Blues Blast Magazine
| Categories | Music, Blues |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Format | Digital |
| Circulation | 44,000 |
| Publisher | Bob Kieser |
| Founded | 2007 |
| First issue | 2007 |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Creve Coeur, Illinois |
| Language | English |
| Website | http://www.bluesblastmagazine.com |
Blues Blast Magazine is a weekly online magazine dedicated to the Blues genre. The magazine provides artist interviews, album reviews, and news.[1] It is the presenter of the annual Blues Blast Music Awards.[2] In 2025, Blues Blast Magazine was honored by The Blues Foundation with a Keeping the Blues Alive Award for its contributions to the genre.[2]
History
In 2007, publisher and editor Bob Kieser launched Illinois Blues Blast.[1][3] The publication began with an email list of approximately 1,000 subscribers.[1] The initial focus was on album reviews and performance schedules for artists in Illinois and the surrounding Midwest.[1] In 2008, the publication was rebranded as Blues Blast Magazine.[1] The shift coincided with the establishment of the annual Blues Blast Music Awards.[1] In 2013, the publication was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame.[4]
The magazine is a digital publication distributed weekly.[2] Its editorial content focuses on the contemporary Blues scene and its history. The magazine operates with a staff of over 20 writers and photographers, and has published over 900 consecutive weekly issues, which includes over 5,500 music reviews and 670 artist interviews.[2] The publications is the largest publicly available online repository of Blues information.[2]
Blues Blast Music Awards
The Blues Blast Music Awards are an annual set of awards presented by the magazine since 2008.[1][5] Although the Awards are noted for being the largest fan-voted awards in the Blues genre, its nominees are determined solely by a group of Blues music industry professionals, including music critics, journalists, festival promoters, music venue managers, producers, and musicians.[6]
According to the magazine, the Awards results in two forms of recognition for artists. First, since award nominees represent the "best of" choices from Blues critics, an artist is recognized as having earned the equivalent of a "critics' award" honor by being nominated.[7] Second, because the award winners are determined by the votes of Blues fans, an artist is recognized as having won the equivalent of a "people's choice award" honor in the category they were nominated.[7]
The Awards are hosted at a live ceremony featuring performances from the nominated artists.[1] For its first several years, the ceremony was held at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago.[1] In 2023, the 16th annual awards were held for the first time in Peoria, Illinois, at the 3300 Event Center, and served as a fundraising benefit for the Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research.[8][9] The Awards has also presented the Sean Costello Rising Star Award, which was named in honor of blues musician Sean Costello.[5]
The Awards recognize artists across a wide spectrum of blues sub-genres. In 2024, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats won Contemporary Blues Album for The Hits Keep Coming, in a category that also included nominees Selwyn Birchwood and Anthony Geraci.[10] The award for Traditional Blues Album went to John Primer & Bob Corritore for Crawlin' Kingsnake, with other nominees including Nick Moss and Monster Mike Welch.[10] Christone "Kingfish" Ingram was named Male Blues Artist, and Sue Foley was named Female Blues Artist.[10] Other nominees have include Shemekia Copeland, Bobby Rush, Bai Kamara and Elvin Bishop.[11][12]
The Awards recognize achievement in the following categories:[13][14]
Album:
- Contemporary Blues Album
- Traditional Blues Album
- Soul Blues Album
- Rock Blues Album
- Acoustic Blues Album
- Live Blues Album
- Historical or Vintage Recording
- New Artist Debut Album
Artist:
- Blues Band of the Year
- Male Blues Artist
- Female Blues Artist
- Sean Costello Rising Star Award
- Producer of the Year
Performance:
- Electric Guitar Player of the Year
- Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year
- Slide Guitar Player of the Year
- Bass Guitar Player of the Year
- Keyboard Player of the Year
- Drummer of the Year
- Harmonica Player of the Year
- Horn Player of the Year
- Vocalist of the Year
Video:
- Blues Music Video of the Year
2025 Blues Blast Music Awards
On July 7, 2025, Blues Blast announced the following nominees of the 2025 Blues Blast Music Awards:[14]
| Contemporary Blues Album | Traditional Blues Album |
|---|---|
|
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| Soul Blues Album | Rock Blues Album |
|
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| Acoustic Blues Album | Live Blues Album |
|
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| Historical or Vintage Recording | New Artist Debut Album |
|
|
| Blues Band Of The Year | Male Blues Artist |
| |
| Female Blues Artist | Sean Costello Rising Star Award |
|
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| Producer Of The Year | Electric Guitarist Of The Year |
|
|
| Acoustic Guitarist Of The Year | Slide Guitarist Of The Year |
|
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| Bass Guitarist Of The Year | Keyboard Player Of The Year |
|
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| Percussionist Of The Year | Harmonica Player Of The Year |
|
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| Horn Player Of The Year | Vocalist Of The Year |
|
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| Blues Video Of The Year | |
| |
Recognition
In 2025, the Blues Foundation honored Blues Blast Magazine with a Keeping the Blues Alive Award.[2] The award is presented to non-performing individuals and organizations for "significant contributions to the Blues world" and are determined by a panel of blues professionals based on merit.[2] The official citation recognized the magazine as a "dedicated voice for the blues community" and an "indispensable resource for blues fans".[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Limnios, Michael. "Q&A with publisher Bob Kieser of Blues Blast Magazine - one of the primary and must read of Blues fans". blues.gr. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h McKay, Robin. "Keeping the Blues Alive Award". Blues Foundation. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ^ "Illinois Blues - www.IllinoisBlues.com - Blues news across the USA". thebluesblast.com. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "Chicago Blues Hall of Fame". 2013-04-28.
- ^ a b "The Short Life and Infinite Legacy of Sean Costello". American Blues Scene. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "2017 Blues Blast Winners Announced". American Blues Scene. 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ a b "About The Blues Blast Music Awards". Blues Blast Magazine. 2014-06-21. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
- ^ "The 16th Annual Blues Blast Music Awards comes to Peoria for the first time". WCBU Peoria. 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ^ "About – The 2023 Blues Blast Music Awards". Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ a b c White, Jim (2024-09-05). "Roadhouse Blues News: Here are the winners in fan voting for the 2024 Blues Blast Music Awards". Blues Roadhouse. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ^ "2022 Blues Blast Awards winners – Washington Blues Society". wablues.org. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ^ Kenechi, Stephen (2020-07-21). "Bai Kamara reacts to nomination for US' 2020 Blues Blast Music Awards". TheCable Lifestyle. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "2018 Blues Blast Music Award Nominations Announced". Blues Festival Guide Magazine and Online Directory of Blues Festivals. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
- ^ a b Alper, Eric (2025-07-07). "2025 Blues Blast Music Award Nominees Announced". That Eric Alper. Retrieved 2025-07-08.