46th Annual Blues Music Award Winners including Canada's Sue Foley

On May 8, 2026, The Blues Foundation announced the winners of their 46th Annual Blues Music Awards winners in Memphis, Tennessee. The only Canadian artist to win was Ottawa's Sue Foley, who is signed to Waterdown's Stony Plain Records. 

Below is the new report from Blues Rock Review:

Links: Blues Music Awards, More Blues Music Awards Stories, Video above courtesy of Blues Rock Review

Below is a complete list of winners.

• Traditional Blues Female Artist: Sue Foley (Ottawa) (signed to Waterdown's Stony Plain Records)
• Acoustic Blues Album: One Guitar Woman, Sue Foley (Ottawa) (signed to Waterdown's Stony Plain Records)
  
  
  
  Links: Sue Foley, More Sue Foley Stories, Video above courtesy of Sue Foley
  
  
• Acoustic Blues Artist: Keb’ Mo’
  
• Album of the Year: Blame It On Eve, Shemekia Copeland
• Band of the Year: Rick Estrin and the Nightcats
• Best Emerging Artist Album: Revelation, Piper & The Hard Times
• BB King Entertainer of the Year: Mr. Sipp
• Blues Rock Album: Life is Hard, Mike Zito
• Blues Rock Artist: Tommy Castro
• Contemporary Blues Album: Blues In My DNA, Ronnie Baker Brooks
• Contemporary Blues Female Artist: Ruthie Foster
• Contemporary Blues Male Artist: Ronnie Baker Brooks
• Instrumentalist - Bass: Bob Stroger
• Instrumentalist - Drums: Kenny ”Beedy Eyes” Smith
• Instrumentalist - Guitar: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
• Instrumentalist - Harmonica: Billy Branch
• Instrumentalist - Horn: Vanessa Collier
• Instrumentalist - Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player): Eden Brent
• Instrumentalist - Vocals: Ruthie Foster
• Song of the Year: “Blues In My DNA”- Ronnie Baker Brooks
  
  
  
  Links: Ronnie Baker Brooks, Video above courtesy of Ronnie Baker Brooks - Topic
  
  
• Soul Blues Album: Fine By Me, Curtis Salgado
• Soul Blues Female Artist: Thornetta Davis
• Soul Blues Male Artist: Curtis Salgado
• Traditional Blues Album: Crawlin’ ’Kingsnake, John Primer & Bob Corritore
• Traditional Blues Male Artist: John Primer

Links: Blues Music Awards, More Blues Music Awards Stories

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GOOD LUCK! The Late, Legendary Mel Brown's DVD Up for Living Blues Award! You Can Vote!

It's very rare for local musicians to be nominated for the Living Blues Awards but this year, the late, legendary Kitchener Bluesman, Mel Brown is up for Best Blues DVD of 2015 for the documentary Love Lost and Found.



Links: Mel Brown, More Mel Brown Stories, Video above courtesy of Peter Beacock

Also, Harmonica Shah, whose last few albums featured Hamilton guitar slinger Jack de Keyzer recieved a nod for Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica).



Links: Harmonica Shah, More Harmonica Shah Stories, Video above courtesy of Dimitris Koutsiaftis

You can help them win this prestigious award from the popular Blues magazine by voting online.  Click here to vote. Deadline is July 15, 2016!

GOOD LUCK!

Click here for the results.

DVD

• Mel Brown: Love Lost and Found: The Story of Mel Brown
• Otis Grand: Blues From The Heart
• Muddy Waters and Friends: Soundstage: Blues Summit in Chicago, 1974
• Lonnie Shields: The Blues Soul of Lonnie Shields

Harmonica

• Harmonica Shah 
• Bob Corritore 
• Billy Branch 
• Charlie Musselwhite 
• Phil Wiggins 
• Grady Champion 
• Charlie Sayles 
• Sugar Blue
• Omar Coleman 
• James Harman 

Artist (Male) Lurrie Bell  Buddy Guy  John Primer  Keb' Mo'  Taj Mahal  Mr. Sipp  Little Freddie King  Tommy Castro  Vasti Jackson  Leo Bud Welch  Artist (Female) Trudy Lynn  Janiva Magness  Ruthie Foster  Shemekia Copeland  Diunna Greenleaf  Jewel Brown  Rhiannon Giddens  Irma Thomas Ms. Jody  Dorothy Moore  Singer Buddy Guy  Diunna Greenleaf Otis Clay John Németh Irma Thomas Joseph "Smokey" Holman Wee Willie Walker Mighty Sam McClain Trudy Lynn Johnny Rawls Guitar Lurrie Bell  Duke Robillard Joe Louis Walker Walter "Wolfman" Washington Buddy Guy  Lucky Peterson Classie Ballou Lil' Buck Sinegal Jimmy Johnson Jimmy Burns Keyboard Eden Brent  Marcia Ball  Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne  Allen Toussaint Henry Gray Ironing Board Sam David Maxwell Barrelhouse Chuck Victor Wainwright Mitch Woods Live Performer Super Chikan Shemekia Copeland Bobby Rush Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials Buddy Guy Ruthie Foster Tab Benoit Victor Wainwright The Cedric Burnside Project Mr. Sipp Album (New) Shemekia Copeland: Outskirts of Love Buddy Guy: Born To Play Guitar Mr. Sipp: The Mississippi Blues Child Wee Willie Walker: If Nothing Ever Changes Omar Coleman: Born and Raised Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King: Fat Man's Shine Parlor James Harman: Bonetime Various Artists - Muddy Waters 100 Henry Gray and Bob Corritore: Sessions Vol. 1: Blues Won't Let Me Take My Rest The Cedric Burnside Project: Descendants of Hill Country Album (Reissue) Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection Various Artists: Parchman Farm: Photographs and Field Recordings, 1947-1959 J. B. Hutto: Hawk Squat Tampa Red: Dynamite! The Unsung King of the Blues Various Artists: Acoustic Blues: The Roots of It All The Definitive Collection Vols. 1-4 Bobby Rush: Chicken Heads: A 50-Year History of Bobby Rush Book Grady Gaines with Rod Evans: I've Been Out There: On the Road with Legends of Rock 'n' Roll Jas Obrecht: Early Blues: The First Stars of Blues Guitar Preston Lauterbach: Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis Blues Unlimited: Essential Interviews From the Original Blues Magazine  Peter Guralnick: Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll Barry Mazor: Ralph Peer and the Making of Popular Roots Music Blast From the Past: Our Review of the Mel Brown DVD Links: Living Blues, More Living Blues Awards Stories

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Canadians Win at International Blues Challenge in Memphis

Two talented Canadian musicians won big at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee on January 25, 2014.

Calgary's Tim Williams got top honors for best solo/duo and the St. Blues Guitarist award for top guitarist among solo/duo finalists. Click here for the CBC story.



Links: Tim Williams, Video above courtesy of TaterWorks

Toronto harmonica great (and frequent Jack de Keyzer collaborator) Jerome Godboo received the Lee Oskar Harmonica Player award for top harmonica player among semi-finalists.



Links: Jerome Godboo, More Jerome Godboo Stories, Video above courtesy of Jerome Godboo

Here's the complete list of winners.  Congrats!

Band

• 1st:  Mr. Sipp (Vicksburg Blues Society)
• 2nd Place: Ghost Town Blues Band (Memphis Blues Society)
• 3rd Place: Billy the Kid and The Regulators (Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania)
• Gibson Guitarist (top guitarist among band finalists): Mr. Sipp (Vicksburg Blues Society)


Links: Mr. Sipp, Video above courtesy of Mr. Sipp

Solo/Duo

• 1st Place: Tim Williams (Calgary Blues Music Association)
• 2nd Place: Lucious Spiller (Ozark Blues Society of Northwest Arkansas)
• St. Blues Guitarist (top guitarist among solo/duo finalists): Tim Williams (Calgary Blues Music Association)
• Lee Oskar Harmonica Player (top harmonica player among semi-finalists): Jerome Godboo  (Toronto Blues Society)
• Best Self-Produced CD: Hank Mowery: Account to Me (West Michigan Blues Society)

Blast from the Past: Last Year's Winners

Click here for more stories about the IBC

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