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Congrats to the
2025 Blues Blast Music Award
Nominees!

Congrats to all nominees but especially
The Intrepid Ones’ 18 Nominations including
12 different Artists in 15 different categories!

Proud of all of you!!!

Both Chris Cain and Curtis Salgado lead the way with 3 nominations each. If you look closely Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia are also nominated for 3 each. IYKYK.

Rising Star Jovin Webb is nominated for two awards. Again, if you look closely, Jimmy Carpenter is also nominated for two awards. Sugaray Rayford, Carolyn Wonderland, Joanna Connor, Laura Chavez, and Scot Sutherland as well!

Voting Starts Monday July 14th, 2025!

Fan voting begins July 14, 2025 and ends at midnight on August 31, 2025 at http://www.BluesBlastMagazine.com Voting is free and open to anyone. You may only vote one time.

The Blues Blast Music Awards are presented by Blues Blast Magazine, the largest FREE weekly E-magazine with over 44,000 Blues fan subscribers located in all 50 states and in more than 90 countries.

Contemporary Blues Album
Chris Cain – Good Intentions Gone Bad

Soul Blues Album
Curtis Salgado – Fine By Me
Sugaray Rayford – Human Decency

Rock Blues Album
Albert Castiglia – Righteous Souls

Live Blues Album
The Blues Giants (ft. Mike Zito, Albert Castiglia, & Jimmy Carpenter)
– Live at Groove Now

New Artist Debut Album
Jovin Webb – Drifter

Blues Band Of The YearThe Blood Brothers

Male Blues Artist
Chris Cain
Curtis Salgado

Female Blues Artist
Carolyn Wonderland

Sean Costello Rising Star Award
Jovin Webb

Producer Of The Year
Mike Zito

Electric Guitarist Of The Year
Chris Cain
Laura Chavez

Slide Guitarist Of The Year
Joanna Connor

Bass Guitarist Of The Year
Scot Sutherland

Horn Player Of The Year
Jimmy Carpenter

Vocalist Of The Year
Curtis Salgado

Curtis Salgado for Soul Blues Male Artist and Soul Blues Album

Mike Zito for Blues Rock Album

https://lnk.to/CW_TruthIs

ACL & Antone’s Celebrate 50 yrs of Antone’s with an ACL LIVE Blues taping on Monday, 4/28 at The Moody Theater in Austin Texas. Lil’ Ed Williams will be performing along with other Blues Greats; Jimmie Vaughan, Sue Foley, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Charlie Sexton, Big Bill Morganfield, Grace Bowers, Bobby Rush, and Lurrie Bell. These blues all-stars will be backed by an incredible 14-piece house band featuring legendary players, including ACL Hall of Famer Chris Layton, Steve Bell, Joe Sublett, and more—all under the musical direction of Zach Ernst.

“’Make It’ is a monster of a single. Parker Barrow have their own sound and, in Megan Kane, one of the hottest vocalists on the scene at the moment. I get the feeling that we are going to be hearing a lot from Nashville’s Parker Barrow (taken from Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow – the infamous Bonnie & Clyde) in the near future.” ~ Music News.com

“’Make it’ captures the band at their irrepressible best, laying down one hell of an addictive groove with added cowbell, all of which is guaranteed to get the audience moving. With talented singer Megan (part Warren Haynes, part Tina Turner) raising hell behind the microphone and a brilliantly soulful chorus that’ll have you singing along in no time, if ‘Make It’ is a sign of things to come, then the band are aiming high indeed.” ~ Sonic Abuse

“Parker Barrow’s new single ‘Make It’ announces itself with some very loud guitars… shaking to the decidedly Zeppelin honey-dipped swagger. Megan Kane’s gonna melt your heart with her impressive rock ‘n soul holler, especially over the female backing vocal assisted speedier wanton choruses that repeat licentiously. Put on repeat.” ~ RAMzine

“‘Make It’ is the Southern Rock shot of adrenaline we’ve been waiting for. With its hook-heavy riff, fierce vocals, and a band firing on all cylinders, this single solidifies Parker Barrow’s place at the top of the modern southern rock revival. ‘Make It’ is southern rock revivalism done right – fierce, fearless, and full of fire.” ~ Rock News

“Parker Barrow steals your heart and soul with their charged and thrilling take on bluesy Southern rock’n’roll. Megan Kane’s soulfully, expressive voice soars in over the top of the riff and lifts things to even greater heights. Her delivery is rich and full, the perfect Southern storyteller heading into a rip-roaring chorus interspersed with harmony backing vocals.” ~ Screaming Riffs

“Park Barrow’s rootsy vibe doesn’t exclusively lean on the past: there’s a vibrancy and vision about their work that takes on the very best that 2025 has to offer. Meanwhile Megan Kane’s teasing vocals are like a shot of your favourite Tennessee whiskey — hot, with a kick and leaving you wanting more.” ~ Rush on Rock, Track of the Week

“With a tingling ‘n’ clambering riff and a clanking jatter, this thrill-ride comes rushing to life with Megan’s roiling, velvety, firelit vocal.” ~ Raw Ramp

“If ‘Make It’ is anything to go by, it won’t be long before Nashville’s Parker Barrow becomes a household name on both sides of the Atlantic. The song has a driving rhythm, searing guitar riffs, and a thick Southern swagger that conjures echoes of vintage rock titans, but Parker Barrow never feels like a throwback act. ” ~ MNPR Magazine

With explosive live shows and southern-bred authenticity The Cold Stares have been rocking crowds for over a decade.  Now their latest album, The Southern Part 2, is available for pre-sale starting today!

Check out their new single “Hurting Side of Love“

“Our version of the South is different,” says Chris Tapp. “When Brian and I were young, we would sit in with these old guys at the local lodge, at the time they were still playing the old hits by Bad Company, Robin Trower, and AC/DC mixed in with country and southern rock—artists like the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. When I heard Free’s ‘All Right Now‘ I thought they were from Georgia!”

On Friday, May 16, Alligator Records will release Truth Is, the ear-opening new album from Texas’ award-winning, guitar-slinging, straight-from-the-soul singing Carolyn Wonderland. She’s known for her formidable songwriting as much as for her singing and playing, and with Truth Is, she delivers a timeless album for these times. Truth Is will be available on CD, maroon vinyl LP and at all major streaming services.

The roof-raising first song from the album, “Sooner Or Later”, premieres today on all digital service providers. “Sometimes a melody just comes creeping out of the instrument,” Wonderland says of the song’s inception. “Maybe that’s why you gotta spend time listening to what your instrument wants to say instead of shoehorning your will on it, I suppose. The slight melancholy of the lonesome lap steel led me to the lyrics. Hard to say who’s the protagonist when you’re trying to walk in everyone’s shoes, but I felt a longing for connection with these neighbors and adversaries. Can we change when we find we are wrong? Can we make peace with the ghosts of our pasts? I guess we’ll find out sooner or later.”

Southern California rock powerhouse Robert Jon & The Wreck return with their brand-new single, “Long Gone”, a fiery, emotionally charged track co-written with the legendary John Oates (Hall & Oates) and produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Rival Sons, Brandi Carlile). Now available on all major streaming platforms, “Long Gone” showcases the band’s ability to fuse raw, bluesy storytelling with the kind of soaring melodies and rock-and-roll grit that have made them a force in the modern rock landscape.

“Long Gone” is a gripping blend of blues, soul, and high-octane rock, and the latest installment in what has already been a monumental year for Robert Jon & The Wreck, following the high-energy release of
“Sittin’ Pretty” and the introspective “Ashes in the Snow”. Each single has revealed a new side of the band’s ever-evolving artistry, setting the stage for their highly anticipated new studio album this summer.

After having fun hanging with Kat Riggins and her partner, Victoria, on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, John Nemeth invited Riggins to join him onstage for a few songs. The sparks were flying. Later, on the flight home while listening to Robert Cray’s “Nothing But A Woman,” Nemeth was inspired to sing it as a duet, and instantly thought of Riggins as a great pairing. Touring in Florida, where Riggins lives, with his band The Blue Dreamers, presented the perfect opportunity to record it. Nemeth decided to shake things up by replacing the horns on the original version with Anne Harris on violins instead. The chemistry at the session was powerful, and in only two takes, this fabulous ode to feminal forces was completed and ready for celebrating International Women’s Day 2025!

https://john-nemeth.bandcamp.com/track/nothing-but-a-woman?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR02k_ybet6R27x1oC5_l7OnntFacdgSS5dtdb3zWdcdAyKnpwH8h-tzGFA_aem_9rMlVa-9Cy4dSLQCsnOQ7w