Blues Music Award
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Blues Music Award
The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, "Father of the Blues." The first award was presented in 1980 and is "universally recognized as the highest accolade afforded musicians and songwriters in blues music." In 2006, the awards were renamed Blues Music Awards in an effort to increase public appreciation of the significance of the awards. The are presented annually in Memphis, Tennessee, where the Blues Foundation is located, although the 2008 award ceremony was held in Tunica, Mississippi. The 39th Blues Music Awards was held on May 10, 2018, at the Memphis Cook Convention Center in Memphis. Two new award categories had been announced (Instrumentalist-Vocals and Blues Rock Artist of the Year) bringing the number of awards to be presented up to 26 in total. The 40th Blues Music Aw ...
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Danielle Nicole
Danielle Nicole (born Danielle Nicole Schnebelen) is an American blues/soul musician from Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Her self-titled solo debut EP was released March 10, 2015 on Concord Records. The self-titled EP features Grammy Award-winning producer-guitarist Anders Osborne, Galactic's co-founding drummer Stanton Moore and keyboardist Mike Sedovic. On February 25, 2015, American Blues Scene premiered the track "Didn't Do You No Good" off the new EP. In May 2019, she received Blues Music Awards for both Contemporary Blues Female Artist and Bass Instrumentalist. Background Danielle Nicole was previously in the band Trampled Under Foot with her brothers Kris and Nick Schnebelen. At the 2014 Blues Music Awards, Trampled Under Foot's album, ''Badlands'', won the 'Contemporary Blues Album of the Year' category. At the same ceremony, Danielle Nicole, under the name of Danielle Schnebelen, triumphed in the 'Best Instrumentalist – Bass' category. Career In September 2 ...
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Vanessa Collier
Vanessa N. Collier is an American blues, funk, and soul saxophonist, singer and songwriter. She has been nominated for seven Blues Music Awards and won one of them in 2019 and another in 2020. Her influences include Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, The Wood Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ray Charles, Snooks Eaglin, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock, Professor Longhair, and Cannonball Adderley. Collier is a Selmer endorsed woodwind artist. Life and career Collier was born in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in Columbia, Maryland. Her interest in blues music started at the age of 11, when she played a solo on her saxophone over a blues progression in jazz band. Collier studied saxophone privately with Chris Vadala for a number of years, studying classical, jazz, and many other styles of music. Collier went on to earn dual degrees in Performance and Music Production & Engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in 2013. At Berklee's Commencement Concert, Coll ...
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Annika Chambers
Annika Shattrelle Chambers (born August 7, 1985) is an American soul blues singer and songwriter. Chambers has released three albums, and she won a Blues Music Award in 2019 in the 'Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year' category. Her sophomore release, ''Wild & Free'', debuted at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' Blues Albums Chart. Her third album, ''Kiss My Sass'', was released in August 2019. Biography Chambers was born in Houston, Texas, United States. As she stated "I grew up singing in the church", and was inspired by the gospel musicianship of Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Dottie Peoples and Whitney Houston. She enlisted in the United States Army, and spent over seven years in armed service. During her two tours of duty Chambers was invited to sing the National Anthem at a ceremony, which led to her performing for the troops as part of a touring band in both Kosovo and Iraq. In 2011, Chambers returned to Houston, and formed her own band, Annika Chambers and The House Rule ...
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Eric Gales
Eric Gales (born October 29, 1974), also known as Raw Dawg, is an American blues rock guitarist, originally hailed as a child prodigy. , Gales has recorded nineteen albums for major record labels and has done session and tribute work. He has also contributed vocals on several records by the Memphis rap groups Prophet Posse and Three 6 Mafia under the name Lil E. Career Gales picked up the guitar at age four. His older siblings, Eugene and Manuel (Little Jimmy King), taught him songs and licks when he was young, in the style of Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, B.B. King and others. In 1985, the young Gales began to play at blues competitions with his brother Eugene backing him on bass. Although Gales plays a right-handed guitar "upside-down" (with the bass E string on the bottom), he is not naturally left-handed; he was taught by his brother, who is left-handed, and never second-guessed the untraditional technique. In late 1990, Eric and Eugene Gales signed with Elektra Records, and ...
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Award
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be described by three aspects: 1) who is given 2) what 3) by whom, all varying according to purpose. The recipient is often to a single person, such as a student or athlete, or a representative of a group of people, be it an organisation, a sports team or a whole country. The award item may be a decoration, that is an insignia suitable for wearing, such as a medal, badge, or rosette (award). It can also be a token object such as certificate, diploma, championship belt, trophy, or plaque. The award may also be or be accompanied by a title of honor, as well as an object of direct value such as prize money or a scholarship. Furthermore, an honorable mention is an award given, typically in education, that does not confer the recipie ...
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Sue Foley
Sue Foley (born March 29, 1968) is a Canadian blues guitarist and singer. She has released 15 albums since her debut with ''Young Girl Blues'' (1992). In May 2020, Foley won her first Blues Music Award, in the 'Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female)' category. Early life Foley was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and spent her early childhood in Canada. She learned to play guitar at age 13, became interested in blues music from listening to the Rolling Stones, and played her first gig at age 16. After high school graduation, she relocated to Vancouver where she formed The Sue Foley Band and toured Canada. In 1988–1989, the Sue Foley Band teamed with Mark Hummel to tour across the United States, Canada and Europe as well as recording an album. The collaboration lasted a little over a year with 300 dates on the road in 1989. Clifford Antone saw Foley sitting in with Duke Robillard while the band was in Memphis for the W.C. Handy Awards that year. Career By age twenty-one, Foley was ...
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Jimmy Carpenter
James Carpenter is an American electric blues saxophonist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, who won a Blues Music Award in both 2021 and 2022 in the 'Instrumentalist - Horn' category. He has been involved in the music industry over a span of six decades and, since 2008, has released five solo albums. His most recent was ''The Louisiana Record'', issued in 2022 by Gulf Coast Records. His recording credits include work for Billy Iuso, Jimmy Thackery, Tab Benoit, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Eric Lindell, Maria Muldaur, Honey Island Swamp Band, and Mike Zito, among others. Life and career He was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. His father's record collection included big band music, and also Dave Brubeck records which had Paul Desmond playing the alto saxophone. It was his first musical inspiration and Carpenter decided at an early age, that he wanted to play the saxophone. The education system in Greensboro at that time, allowed budding musicians g ...
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John Németh
John Németh (born March 10, 1975) is an American electric blues and soul harmonicist, singer, and songwriter. He has received two Blues Music Awards for Soul Blues Male Artist in 2014 and Soul Blues Album in 2015. He has recorded ten albums since 2002, having also backed Junior Watson, Anson Funderburgh and Elvin Bishop. He has opened for Robert Cray, Keb' Mo', and Earl Thomas. AllMusic noted that he is a "vocalist with great range, ability, and soulfulness, Németh had also developed into a top-notch blues harmonica player..." In 2013 alone, he was nominated five times for a Blues Music Award, making nine such nominations in total. Early life and education Németh was born in Boise, Idaho, United States. After singing at his local church, Németh played in local groups in his teenage years, and later formed Fat John & the 3 Slims with his friend Tom Moore. He toured and performed regularly working between five and seven nights a week for almost a decade. Career By 2000, Né ...
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Mike Finnigan
Michael Kelly Finnigan (April 26, 1945 – August 11, 2021) was an American keyboard player and vocalist, his speciality being the B3 Hammond organ. Working primarily as a freelance studio musician and touring player, he played with a wide variety of musicians in pop, rock, blues and jazz. Life and career Finnigan was born in Troy, Ohio, and attended the University of Kansas on a basketball scholarship. Finnigan toured with and sessioned for Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Etta James, Sam Moore, Crosby Stills and Nash, Dave Mason, Buddy Guy, The Manhattan Transfer, Taj Mahal, Michael McDonald, Maria Muldaur, Peter Frampton, Cher, Ringo Starr, Leonard Cohen, Tower of Power, Rod Stewart, David Coverdale, Tracy Chapman, Los Lonely Boys, Bonnie Raitt, and Saving Escape. Finnigan recorded ''Early Bird Cafe'' with the Serfs in the late 1960s, with Tom Wilson producing. The Serfs were the house band at a nightclub in Wichita, Kansas at the time. He then toured and cut an album with J ...
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Albert Castiglia
Albert Castiglia (born August 12, 1969) is an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. Castiglia has variously worked alongside Junior Wells, Sandra Hall, Aron Burton, Pinetop Perkins, Melvin Taylor, Sugar Blue, Phil Guy, Ronnie Earl, Billy Boy Arnold, Ronnie Baker Brooks, John Primer, Lurrie Bell, Jerry Portnoy, Larry McCray, Eddy Clearwater and Otis Clay. AllMusic noted that "Castiglia combines hardcore blues with soul, rock, and country flavors for a sound that will appeal to rockers and blues purists alike." His vocal style has been compared to that of Van Morrison. Life and career Castiglia (pronounced "ka-steel-ya") was born in New York City, New York, United States, to a Cuban mother and Italian father. He moved with his family to Miami, Florida, when he was five years old and commenced learning the guitar seven years later. Castiglia joined the Miami Blues Authority in 1990 and was named the 'best blues guitarist in Miami' by the ''Miami New Times'' in 1997. ...
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Mike Zito
Mike Zito (born November 19, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer, and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He is a co-founder of Royal Southern Brotherhood that features Cyril Neville, Devon Allman, Charlie Wooton and Yonrico Scott. Zito started singing at the age of five and by his late teens he had begun his career in the St Louis area music scene. In 2008, Zito made his international debut on the Eclecto Groove label. Career Zito released records on his own label and toured regionally and even performed some national dates until signing with Eclecto Groove Records in 2008. The same year, Eclecto Groove released ''Today''. ''Today'' was produced by David Z. The musicians on the CD were a line-up of studio musicians that included bassist James "Hutch" Hutchinson; Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch keyboardist Benmont Tench; co-producer/drummer Tony Braunagel; and percussionist Michito Sanchez. Also appearing on the CD are Joe Sublett (saxophone), Darr ...
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Selwyn Birchwood
Selwyn Birchwood (born March 9, 1985) is an American blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from Tampa, Florida. He was the winner of the Blues Foundation’s 2013 International Blues Challenge (band category), as well the winner of the Albert King Guitarist of the Year award, presented at the same event. To win, he bested 125 other bands from around the world. Birchwood plays electric guitar and electric lap steel guitar. His live performances feature his original songs. ''Living Blues'' magazine said, "Selwyn Birchwood is making waves, surprising people and defying expectations. Be on the lookout. He revels in the unexpected."Aikin, Camilla. "Breaking Out: Selwyn Birchwood". ''Living Blues,'' June 2013. Issue 225, Vol 44 #3, pages 10–11 ''The Tampa Tribune'' said Birchwood plays with "power and precision reminiscent of blues guitar hero Buddy Guy. He is a gritty vocalist ho iscommanding with his axe." ''Rolling Stone'' said "Birchwood is a young, powerhouse guitarist and ...
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