BLUES MUSIC AWARDS 2022 WINNERS
ANNOUNCED AT FIRST IN-PERSON BMA EVENT SINCE 2019

Tommy Castro is the big winner with three awards
with multiple honors going to Sue Foley & Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

MEMPHIS, Tenn. —The Renasant Convention Center was packed with blues musicians, fans, and music-world luminaries on May 5th, anxious to see who would be the winners at the 43rd 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.Tommy Castro was the evening’s top award winner, earning three BMAs, first for the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year (which he won previously in 2010 and 2008) and for Album of the Year for Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came to Town, and lastly for taking home the honors for Band of the Year with his band, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers.This year, Sue Foley was one of the two double winners, capturing Traditional Blues Album for the first time and winning Traditional Blues Female Artist – Koko Taylor Award, repeating her 2020 win. Fresh off his Grammy win, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram took home Contemporary Blues Male Artist for the third consecutive year. He was also awarded Contemporary Blues Album, which he previously won a BMA for in 2020. Song of the Year was awarded for the first time to Selwyn Birchwood with “I’d Climb Mountains,” which he also recorded. Making their BMA debut for Best Emerging Artist Album was Rodd Bland & The Members Only Band for LIVE ON BEALE STREET: A Tribute to Bobby “Blue” Bland.

Tommy Castro

Photo credit: Andrea Zucker

Retaining their titles were seven-time BMA winners Keb’ Mo for Acoustic Blues Artist and Curtis Salgado for Soul Blues Male, Danielle Nicole won Instrumentalist Bass. Jimmy Carpenter captured Instrumentalist – Horn and, Mike Zito claimed the Blues Rock Album with Ressurection.

Re-gaining their BMA crowns were Eric Bibb for Acoustic Blues Album, Albert Castiglia for Blues Rock Artist, Annika Chambers for Soul Blues Female, and Jason Ricci for Instrumentalist – Harmonica.

Winners of multiple BMA Awards making their debut in a category were Taj Mahal for Traditional Blues Male Artist, Tom Hambridge for Instrumentalist – Drums, and Eric Gales for Instrumentalist – Guitar. In addition, Mike Finnegan won Instrumentalist – Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award), and John Nemeth took home Instrumentalist – Vocals. Lastly, Zac Harmon was awarded Soul Blues Album for Long As I Got My Guitar.

Sue Foley

Photo credit: Andrea Zucker

2022 Blues Music Awards Winners

B.B. King Entertainer of the Year
Tommy Castro

Album of the Year
Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town, Tommy Castro

Band of the Year
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

Song of the Year
“I’d Climb Mountains”, written & performed by Selwyn Birchwood

Best Emerging Artist Album
Live On Beale Street: A Tribute To Bobby “Blue” Bland, Rodd Bland and the Members Only Band

Acoustic Blues Album
Dear America, Eric Bibb

Blues Rock Album
Resurrection, Mike Zito

Contemporary Blues Album
662, Kingfish

Soul Blues Album
Long As I Got My Guitar, Zac Harmon

Traditional Blues Album
Pinky’s Blues, Sue Foley

Acoustic Blues Artist
Keb’ Mo’

Blues Rock Artist
Albert Castiglia

Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Vanessa Collier

Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

Soul Blues Female Artist
Annika Chambers

Soul Blues Male Artist
Curtis Salgado

Traditional Blues Female Artist(Koko Taylor Award)
Sue Foley

Traditional Blues Male Artist
Taj Mahal

Instrumentalist – Bass
Danielle Nicole

Instrumentalist – Drums
Tom Hambridge

Instrumentalist – Guitar
Eric Gales

Instrumentalist – Harmonica
Jason Ricci

Instrumentalist – Horn
Jimmy Carpenter

Instrumentalist – Piano(Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award)
Mike Finnigan

Instrumentalist – Vocals
John Németh

Rodd Bland and Jimmy Carpenter

Photo credit: Andrea Zucker

The Blues Music Awards represented just one of the many highlights of the Blues Foundation’s exciting Blues Music Week, kicking off on May 4th with its Blues Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The BHOF inductees included pre-war performer and songwriter Lucille Bogan, the soul, blues, rock ‘n’ roll star Little Willie John, renowned songwriter, artist Johnnie Taylor, and legendary songwriter Otis Blackwell.

Classic recordings that the Blues Hall of Fame honored this year were Sonny Boy Williamson II’s “Eyesight to the Blind,” Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Farther Up the Road,” Roy Brown’s “Good Rocking Tonight,” B.B. King’s “Rock Me Baby,” “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” by the Baby Face Leroy Trio as well as Bo Diddley’sclassic album, Bo Diddley. This year’s non-performing inductee was Mary Katherine Aldin, who worked as an editor, disc jockey, compiler, and annotator of blues and folk reissue albums. The Classic of Blues Literature entrant was Red River Blues: The Blues Tradition in the Southeast, written by British author Bruce Bastin.

Judith Black, President and CEO of The Blues Foundation, effused: “What an amazing reunion after nearly three years of separation. It was an awards evening filled with awesome music, wonderful fellowshipping, and exciting honors. It was apparent everywhere you looked that people were thrilled to be back and, I am sure they could tell we were ecstatic to welcome everyone back.”

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