This years Blues Music Awards by the Blues Foundation in Memphis was proof of the high quality of Music in the genre that we’ve been fortunate to see on Bonn stages in recent years.

Award winners Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Joe Bonamassa and Samantha Fish have all played at the Harmonie or the sadly now defunct Museumsplatz in the last eighteen months.

Amongst the biggest winners at the 33rd Blues Music Awards in Memphis were Susan Tedeschi and husband Derek Trucks who combined for five awards.  The Tedeschi Trucks Band took both Band and Album of the Year Awards, while Tedeschi was top Contemporary Female Artist and Trucks  the Gibson Guitarist of the Year winner.  Joe Bonamassa is no stranger to awards and his ‘Dustbowl’ was a deserved if not surprise Best Rock/Blues Album.

Well known in Bonn for her appearances with the RUF Blues Caravan Tours in recent years, Samantha Fish took home the award for Best New Artist with her album ‘Runaway’.  Another winner on the night is actually Bonn bound later in the year – Eric Bibb who was voted Best Acoustic Artist will be at the Harmonie in Endenich on 11 November with the highly rated West African musician Habib Koité .

The Award Winners:
Acoustic Album: Conversations in Blue – David Maxwell & Otis Spann

Acoustic Artist: Eric Bibb

Album: Revelator – Tedeschi Trucks Band

B.B. King Entertainer: Tab Benoit

Band: Tedeschi Trucks Band

Best New Artist Debut: Runaway – Samantha Fish

Contemporary Blues Album: Medicine – Tab Benoit

Contemporary Blues Female Artist: Susan Tedeschi

Contemporary Blues Male Artist: Tab Benoit

DVD: Live at Antone’s – Ruthie Foster (Blue Corn)

Gibson Guitar Award: Derek Trucks

Historical Album: Chess Records – Smokestack Lightning/The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960 (Howlin’ Wolf)

Instrumentalist-Bass: Biscuit Miller

Instrumentalist-Drums: Chris Layton

Instrumentalist-Harmonica:

Instrumentalist-Horn: Terry Hanck

Instrumentalist-Other: Sonny Rhodes, lap steel guitar

Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female): Ruthie Foster

Pinetop Perkins Piano Player: Marcia Ball

Rock Blues Album: Dust Bowl – Joe Bonamassa

Song: “The Lord is Waiting, the Devil is Too” – Johnny Sansone

Soul Blues Album: Show You a Good Time Bobby Rush

Soul Blues Female Artist: Denise LaSalle

Soul Blues Male Artist: Curtis Salgado

Traditional Blues Album: Chicago Blues A Living History the (R)evolution Continues – Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch, Lurrie Bell, Carlos Johnson

Traditional Blues Male Artist: Charlie Musselwhite