Blues Music Awards is blues music's equivalent of the Grammy. Prices will be awarded at a grand event in the Cook Convention Center in Memphis in early May each year, and they are loud. The cream of the blues artists entertain during the evening and many of the nominated artists are present. This is truly one of the blues great party nights. If we look closely at the list of nominees this year, it is amazing nice to see that Norway and Norwegian productions are well represented among the candidates. Image: BB King, Janiva Magness and Bonnie Raitt at last year's ceremony.    
Louisiana Red & Little Victor's Juke Joint: "Back to the Black Bayou" was recorded in the Juke Joint Studio in Notodden in August last year, and was one of the best records Red has made a long time. On bass is Red and Victor with the Bill Troiani (we may as well be allowed to call his Norwegian right now?) And sits behind the drums Alex Pettersen. Håkon Høye is also, and Reidar Larsen, Jostein Forsberg and Peter Lundell (we call him the Norwegian now) are also contributors. It is all recorded and mixed by the Peter Lundell, while Espen Liland has done graphic design for the record, and Morten Omlid has helped with the production assistance.
The album is nominated for both "Album of the Year" and "Traditional Album of the Year" and Red himself is also nominated as "This year's traditional male blues artist" and "Acoustic Artist of the Year". This album was also recently selected as this year's blue plate in France, the Académie Charles-Cros (a price that corresponds Spellemannprisen at home).   
Super Chikan also chose Juke Joint Studio when he recorded the album "Chickadelic" earlier this year. He had worked with Notodden band Spoonful of Blues, and together they came up with a disc that clearly showed that Chikan enjoying themselves in the studio with their Norwegian friends. The disc is nominated in the "traditional album of the Year" and Super Chikan himself is nominated for "BB King Entertainer of the Year "and" This year's traditional male blues artist ". In addition, the song "Fred's Dollar Store" from the disc nominated in the class "This year's song".
Both these discs are released on Blue Town Records, as this has two very given feather in his hat!

Norwegian Kid Andersen's famous teamed up with The Nightcats and Rick Estrin, and also this band has received multiple nominations. The most coveted is NOK "This year's band", and they are also nominated for "This year's contemporary blues album" with the disc "Twisted".

It handed out awards across 26 categories and the nomination is a tedious process. Blues Foundation has a bunch of 100-125 persons, whose names are kept secret, which considers candidates for each category. These are people who are above average interested in blues, such as radio DJs, journalists, festival organizers, etc. There are many Americans, but Europe, Canada and Central America are also represented. In the first round, they each choose three candidates in each category. After the next round of sit back with 5 nominees (6 if there are equal numbers of votes) in each category. Then there are the members of the Blues Foundation matching the winners in each category, the voting is done online in the period December - 1 March.
You can however be to vote for your favorites. You must join the Blues Foundation on their website, www.blues.org and get the access to vote. Membership comes in several price ranges and "Blues Fan" membership, which is the cheapest, costs only $ 25 per. years.

Shall we guess that this year will be more Norwegians than usual to see in the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, when prices will be awarded 6 May 2010? Tickets can be purchased for $ 125 on the Blues Foundation's Web site.

  
Nina Hanssen  

Nominated Categories;

Acoustic Album of the Year
David Maxwell & Louisiana Red, You Got to Move
Maria Muldaur & her Garden of Joy, Good Time Music for Hard Times
Saffire-the Uppity Blues Women, Havin' The Last Word
Samuel James, For Rosa, Maeve and Noreen
Various Artists, Things About Comin' My Way - A Tribute to the music of the Mississippi Sheiks

Acoustic Artist of the Year
Annie Raines & Paul Rishell
Doug MacLeod
Guy Davis
Louisiana Red
Samuel James

Album of the Year
Duke Robillard's Jumpin' Blues Revue, Stomp! the Blues Tonight
Eddie C. Campbell, Tear This World Up
Joe Louis Walker, Between a Rock and the Blues
Louisiana Red & Little Victor's Juke Joint, Back to the Black Bayou
Various Artists, Chicago Blues A Living History

B.B. King Entertainer of the Year
Candye Kane
Magic Slim
Rick Estrin
Super Chikan
Taj Mahal
Tommy Castro

Band of the Year
Duke Robillard's Jumpin' Blues Revue
Nick Moss & the Flip Tops
Rick Estrin and the Nightcats
The Mannish Boys
Tommy Castro Band

Best New Artist Debut
Greg Nagy, Walk That Fine Thin Line
Joanne Shaw Taylor, White Sugar
Marquise Knox, Man Child
Monkey Junk, Tiger in your Tank
The California Honeydrops, Soul Tub!

Contemporary Blues Album of the Year
Candye Kane, Superhero
Joe Louis Walker, Between a Rock and the Blues
Rick Estrin and the Nightcats, Twisted
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, Living in the Light
Tommy Castro, Hard Believer

Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year
Bettye LaVette
Candye Kane
Janiva Magness
Ruthie Foster
Shemekia Copeland

Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year
Derek Trucks
Joe Louis Walker
John Nemeth
Michael Burks
Tommy Castro

DVD
Delmark Records, It Ain't Over! Delmark Celebrates 55 Years of Blues, Live at Buddy Guy's Legends
Eagle Eye Media, Live at Montreux 1993 (B.B. King)
Jo Films & Roadside Productions, Hot Flash - The Documentary (Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women)
Mojo Rodeo Records, A Night in Woodstock (Paul Rishell and Annie Raines)
Vincent Productions, Down to the Crossroads Vol. 1 (George Thorogood & the Destroyers w/ Eddie Shaw)

Historical Album of the Year
Bear Family Records, Taking Care of Business (1956-1973) (Freddie King)
Chess, Authorized Bootleg (Muddy Waters)
Eagle Records, Essential Montreux (Gary Moore)
Hip-O Select, The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967) (Little Walter)
Landslide Records, Sean's Blues (Sean Costello)

Instrumentalist-Bass
Bill Stuve
Bob Stroger
Larry Taylor
Mookie Brill
Patrick Rynn

Instrumentalist-Drums
Cedric Burnside
Jimi Bott
Kenny Smith
Sam Carr
Tony Braunagel

Instrumentalist-Guitar
Derek Trucks
Duke Robillard
Joe Louis Walker
Lurrie Bell
Ronnie Earl

Instrumentalist-Harmonica
Billy Branch
Jason Ricci
Kim Wilson
Mark Hummel
Rick Estrin

Instrumentalist-Horn
Al Basile
Big James Montgomery
Deanna Bogart
Eddie Shaw
Keith Crossan

Instrumentalist-Other
Buckwheat Zydeco (accordion)
Gerry Hundt (mandolin)
Johnny Sansone (accordion)
Otis Taylor (banjo)
Rich Del Grosso (mandolin)

Pinetop Perkins Piano Player
Bruce Katz
David Maxwell
Eden Brent
Henry Butler
Henry Gray

Rock Blues Album of the Year
Derek Trucks Band, Already Free
Jason Ricci & New Blood, Done with the Devil
Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat, Tijuana Bible
Mike Zito, Pearl River
Tinsley Ellis, Speak No Evil

Song of the Year
Cyril Neville & Mike Zito, 'Pearl River' (Pearl River--Mike Zito)
James Johnson , 'Fred's Dollar Store' (Chikadelic--Super Chikan)
Joe Louis Walker, 'I'm Tide' (Between a Rock and the Blues--Joe Louis Walker)
John Hahn & Oliver Wood, 'Never Going Back to Memphis' (Never Going Back--Shemekia Copeland)
Vyasa Dodson, 'At Least I'm Not With You' (At Least I'm Not With You--The Insomniacs)

Soul Blues Album of the Year
Charles Wilson, Troubled Child
Darrell Nulisch, Just for You
Johnny Rawls, Ace Of Spades
Latimore, All About the Rhythm and the Blues
Mighty Sam McClain, Betcha Didn't Know

Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year
Barbara Carr
Denise LaSalle
Irma Thomas
Shirley Brown
Sista Monica Parker

Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year
Curtis Salgado
Darrell Nulisch
Jackie Payne
Johnny Rawls
Latimore

Traditional Blues Album of the Year
John Primer, All Original
Johnnie Bassett, The Gentleman is Back
Louisiana Red & Little Victor's Juke Joint, Back to the Black Bayou
Super Chikan, Chikadelic
Various Artists, Chicago Blues A Living History

Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year
Ann Rabson
Debbie Davies
Fiona Boyes
Shirley Johnson
Zora Young

Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year
Duke Robillard
John Primer
Johnnie Bassett
Louisiana Red
Super Chikan