Diunna Greenleaf, ubiegłoroczna gwiazda festiwalu Olsztyńskie Noce Bluesowe, została artystką roku 2014 według krytyków pisma Living Blues. W Olsztynie grali również Joe Louis Walker i Bobby Rush. Fani uznali za bluesową artystkę roku Shemekię Copeland, któa także koncertowała w Polsce.
Magazyn Living Blues po raz 22. przyznał swoje nagrody artystom ze świata bluesa. Tradycyjnie już można poznać wybór krytyków magazynu i wyniki ankiety czytelników. Najwyższe pozycje zajmują artyści, których można było zobaczyć w Polsce na koncertach w ciągu ostatnich lat. Polacy ciągle też wspominają wizyty B.B. Kinga, Buddy Guya czy Johnny Wintera.
The 22nd Annual Living Blues Awards
Critics’ Poll:
Blues Artist of the Year (Male):
B.B. King
Blues Artist of the Year (Female):
Diunna Greenleaf
Most Outstanding Blues Singer:
Bobby Patterson
Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar):
Joe Louis Walker
Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica):
James Cotton
Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard):
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne
Most Outstanding Musician (Drums):
Kenny Smith
Most Outstanding Musician (Horns):
Grady Gaines
Most Outstanding Musician (Other):
Jerry Paxton – Banjo/Fiddle
Best Live Performer:
Bobby Rush
Comeback Artist of the Year:
Shuggie Otis
Artist Deserving More Attention:
Vaneese Thomas
Best Blues Albums of 2014:
Album of the Year:
Billy Boy Arnold, Blues Soul of Billy Boy Arnold (Stony Plain)
New Recordings/ Southern Soul:
Candi Staton, Life Happens (Beracah)
New Recordings/ Best Debut:
Selwyn Birchwood, Don’t Call No Ambulance (Alligator)
New Recordings/ Traditional & Acoustic:
Jerron Paxton, Recorded Music For Your Entertainment (Beaumont)
New Recordings/Contemporary Blues:
Gary Clark, Jr., Live (Warner Bros.)
Historical Pre-War:
Various Artists, Peabody Blues (Nehi)
Historical Post-War:
Various Artists, Classic African American Songsters (Smithsonian/Folkways)
Blues Book of the Year:
Pioneers of the Blues Revival, by Steve Cushing (Univ. of IL Press)
DVD of the Year:
Various Artists, Legendary Country Blues Guitarists (Vestapol)
Readers’ Poll:
Blues Artist of the Year (Male):
Buddy Guy
Blues Artist of the Year (Female):
Shemekia Copeland
Best Blues Album (New Release):
Elvin Bishop, Can’t Even Do Wrong Right (Alligator)
Best Blues Album (Historical Recording):
Johnny Winter, True to the Blues: The Johnny Winter Story (Columbia/Legacy)
Best Blues DVD:
Various Artists, A Celebration of Blues and Soul: The 1989 Presidential Inaugural Concert (Shout! Factory)
Best Blues Book:
Blues All Day Long: The Jimmy Rogers Story, by Wayne Everett Goins (Univ. of IL Press)
Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar):
Buddy Guy
Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica):
Charlie Musselwhite
Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard):
Marcia Ball
Best Live Performer:
Tab Benoit
Most Outstanding Blues Singer:
Buddy Guy
