The 2026 Blues Music Awards were announced at ceremonies May 7 at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in Memphis. Here’s a list of all the nominees, with winners in bold.
The BMAs are generally recognized as the highest honor given to blues musicians and are awarded by vote of Blues Foundation members.
The Blues Foundation also announced new inductees into the Blues Hall of Fame: Kenny Neal, Bob “Steady Rollin’” Margolin, Henry “Ragtime Texas” Thomas, Rosco Gordon, Barbara Lynn and Marcia Ball. (Read about the inductees here.)
Acoustic Blues Album
- Catfish Keith — Sugar for Sugar – Vol. 1 2025 Summer Sessions
- Doug MacLeod — Between Somewhere and Goodbye
- Erin Harpe — Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me: A Tribute to Mississippi John Hurt
- Hudspeth & Taylor — Kimuziki Live in Des Moines
- Johnny Iguana — At Delmark
Acoustic Blues Artist
- Catfish Keith
- Doug MacLeod
- Eric Bibb
- Kevin Burt
- Rhiannon Giddens
Album of the Year
- Blood Brothers (Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia) — Help Yourself
- Bobby Rush & Kenny Wayne Shepherd — Young Fashioned Ways
- D.K. Harrell — Talkin’ Heavy
- Larry McCray — Heartbreak City
- Tommy Castro & The Painkillers — Closer To The Bone
B.B. King Entertainer of the Year
- Castro Coleman (Mr. Sipp)
- Rick Estrin
- Ronnie Baker Brooks
- Ruthie Foster
- Vanessa Collier
Band of the Year
- Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra
- John Nemeth and the Blue Dreamers
- Southern Avenue
- Tedeschi Trucks Band
- Vanessa Collier Band
Best Emerging Artist Album
- Brody Buster — Redemption
- Allison August — August Moon
- Sean McDonald — Have Mercy!
- Robbin Kapsalis — THE BLUES IS IN THE HOUSE
- Kyle Rowland — NOT HOLDING BACK!
Blues Rock Album
- Blood Brothers (Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia) — Help Yourself
- Devon Allman — BLUES SUMMIT
- Kent Burnside — Hill Country Blood
- Tom Hambridge — Down The Hatch
- Walter Trout — Sign Of The Times
Blues Rock Artist
- Ana Popovic
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd
- Kirk Fletcher
- Tommy Castro
- Walter Trout
Contemporary Blues Album
- Brandon Santini — Which Way Do We Go?
- Carolyn Wonderland — Truth Is
- D.K. Harrell — Talkin’ Heavy
- Monster Mike Welch — Keep Living Til I Die
- Southern Avenue — Family
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
- Carolyn Wonderland
- Danielle Nicole
- Ruthie Foster
- Samantha Fish
- Vanessa Collier
Contemporary Blues Male Artist
- Brandon Santini
- Castro Coleman (Mr. Sipp)
- Chris Cain
- Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
- D.K. Harrell
Instrumentalist – Bass
- Benny Turner
- Larry Fulcher
- Michael “Mudcat” Ward
- Rodrigo Mantovani
- Scot Sutherland
Instrumentalist – Drums
- Chris Layton
- Chris Peet
- Derrick D’Mar Martin
- Tom Hambridge
- Tony Braunagel
Instrumentalist – Guitar
- Chris Cain
- Christoffer “Kid” Andersen
- Derek Trucks
- Joanna Connor
- Ronnie Baker Brooks
Instrumentalist – Harmonica
- Billy Branch
- Bob Corritore
- Brandon Santini
- John Nemeth
- Kim Wilson
Instrumentalist – Horn
- Greg Piccolo
- Jimmy Carpenter
- Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff
- Regi Oliver
- Trombone Shorty
Instrumentalist – Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player)
- Anthony Geraci
- Bruce Katz
- Dave Keyes
- Jon Cleary
- Marcia Ball
Instrumentalist – Vocals
- Candice Ivory
- Danielle Nicole
- John Nemeth
- Shemekia Copeland
- Susan Tedeschi
Song of the Year
- “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
Soul Blues Album
- 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
Soul Blues Female Artist
- Annika Chambers
- Candice Ivory
- Kat Riggins
- Thornetta Davis
- Vaneese Thomas
Soul Blues Male Artist
- Alabama Mike
- Curtis Salgado
- John Nemeth
- Johnny Rawls
- Tad Robinson
Traditional Blues Album
- 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
Traditional Blues Female Artist (Koko Taylor Award)
- Diunna Greenleaf
- Eden Brent
- Maria Muldaur
- Rhiannon Giddens
- Teeny Tucker
Traditional Blues Male Artist
- Billy Branch
- Jimmie Vaughan
- John Primer
- Jontavious Willis
- Rick Estrin
International Blues Album
- 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