14 Alligator Artists 22 Blues Music Award Nominations

14 Alligator Artists Receive 22 Blues Music Award Nominations Shemekia Copeland Leads All Alligator Artists With Four Nominations, Including Album Of The Year And Song Of The Year.

On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, the Blues Foundation announced the nominees for the 44th Annual Blues Music Awards. A total of 14 Alligator Records artists received an astounding 22 nominations. Leading all Alligator artists with four nominations is powerhouse vocalist Shemekia Copeland. Her nominations include both the coveted awards for Album Of The Year (for the Grammy Award-nominated Done Come Too Far, and Song Of The Year (for Too Far To Be Gone, written by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough) . Award-winning blues legends Rick Estrin & The Nightcats followed with three nominations, including for the Band Of The Year Award. Internationally beloved guitar master Chris Cain, soul blues vocalist Curtis Salgado, Southern blues rocker Tinsley Ellis and harmonica giant Billy Branch received two nominations each. Blues icon Charlie Musselwhite received an Acoustic Album Of The Year nomination for his Grammy Award-nominated album Mississippi Son, on which the beloved harmonica player surprised and delighted the world with his note-perfect original country blues guitar playing. Young blues guitar phenomenon Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, guitarist/lap-steel sensation Selwyn Birchwood, harmonica star Dennis Gruenling (of The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling) and legendary drummer Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith (of The Cash Box Kings) also received one nomination apiece. The 44th Annual Blues Music Awards will be held in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday, May 11, 2023. Alligator artists and their nominations follow: