Alligator Records Artists Receive 27 Blues Music Award Nominations

Alligator Records Artists Receive 27 Blues Music Award Nominations

On Friday, January 24, 2025, the Blues Foundation announced the nominees for the 46th Annual Blues Music Awards. Alligator Records artists received an astounding 27 nominations.
Leading all artists with six nominations is Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. Nominations include the coveted awards for Band Of The Year, Album Of The Year (for The Hits Keep Coming) and, for Estrin, the B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. Guitarist Christoffer "Kid" Andersen and drummer Derrick "D'Mar" Martin received individual nominations......

Three Alligator artists -- Shemekia Copeland, Ronnie Baker Brooks and Chris Cain, received four nominations each. All three were recognized for Song Of The Year: Copeland for the title track from her GRAMMY-nominated album Blame It On Eve, Brooks for the title track of his Alligator debut, Blues In My DNA, and Cain for Blues For My Dad, from his album Good Intentions Gone Bad.

The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling received two nominations: Band Of The Year and an individual nomination for bassist Rodrigo Mantovani.

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Tinsley Ellis, Carolyn Wonderland, Southern Avenue, Tommy Castro, Billy Branch and drummer Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith (of The Cash Box Kings) each received one nomination.

The 46th Annual Blues Music Awards will be held in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday, May 8 at The Renasant Convention Center.

Click here for a full list of awards and nominees. Alligator artists and their nominations follow:

Rick Estrin & The Nightcats
Band Of The Year
B.B King Entertainer - Rick Estrin
Contemporary Blues Album (The Hits Keep Coming)
Instrumentalist — Harmonica: Rick Estrin
Instrumentalist — Guitar: Christoffer "Kid" Andersen
Instrumentalist — Drums: Derrick D'mar Martin

Shemekia Copeland
B.B. King Entertainer
Album Of The Year (Blame It On Eve)
Contemporary Blues Album (Blame It On Eve)
Song Of The Year — Tough Mother, performed by Shemekia Copeland and written by John Hahn & Will Kimbrough

Ronnie Baker Brooks
Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Contemporary Blues Album (Blues In My DNA)
Song Of The Year — Blues In My DNA, performed and written by Ronnie Baker Brooks
Instrumentalist — Guitar

Chris Cain
Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Contemporary Blues Album (Good Intentions Gone Bad)
Song Of The Year — Blues For My Dad, performed and written by Chris Cain
Instrumentalist — Guitar
The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling
Band Of The Year
Instrumentalist — Bass: Rodrigo Mantovani