collection (Etta James)
Instrumentalist-Bass
Biscuit Miller
Danielle Schnebelen
Larry Taylor
Michael “Mudcat” Ward
Patrick Rynn
Instrumentalist-Drums
Chris Layton
Jimi Bott
Kenny Smith
Robb Stupka
Stanton Moore
Tony Braunagel
Instrumentalist-Harmonica
Charlie Musselwhite
Kim Wilson
Lazy Lester
Rick Estrin
Sugar Ray Norcia
Instrumentalist-Horn
Terry Hanck
Al Basile
Doug James
Keith Crossan
Sax Gordon
Instrumentalist-Other
Sonny Rhodes, lap steel guitar
Ben Prestage, diddley bow
Lionel Young, violin
Otis Taylor, banjo
Rich Del Grosso, mandolin
Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female)
Ruthie Foster
Diunna Greenleaf
Maria Muldaur
Nora Jean
Tracy Nelson
Pinetop Perkins Piano Player
Marcia Ball
David Maxwell
Eden Brent
Jon Cleary
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne
Victor Wainwright
Rock Blues Album
Dust Bowl – Joe Bonamassa
2120 South Michigan Avenue – George Thorogood & the Destroyers
Greyhound – Mike Zito
Shiver – Too Slim and the Taildraggers
Man in Motion – Warren Haynes
Song
“The Lord is Waiting the Devil is Too” – Johnny Sansone (The Lord is Waiting and the Devil is Too – Johnny Sansone)
“Appreciate What You Got” – Terry Hanck (Look Out! – Terry Hanck)
“Back to the Blues” – Hadden Sayers (Hard Dollar- Hadden Sayers)
“Memphis Still Got Soul” – Bob Trenchard & Johnny Rawls (Memphis Still Got Soul – Johnny Rawls)
“Thank You for Giving Me the Blues” – Grady Champion, Zac Harmon & Chris Troy (Dreamin’ – Grady Champion)
“The Older I Get the Better I Was” – Joe Shelton (The Older I Get the Better I Was – Big Joe Shelton_
Soul Blues Album
Show You a Good Time – Bobby Rush
Rock and a Hard Place – Eugene Hideaway Bridges
Dreamin’ – Grady Champion
Memphis Still Got Soul – Johnny Rawls
Bo Keys
Soul Blues Female Artist
Denise LaSalle
Alexis P. Suter
Jackie Johnson
Sharrie Williams
Sista Monica Parker
Soul Blues Male Artist
Curtis Salgado
Bobby Rush
Eugene Hideaway Bridges
Johnny Rawls
Otis Clay
Traditional Blues Album
Chicago Blues A Living History The (R)evolution Continues – Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch, Lurrie Bell, Carlos Johnson
Trying To Hold On – Diunna Greenleaf
You Better Listen – Lazy Lester
Evening – Sugar Ray & the Bluetones
Victim of the Blues – Tracy Nelson
Traditional Blues Male Artist
Charlie Musselwhite
John Primer
Lazy Lester
Mac Arnold
Magic Slim
