
What are the BMAs?
The Blues Music Awards brings together Blues performers, industry representatives, and fans from all over the world to celebrate the best in Blues recordings and performances from the previous year.
The BMAs are generally recognized as the highest honor given to blues musicians and are awarded by vote of Blues Foundation members.
To become a Blues Foundation voting member, join here.

The 43rd Blues Music Awards will be held at the Renasant Convention Center in Downtown Memphis on Thursday, May 11, 2023. Congratulations to all winners and nominees!
Reservations for the 2023 Blues Music Awards are now available at The Sheraton Memphis!
*voting open to Blues Foundation member only*
What are the BMAs?
The Blues Music Awards brings together Blues performers, industry representatives, and fans from all over the world to celebrate the best in Blues recordings and performances from the previous year.
The BMAs are generally recognized as the highest honor given to blues musicians and are awarded by vote of Blues Foundation members.
To become a Blues Foundation voting member, join here.

Annika Chambers performs during the 44th Annual Blues Music Awards at the Renasant Convention Center in Memphis May 11, 2023. Photo by Roger Stephenson.
The Renasant Convention Center was packed with blues musicians, fans, and music-world luminaries on May 11th, anxious to see who would be the winners at the 44th Annual Blues Music Awards. Besides awarding honors in 25 categories, the BMAs, as is its tradition, featured performances from many nominees, with the gala ending in a jubilant all-star jam.

Photos ©Joseph A. Rosen
2023 Blues Music Awards Nominees:
Bobby Rush
Eric Gales
Mr. Sipp (Castro Coleman)
Sugaray Rayford
Tommy Castro
The Blues Don’t Lie, Buddy Guy
Hard Times, John Primer
Done Come Too Far, Shemekia Copland
May Be the Last Time, John Németh
Leave the Light On, The Love Light Orchestra
Anthony Geraci & The Boston Blues Allstars
John Németh and the Blue Dreamers
Rick Estrin and the Nightcats
Southern Avenue
Tedeschi Trucks Band
“Great Minds Drink Alike” Written by Jeff Schroedl
“I Want My Crown” Written by Eric Gales, Joe Bonamassa, & James House
“The Blues Don’t Lie” Written by Tom Hambridge
“The Last Time” Written by John Németh
“Too Far To Be Gone” Written by John Hahn & Will Kimbrough
Buchanan Lane, Yates McKendree
Drums, Roots & Steel, DaShawn Hickman
Major League Blues, Jose Ramirez
Scream, Holler & Howl, Blue Moon Marquee
Who Is He?, Dylan Triplett
Acoustic Burnside, Duwayne Burnside
Ain’t Nobody Worried, Rory Block
Mississippi Son, Charlie Musselwhite
Thanks For Tomorrow, Harrison Kennedy
The Insurrection Blues, Corey Harris
Crown, Eric Gales
Devil May Care, Tinsley Ellis
Highs & Lows, Bernard Allison
I Got Love, Albert Castiglia
Open Road, Colin James
Blues Without You, Larry McCray
Done Come Too Far, Shemekia Copeland
Hard to Kill, Janiva Magness
I Ain’t Playin’, Diunna Greenleaf
The Blues Don’t Lie, Buddy Guy
Golden Girl, Trudy Lynn
Heartache by the Pound, Kirk Fletcher
In Too Deep, Sugaray Rayford
Leave the Light On, The Love Light Orchestra
Progeny, Kat Riggins
Bob Corritore & Friends: You Shocked Me, Bob Corritore
Hard Times, John Primer
May Be the Last Time, John Németh
Straight From the Heart, Kenny Neal
They Called It Rhythm & Blues, Duke Robillard
Doug MacLeod
Guy Davis
Harrison Kennedy
Rhiannon Giddens
Rory Block
Albert Castiglia
Joanne Shaw Taylor
Tinsley Ellis
Tommy Castro
Walter Trout
Beth Hart
Janiva Magness
Ruthie Foster
Teresa James
Vanessa Collier
Chris Cain
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Mr. Sipp (Castro Coleman)
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Selwyn Birchwood
Annika Chambers
Kat Riggins
Thornetta Davis
Trudy Lynn
Vaneese Thomas
Billy Price
Curtis Salgado
Don Bryant
John Németh
Johnny Rawls
Deitra Farr
Diunna Greenleaf
Rhiannon Giddens
Rory Block
Sue Foley
Billy Branch
Duke Robillard
John Primer
Johnny Burgin
Sugar Ray Norcia
Bob Stroger
Danielle Nicole
Larry Fulcher
Michael “Mudcat” Ward
Willie J. Campbell
Chris Layton
Cody Dickinson
Derrick D’Mar Martin
Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith
Tony Braunagel
Chris Cain
Christoffer “Kid” Andersen
Joanna Connor
Kirk Fletcher
Laura Chavez
Billy Branch
Bob Corritore
Dennis Gruenling
Jason Ricci
John Németh
Deanna Bogart
Greg Piccolo
Jimmy Carpenter
Mark Kaz Kazanoff
Sax Gordon Beadle
Curtis Salgado
Danielle Nicole
Diunna Greenleaf
John Németh
Shemekia Copeland
THANK YOU to our 2023 BMA Sponsors and Partners
Blues Music Awards Categories and Definitions:
That performer who has best represented and promoted the blues through recordings and performances during the eligibility period.
The best blues album in any style released to the public during the eligibility period.
(May be an album nominated in another category)
That group, recording and/or performing as a unit, which best exemplifies blues ensemble playing during the eligibility period.
This award is presented to the songwriter for a first-ever recording of a song initially released to the public during the eligibility period which best portrays the blues by means of theme, structure, and overall feeling.
That blues recording that was released during the eligibility period for an act that has not received a prior Blues Music Award or GRAMMY® award nomination. The age of the artist is not of significance, but this award is intended for an artist who is up and coming within the blues/music scene and is at the “jumping off” point of his or her career. An artist’s album may not be considered in this category if that artist has already had a professional release of more than three prior albums or EPs. (Albums submitted for this category may also be submitted in other appropriate categories.)
That album released during the eligibility period that best represents acoustic blues, in which non-electric/amplified instruments are prominently featured on at least 75% of the tracks.
That album released to the public during the eligibility period with a majority of songs that best portrays the Blues Rock genre, that hybrid that combines elements of blues with elements of rock, generally employing heavy amplification and driving rhythms, and which may employ non-traditional blues song structures.
That album released to the public during the eligibility period that best portrays blues in which elements other than those traditionally found in blues are part of the mix, e.g., different rhythms, different harmonies, more elaborate production values, etc., and which may offer a different approach to sounds, lyrics, instrumentation, arrangements, etc.
That album released to the public during the eligibility period that best portrays Southern Soul Blues, a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originates from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump) with a strong gospel influence.
That album released to the public during the eligibility period with a majority of songs that best portrays Traditional Electric Blues employing traditional blues song structures, harmonic structures and rhythms, and which may also employ instruments such as electric guitar, piano, organ, amplified harmonica, electric bass and drums. This category includes subgenres such as jump/swing blues and Chicago blues.
That performer, whether male or female, whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best represent Acoustic Blues.
That performer, whether male or female, whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best portray Blues Rock.
That female performer whose recordings and/or performances during the eligibility period best portray Contemporary Blues.
That male performer whose recordings and/or performances during the eligibility period best portray Contemporary Blues.
That female performer whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best portray Southern Soul Blues.
That male performer whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best portray Southern Soul Blues.
That female performer whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best portray Traditional Electric Blues.
That male performer whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best portray Traditional Electric Blues.
That musician whose skills on the bass in performance and/or on recordings during the eligibility period best portray the blues.
That musician whose skills on the drums in performance and/or on recordings during the eligibility period best portray the blues.
That musician whose skills on the guitar in performance and/or on recordings during the eligibility period best portray the blues.
That musician whose skills on the harmonica in performance and/or on recordings during the eligibility period best portray the blues.
That individual whose skills on any horn (including brass and woodwind instruments) in performance and/or on recordings during the eligibility period best portray the blues.
That musician whose skills on the keyboards in performance and/or on recordings during the eligibility period best portray the blues.
That musician whose vocal skills in performance and/or on recordings during the eligibility period best portray the blues. This category is open to all vocalists on recordings and stage as well as to vocalists who also play an instrument.
That blues album or collection released during the eligibility period, with all recordings at least five years or older, which serves to preserve historical blues recording and/or performance. In addition to recording and performance content, liner notes and general packaging of the content will be taken into consideration. Submissions for this category are reviewed by a special committee of blues historians, journalists, and ethnomusicologists. This category is not included as part of the nominations announcement or the BMA ballot.
Blues Music Awards Process
The 45th Blues Music Awards submission process will open on July 10, 2023 at https://blues.awardsplatform.com/.
Any blues recording released between November 1, 2022 and October 31, 2023 is eligible for 2024 Blues Music Award consideration.
- The Blues Foundation accepts CDs through the year and logs them based on their release dates. All recordings sent directly to The Blues Foundation will be put on a master list for future communications regarding our submission process.
- The Blues Foundation opens the formal submission process after July 4th of each year. The Blues Foundation has moved to a digital platform for recording submissions. Your complete album or minimum 6-song EP music must be uploaded as a WAV file with album artwork uploaded as either JPEG or PDF files. We will no longer accept hard copy CDs for the purposes of BMA submission review.
Artists may submit a single for Song of the Year consideration that has been professionally released to the public between November 1, 2022 – October 31, 2023, and is not part of a larger EP or full album release.
Submission fees and deadlines (based on dates):
- August 1 ,2023 – August 31, 2023
$155 per album or EP submission / $55 per song submission
- September 1, 2023 – September 30, 2023
$180 per album or EP submission / $80 per song submission
- October 1, 2023 – October 18, 2023
$225 per album or EP submission / $125 per song submission
The submission process will close on October 20, 2023.
You must upload your music and artwork and complete payment for your submission transaction no later than OCTOBER 20TH to be considered for a Blues Music Award nomination. All music must be uploaded as a WAV file with album artwork uploaded as a JPEG or PDF file. If you need assistance with uploading your music, contact Joe Whitmer at joe@blues.org will be available to help you and walk you through the process. The submission process officially closes on October 20, 2023 at 8:00am CST. You must upload your music and artwork and complete payment for your submission transaction no later than OCTOBER 20 to be considered for a Blues Music Award.
The nominators work through two rounds in order to come up with between four and six final nominees in each category. During the first round, each nominator distributes 6 total points to their top choices within each category, with no more than 2 total points given to any single entry. The top entries in each category move into Round 2. The Blues Foundation does not publicize which recordings and/or artists move to Round 2. The nominators then repeat the point distribution for each category in a second round ballot and those artists and recordings receiving the most total points in each category become the final Nominees for Blues Music Awards.
Final nominees will be announced in early January 2024.
Winners will be announced during the 45th Blues Music Awards in Memphis, TN
Nominees and winners of the Blues Music Awards must be in keeping with The Blues Foundation’s values as a welcoming and inclusive organization,
as reflected in our Statement Against Racism.