The United Kingdom boasts a blues world all its own, another example of the worldwide popularity of this uniquely American music. And they have their own blues awards.
The UK Blues Federation is an affiliate of the U.S. Blues Foundation, and a member of the European Blues Union. Since 2018, the UK Blues Federation has been hosting the UK Blues Awards.
Here’s a statement from the federation’s web site:
“The UK Blues Federation believes that Blues music in the United Kingdom (UK) needs to be better represented and coordinated in order to achieve the respect and prosperity that it deserves.
“Consequently in 2015, we established a pan-UK Federation to promote and support Blues in and from the UK in all its forms and styles. It is our aim to achieve the maximum recognition for UK Blues music, past, present, and future and thereby to boost the profile and prosperity of all involved with the genre in the UK, bringing those involved together to achieve this vision.
“As an Affiliate of the Blues Foundation in The USA and an Active Member of the European Blues Union our activities have a global reach.
“Since 2018 The UK Blues Federation has been hosting The UK Blues Awards. Our aim being to allow the industry and the public to nominate and vote for those they believe, through their work in the previous year, deserve the recognition an Award will give them.“
Here are the winners of the 2026 UK Blues Awards, announced April 8 (and here’s a list of the nominees):
Young Blues Artist of the Year
Zac Schulze
Emerging Blues Act of the Year
The Whisky Flowers
Unsung Hero of the Year
Jim Simpson
International Blues Artist of the Year
Joanne Shaw Taylor
Acoustic Blues Act of the Year
Mississippi MacDonald
Blues Festival of the Year
The Great British R&B Festival
Lifetime Achievement Award
Eric Clapton
Blues Album of the Year
Catfish – Time To Fly
Blues Vocalist of the Year
Alice Armstrong
Traditional Blues Artist of the Year
Connor Selby
Dave Raven Blues Broadcaster of the Year
Elles Bailey
Blues Club/Venue of the Year
The Tuesday Night Music Club
Matt Long Blues Instrumentalist of the Year
Will Wilde
Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year
Alice Armstrong
Blues Band of the Year
The Cinelli Brothers