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Living Blues Awards Reader's Ballot 2026
All ballots must be received by June 15, 2026.
Instructions
: Vote only once in each category. In the categories for recordings, only albums with a
2025 release date
are eligible. Only one ballot per person is allowed.
OK
*
1.
Blues Artist of the Year (Male)
(Required.)
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
John Primer
Bobby Rush
Mr. Sipp
Larry McCray
Taj Mahal
Bob Corritore
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Tommy Castro
Bob Stroger
Write In
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2.
Blues Artist of the Year (Female)
(Required.)
Shemekia Copeland
Rory Block
Kat Riggins
Thornetta Davis
Candice Ivory
Anne Harris
Ruthie Foster
Sierra Green
Maria Muldaur
Dawn Tyler Watson
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3.
Most Outstanding Blues Singer
(Required.)
Taj Mahal
Shemekia Copeland
Valerie June
Sugaray Rayford
Mud Morganfield
Mavis Staples
Oscar Wilson
Candice Ivory
Thornetta Davis
Erica Falls
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4.
Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar)
(Required.)
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
Larry McCray
Duke Robillard
John Primer
Kid Andersen
Jimmy "Duck" Holmes
Tommy Castro
Anthony Paule
Kirk Fletcher
Eric Gales
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5.
Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica)
(Required.)
Charlie Musselwhite
Billy Branch
Bob Corritore
Wallace Coleman
Big Harp George
Brandon Santini
Rick Estrin
Jason Ricci
Omar Coleman
Kim Wilson
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6.
Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard)
(Required.)
Booker T. Jones
Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne
Jim Pugh
Roosevelt Purifoy
Anthony Geraci
Mitch Woods
Victor Wainwright
Marcia Ball
Ben Levin
Dave Keyes
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7.
Blues Band of the Year
(Required.)
Southern Avenue
The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra
Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band
The Phantom Blues Band
Memphissippi Sounds
Mississippi Heat
Kid Andersen's Greaseland All Stars
The Nighthawks
Altered Five Blues Band
Billy Branch & the Sons of Blues
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8.
Best Live Performer
(Required.)
John Primer
Bobby Rush
Shemekia Copeland
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
Anne Harris
Mr. Sipp
Eric Gales
Southern Avenue
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Sean McDonald
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9.
Best Blues Album of 2025 (New Recordings)
(Required.)
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers
Closer to the Bone
Alligator Records
Charlie Musselwhite
Lookout Highway
Forty Below Records
D. K. Harrell
Talkin' Heavy
Alligator Records
Buddy Guy
Ain't Done with the Blues
Silvertone Records / RCA
Bobby Rush and Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Young Fashioned Ways
Deep Rush Records / Thirty Tigers
John Primer
Grown in Mississippi
Blues House Productions
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
Hard Road
Red Zero Records
Candice Ivory
New Southern Vintage
Nola Blue Records
Larry McCray
Heartbreak City
Keeping the Blues Alive Records
Southern Avenue
Family
Alligator Records
Little Freddie King
I Use to Be Down
Made Wright Records
Bob Stroger & the Headcutters
Bob is Back!
Delmark Records
Leonard "Lowdown" Brown
Lowdown Street Party
Music Maker Foundation
Jimi "Primetime" Smith
It's My Time
New Folk Records
Kirk Fletcher
Keep on Pushing
VizzTone Records
Sean McDonald
Have Mercy!
Little Village Foundation
Mavis Staples
Sad and Beautiful World
ANTI- Records
JImmy Burns & Soul Message Band
Full Circle
Delmark Records
Maria Muldaur
One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey
Nola Blue Records
Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo'
Room on the Porch
Concord Records
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10.
Best Blues Album of 2025 (Reissue Recordings)
(Required.)
Mississippi John Hurt
Today!
Craft Recordings
John Lee Hooker
It Serve You Right to Suffer
Verve Records / Acoustic Sounds Series
Otis Spann
Walking the Blues
Candid Records
Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Strikes
Verve Records / Acoustic Sounds Series
Buddy Guy
This is Buddy Guy
Craft Recordings
Various Artists
High Water Everywhere
Document Records
Scrapper Blackwell
Mr. Scrapper's Blues
Craft Recordings / Bluesville Records
Muddy Waters
The Best of Muddy Waters
Chess Records / Acoustic Sounds Series
Clifton Chenier
King of Louisiana Blues & Zydeco
Arhoolie Records
Howlin' Wolf
Moanin' in the Moonlight
Chess Records / Acoustic Sounds Series
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11.
Best Blues Book of 2025
(Required.)
Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King
By Preston Lauterbach
Grand Central Publishing / Da Capo
Mr. R&B and the Rhythm & Blues Revival: The Story of Jonas Bernholm Part 2
By Jonas Bernholm
Independently published
The Life and Music of Booker "Bukka" White: Recalling the Blues
By David W. Johnson
University Press of Mississippi
Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo
By Kristina R. Gaddy and Rhiannon Giddens
University of North Carolina Press
Two Headed Doctor: Listening for Ghosts in Dr. John's Gris-gris
By David Toop
Strange Attractor Press
Inside the Moment: Iconic Blues, Soul, Jazz, Rock, and R&B Images and History
By Joseph A. Rosen
Schiffer Publishing
Fiddling is My Joy: The Fiddle in African American Culture
By Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje
University Press of Mississippi
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12.
What is your email address?
(Required.)
Email Address
(We do not sell our mailing list.)
