Blues Music Awards handed out in Memphis

It was a big night for Mississippi’s oldest and newest blues stars, as the annual Blues Music Awards were handed out Thursday night in Memphis.

Presented by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation, the 45th edition of the awards took place at Downtown Memphis’ Renasant Convention Center.

Mississippi’s 90-year-old blues legend Bobby Rush and the state’s 25-yearold guitar phenom, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, came away with multiple trophies.

Ingram took home the awards for Album of the Year for his concert set, “Live in London,” on Alligator Records. Ingram beat out a group of contenders that included fellow Mississippi native Mr. Sipp, who was nominated for his work on “Soul Side of Sipp.”

Ingram’s Live in Long also won the Contemporary Blues Album award. Additionally, Ingram walked away with honors as Best Contemporary Blues Artist and another trophy as top guitarist in the instrumentalist category.

Rush took home the coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year prize. He also earned the award for Best Soul Blues album for his “All My Love For You” LP. In both categories, Rush topped a group that included Mr. Sipp — who was nominated for three awards in total but came away empty-handed on the night.

Memphis vocalist John Németh, meanwhile, took home the honor as the top male Soul Blues singer. Németh bested a group of competitors that included Stax Records legend William Bell to win the prize.

Bob Mehr covers music for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at bob.mehr@commercialappeal.com.