Critics’ Poll
Blues Artist of the Year (Male)
Taj Mahal
Blues Artist of the Year (Female)
Mavis Staples
Most Outstanding Blues Singer
Wee Willie Walker
Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar)
John Primer
Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica)
Omar Coleman
Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard)
Henry Gray
Most Outstanding Musician (Bass)
Benny Turner
Most Outstanding Musician (Drums)
Cedric Burnside
Most Outstanding Musician (Horns)
James “Boogaloo” Bolden
Most Outstanding Musician (Other)
Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton – Banjo/Fiddle
Best Live Performer
Bobby Rush
Comeback Artist of the Year
Don Bryant
Artist Deserving More Attention
Jontavious Willis
Best Blues Albums of 2017
Album of the Year
Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ – TajMo – Concord Records
New Recordings (Contemporary Blues)
Mr. Sipp – Knock a Hole in It – Malaco Records
New Recordings (Southern Soul)
Don Bryant – Don’t Give Up on Love – Fat Possum Records
New Recordings (Best Debut)
Jontavious Willis – Blue Metamorphosis – No Label
New Recordings (Traditional & Acoustic)
Rhiannon Giddens – Freedom Highway – Nonesuch Records
Historical (Pre-war)
Various Artists – Blue 88s: Unreleased Piano Blues Gems 1938–1942 – Hi Horse Records
Historical (Postwar)
Jimmy Reed – Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee-Jay Singles – Craft Recordings
Blues Book of the Year
The Original Blues: The Emergence of the Blues in African American Vaudeville – By Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff – University Press of Mississippi
DVD of the Year
Various Artists – I am the Blues – Directed by Daniel Cross – Film Movement
Producer of the Year (New Recording)
Scott Bomar and Bruce Watson
Don Bryant – Don’t Give Up on Love – Fat Possum Records
Producer of the Year (Historical Recording)
Robin Cohn and Larry Cohn
Various Artists – Blue 88s: Unreleased Piano Blues Gems 1938–1942 – Hi Horse Records
Readers’ Poll
Blues Artist of the Year (Male)
Buddy Guy
Blues Artist of the Year (Female)
Samantha Fish
Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar)
Buddy Guy
Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica)
Charlie Musselwhite
Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard)
Marcia Ball
Best Live Performer
Buddy Guy
Most Outstanding Blues Singer
Buddy Guy
Best Blues Album of 2017 (New Release)
Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ – TajMo – Concord Records
Best Blues Album of 2017 (Historical Recording)
John Lee Hooker – King of the Boogie – Craft Recordings
Best Blues DVD of 2017
The Nighthawks – Nighthawks on the Blue Highway – Directed by Michael Streissguth – EllerSoul Records
Best Blues Book of 2017
Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition – By Adam Gussow – University of North Carolina Press
