Living Blues Awards Reader's Ballot 2025

All ballots must be received by June 15, 2025.

Instructions: Vote only once in each category. In the categories for recordings, only albums with a 2024 release date are eligible. Only one ballot per person is allowed.

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* 1. Blues Artist of the Year (Male)

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram

Bobby Rush

Mr. Sipp

Taj Mahal

Bob Corritore

Ronnie Baker Brooks

John Primer

Eric Bibb

Cedric Burnside

Rick Estrin

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* 2. Blues Artist of the Year (Female)

Shemekia Copeland

Irma Thomas

Sue Foley

Rory Block

Kat Riggins

Rhiannon Giddens

Candice Ivory

Anne Harris

Anna Popović

Vanessa Collier

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* 3. Most Outstanding Blues Singer

Shemekia Copeland

Valerie June

Sugaray Rayford

Mavis Staples

Diunna Greenleaf

Oscar Wilson

John Németh

Alabama Mike

William Bell

Jerron Paxton

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* 4. Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar)

Lurrie Bell

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram

Duke Robillard

Toronzo Cannon

John Primer

Ronnie Baker Brooks

Mr. Sipp

Jimmy "Duck" Holmes

Eric Bibb

Sue Foley

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* 5. Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica)

Billy Branch

Bob Corritore

Big Harp George

Mark Hummel

Brandon Santini

Charlie Musselwhite

Rick Estrin

Jason Ricci

Omar Coleman

Kim Wilson

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* 6. Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard)

Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne

Roosevelt Purifoy

Victor Wainwright

Eden Brent

Marcia Ball

Anthony Geraci

Ben Levin

Mitch Woods

Dave Keyes

Bruce Katz

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* 7. Best Live Performer

Bobby Rush

Shemekia Copeland

Rick Estrin

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram

Cedric Burnside

John Primer

Mr. Sipp

Southern Avenue

Ronnie Baker Brooks

Anne Harris

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* 8. Blues Band of the Year

Southern Avenue

The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra

Altered Five Blues Band

Chicago Blues Lifters

Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band

The Phantom Blues Band

Mississippi Heat

The Bo-Keys

The Nighthawks

The Blackburn Brothers

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Question Title

* 9. Best Blues Album of 2024 (New Recordings)

Rick Estrin and the Nightcats
The Hits Keep Coming
Alligator Records

Shemekia Copeland
Blame It on Eve
Alligator Records

Sue Foley
One Guitar Woman: A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of Guitar
Stony Plain Records

John Primer & Bob Corritore
Crawlin' Kingsnake
SWMAF / VizzTone

Cedric Burnside
Hill Country Love
Provogue Records

Benny Turner
BT
Nola Blue Records

The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra Featuring Willy Jordan
What Are You Waiting For?
Blue Dot Records

Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne
Ooh Yeah!
Stony Plain Records

Ronnie Baker Brooks
Blues in My DNA
Alligator Records

Eric Bibb
In the Real World
Stony Plain Records

Jerron Paxton
Things Done Changed
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Chris O'Leary
The Hard Line
Alligator Records

Jontavious Willis
West Georgia Blues
Strolling Bones Records

Zac Harmon
Floreada's Boy
Catfood Records

Guy Davis
The Legend of Sugarbelly
M.C. Records

Toronzo Cannon
Shut Up & Play!
Alligator Records

Sugaray Rayford
Human Decency
Forty Below Records

Tinsley Ellis
Naked Truth
Alligator Records

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Question Title

* 10. Best Blues Album of 2024 (Reissue Recordings)

Pat Hare
I'm Gonna Murder My Baby: In Session, 1952–1960
Jasmine Records

B.B. King
Live in Japan
Elemental Music

John Lee Hooker
Burning Hell
Craft Recordings

Various Artists
I'm Glad About It: The Legacy of Gospel Music in Louisville, 1958–1981
Louisville Story Program

Various Artists
Home of the Blues (Don't Stop Lovin' Me): The Lost Masters Vol. 1, 1960–1962
Acoustic Archives

Roy Brown
Rocks
Bear Family Records

T-Bone Walker
T-Bone Blues
Analogue Productions – Atlantic

Skip James
Today!
Craft Recordings

Albert King
Live Wire / Blues Power
Craft Recordings

Ray Charles
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Tangerine Records

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Question Title

* 11. Best Blues Book of 2024

Song Keepers: A Music Maker Foundation Anthology
4-CD box set with book by Georgann Eubanks
No Depression, in association with Music Maker Foundation

Spirit of the Century: Our Own Story
By the Blind Boys of Alabama with Preston Lauterbach
Hachette Books

Bring Judgment Day: Reclaiming Lead Belly's Truths from Jim Crow's Lies
By Sheila Curran Bernard
Cambridge University Press

Jelly Roll Blues: Censored Songs and Hidden Histories
By Elijah Wald
Hachette Books

I Believe in You: The Incredible Journey of R&B Legend Johnnie Taylor
By Gregory M. Hasty with T.J. Hooker Taylor
Archway Publishing

Out of the Blue: Life on the Road with Muddy Waters
By Brian Bisesi
University Press of Mississippi

A Hound Dog Tale: Big Mama, Elvis, and the Song That Changed Everything
By Ben Wynne
Louisiana State University Press

The Chicago Blues of Joe & Charlie McCoy
By Guido van Rijn
Agram Blues Books

Down on the Corner: Adventures in Busking & Street Music
By Cary Baker
Jawbone Press

Ink: The Indelible J. Mayo Williams
By Clifford R. Murphy
University of Illinois Press

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* 12.
What is your email address?

Email Address

(We do not sell our mailing list.)

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* 1. Blues Artist of the Year (Male)

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* 2. Blues Artist of the Year (Female)

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* 3. Most Outstanding Blues Singer

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* 4. Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar)

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* 5. Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica)

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* 6. Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard)

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* 7. Best Live Performer

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* 8. Blues Band of the Year

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* 9. Best Blues Album of 2024 (New Recordings)

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* 10. Best Blues Album of 2024 (Reissue Recordings)

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* 11. Best Blues Book of 2024

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* 12. What is your email address?

* 12.
What is your email address?