The biggest night in blues
the blues music awards
About the Blues Music Awards
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.
Thank you to our 2025 BMA Sponsors
2026 Blues Music Awards Nominees
That musician whose skills on the guitar, in performance and/or on recordings, best portrays the blues during eligibility period.
Chris Cain
Christoffer ”Kid” Andersen
Derek Trucks
Joanna Connor
Ronnie Baker Brooks
That musician whose skills on the harmonica, in performance and/or on recordings, best portray the blues during eligibility period.
Billy Branch
Bob Corritore
Brandon Santini
John Nemeth
Kim Wilson
That individual whose skills on any horn (including brass and woodwind instruments) in performance and/or on recordings best portray the blues during eligibility period.
Greg Piccolo
Jimmy Carpenter
Mark Kaz Kazanoff
Regi Oliver
Trombone Shorty
That musician whose skills on the keyboards, in performance and/or on recordings, best portray the blues during the eligibility period.
Anthony Geraci
Bruce Katz
Dave Keyes
Jon Cleary
Marcia Ball
That musician whose vocal skills, in performance and/or on recordings, best portrays the blues during the eligibility period. This category is open to all vocalists on recordings and stage as well as to vocalists who also play an instrument.
Candice Ivory
Danielle Nicole
John Nemeth
Shemekia Copeland
Susan Tedeschi
“Mile After Mile”
written by Brandon Santini & Jeff Jensen
“Bye Bye Blues”
written by Larry McCray & Charlie Walmsley
“Can’t Catch a Break”
written by Tommy Castro & Christoffer Andersen
“Upside”
written by Tierinii Jackson, Tikyra Jackson, Ori Naftaly, Dylan Altman & Marshall Altman
“Who Was That?”
written by Emmett Ellis Jr. & Kenny Wayne Shepherd
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.
Dave Keller, “La Brea”
Jimmy Burns & Soul Message Band, “Full Circle”
Johnny Rawls, “Make Them Dance”
Tad Robinson Band, “Soul In Blue”
The Soul of John Black, “Soul Salvation”
That female performer whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best portray Southern Soul Blues.
Annika Chambers
Candice Ivory
Kat Riggins
Thornetta Davis
Vaneese Thomas
That male performer whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best portray Southern Soul Blues.
Alabama Mike
Curtis Salgado
John Nemeth
Johnny Rawls
Tad Robinson
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.
Bobby Rush & Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “Young Fashioned Ways”
Buddy Guy, “Ain’t Done With The Blues”
Charlie Musselwhite, “Look Out Highway”
Maria Muldaur, “One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey”
Roomful Of Blues, “Steppin’ Out”
That female performer whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best portray Traditional Electric Blues.
Diunna Greenleaf
Eden Brent
Maria Muldaur
Rhiannon Giddens
Teeny Tucker
That male performer whose recordings and/or performance during the eligibility period best portray Traditional Electric Blues.
Billy Branch
Jimmie Vaughan
John Primer
Jontavious Willis
Rick Estrin
Brandon Isaak, “Walkin With The Blues”
Honeybear, the Band, “I Was Wrong”
Hubert Dorigatti & Blues harp masters, “Poor Boy”
J.T.Lauritsen & The Buckshot Hunters, “Still be friends”
The Angelique Francis Band, “Not Defeated”
The Blues Music Awards submission Process
The 48th Blues Music Awards submission process will open on July 6, 2026.
Eligibility Period for The Blues Music Awards
The submission process will open July 6, 2026.
Any blues recording released between November 1, 2025 and October 31, 2026 is eligible for 2027 Blues Music Award consideration.
The Submission Process for The Blues Music Awards
The Blues Foundation opens the formal submission process after July 4th of each year. 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.
Artists may submit a single for Song of the Year consideration that has been professionally released to the public between November 1, 2025 – October 31, 2026, and is not part of a larger EP or full album release.
Submission fees and deadlines (based on dates):
July 6, 2026 – July 31, 2026
$135 per album or EP submission / $35 per song submission
August 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026
$155 per album or EP submission / $55 per song submission
September 1, 2026 – September 30, 2026
$180 per album or EP submission / $80 per song submission
October 1, 2026 – October 20, 2026
$225 per album or EP submission / $125 per song submission
The submission process will close on October 19, 2026.
You must upload your music and artwork and complete payment for your submission transaction no later than OCTOBER 19TH 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 19, 2026, at 8:00am CST. You must upload your music and artwork and complete payment for your submission transaction no later than OCTOBER 19 to be considered for a Blues Music Award.
Nominating for the Blues Music Awards
The Blues Foundation enlists a group of approximately 100 blues nominators who work extensively in all areas of the blues industry. This includes individuals with blues expertise as producers, engineers, radio DJs, journalists, academics, club owners, promoters and others with a deep knowledge of blues music. The identity of the nominators is not made public in order to protect them from outside influences. Nominators must recuse themselves from any categories in which they have a conflict of interest.
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 2027.
Final Voting for The Blues Music Awards
All Blues Foundation members in good standing, whose dues are current, may access one online ballot via the Membership portal at blues.org. Membership Login credentials and password required to gain access to the ballot. Any member who renews his or her membership or joins as a new member during the voting period will also receive a ballot.
Blues Music Awards Results Information
Results of members’ voting are not known until the Blues Music Awards presentation ceremony when names of the winners are revealed to the public.
Winners will be announced during the 47th 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.
The 2024 BMAs Recap
The Renasant Convention Center was packed with blues musicians, fans, and music-world luminaries on May 9th, anxious to see who would be the winners at the 45th 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.
Help us fulfill our mission and ensure the future of this uniquely American art form.
Become a part of our museum experience as a volunteer docent! Volunteering is easy and fun.
Keep up to date on the latest blues events and become a part of history as a part of our voting body.
From clubs to radio shows to publications, explore our catalog of the living art of the blues.