Weekly Blues Dispatch (Week 09): Blues Music Awards Nominees, BluesGig Launch & Duke Robillard's New Album!

Welcome to This Week's Blues Dispatch

Hey blues family. Kjell here, writing to you on a Sunday evening with a strong coffee and Duke Robillard's brand-new 'Blast Off!' on the speakers. What a week it's been. The Blues Foundation dropped their 2026 nominees list on Tuesday, and I've been going through it like a kid in a candy store. So much to talk about.

But that's not all. This week I'm also excited to officially introduce something we've been building behind the scenes: BluesGig – a brand-new digital tool made specifically for blues clubs, jazz associations, and small festivals here in the Nordics. More on that below. Plus: Duke Robillard's new album is out, and the Oz & The Wizards release concert in Kristiansand is now just two weeks away. Let's dive in.

🏆 2026 Blues Music Awards Nominees – The Full Breakdown

The Blues Foundation announced the nominees for the 47th annual Blues Music Awards on February 18, and the ceremony takes place May 7 in Memphis, Tennessee. Let me hit the highlights, because this year's field is seriously stacked.

Album of the Year nominees include Bobby Rush & Kenny Wayne Shepherd's 'Young Fashioned Ways' (which we covered extensively in our Grammy dispatch), D.K. Harrell's 'Talkin' Heavy,' Larry McCray's 'Heartbreak City,' Tommy Castro & The Painkillers' 'Closer To The Bone,' and Blood Brothers Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia's 'Help Yourself.' That's an incredibly strong lineup. I'd have a hard time choosing a winner.

In the Blues Rock category, Walter Trout gets a well-deserved nod for 'Sign Of The Times,' alongside Kent Burnside's 'Hill Country Blood' (Hill Country blues getting recognition always makes me happy), and Devon Allman's 'BLUES SUMMIT.' For Blues Rock Artist, it's Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Walter Trout, Ana Popovic, Kirk Fletcher, and Tommy Castro. Can't argue with any of those names.

Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram is nominated for Contemporary Blues Male Artist alongside D.K. Harrell and Brandon Santini. Samantha Fish and Vanessa Collier are both up for Contemporary Blues Female Artist. And Tedeschi Trucks Band is nominated for Band of the Year – they're the kind of band that makes you believe live music can still change the world.

For B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Ruthie Foster and Vanessa Collier are joined by Rick Estrin, Ronnie Baker Brooks, and Castro Coleman (Mr. Sipp). And in the harmonica category, Billy Branch – whose 'The Blues Is My Biography' we highlighted last week – is nominated alongside Kim Wilson, Brandon Santini, Bob Corritore, and John Nemeth.

Full list of nominees at https://blues.org. Mark your calendars for May 7 – Memphis is the place to be.

🚀 Introducing BluesGig – A New Tool for Nordic Blues Clubs & Festivals

Okay, this is something I've been wanting to share with you for a while. If you run a blues club, jazz association, or small festival in Norway, Sweden, or Denmark, you know the pain: spreadsheets for accounting, Word documents for contracts, Photoshop for posters, and endless email chains for everything else. It's a mess. I know, because I've lived it.

That's why we've been building BluesGig (https://www.bluesgig.com/) – an all-in-one web tool designed specifically for Nordic music organisers. Here's what it does: event creation with a simple wizard, AI-generated concert posters in seconds, automatic artist contracts adapted to Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish law, VAT compensation reports with one click, AI-powered marketing tools for newsletters and social media, and integration with external ticketing systems like TicketCo and Billetto.

The whole thing is available in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish. It's built to understand the Nordic way of running a music association – the momskompensasjon, the foreningsregnskap, the volunteer-run reality. No American enterprise software trying to shoehorn Nordic clubs into a Silicon Valley template. This is built by us, for us.

Interested in trying BluesGig? One event per month is free – no credit card needed. Request access at https://www.bluesgig.com/ and we'll get you set up. If you know someone who runs a blues club or jazz association, please share this with them. We want to make the admin side of live blues as painless as possible, so organisers can focus on what matters: the music.

Read the full promo page with features, pricing, and our international roadmap right here on SlowBlues: https://slowblues.no/bluesgig

🎵 Duke Robillard – 'Blast Off!' Is Here

We teased this one last week, and now it's out: Duke Robillard's 'Blast Off!' dropped on February 20 via Nola Blue Records. If you're not familiar with Duke, here's the short version: co-founder of Roomful of Blues, former guitarist in The Fabulous Thunderbirds, three-time Blues Music Award winner, and one of the most technically brilliant and tasteful blues guitarists alive.

'Blast Off!' is classic Duke – impeccable tone, effortless swing between jump blues, T-Bone Walker-style sophistication, and raw Chicago grit. The man is 76 and still playing circles around guitarists half his age. If you like your blues with class, finesse, and zero wasted notes, this is your album of the month.

Stream it, buy it, put it on loud. Duke deserves every ear he can get.

🔥 Oz & The Wizards Release Concert – Just Over a Week Away!

Quick reminder: Saturday, March 7, at Teateret in Kristiansand – Oz & The Wizards are doing their release concert. It's just over a week away now! These guys deserve every seat filled. Original blues from Kristiansand, Chicago and Delta-rooted, written and performed by Osmund 'Oz' Grytdahl, Oddvar Micaelsen, and Ole Louis Lilløy.

Tickets are available now: https://teateret.no/event/oz-the-wizards. Full artist profile: https://slowblues.no/scandinavian-blues/oz-and-the-wizards. If you're in Sørlandet, this is your Saturday night sorted. Don't sleep on it.

🛍️ Help Keep the Blues Alive – Check Out Our Merch Store

SlowBlues.no is a passion project – built, maintained, and funded entirely by one blues enthusiast on his own time. No corporate sponsors, no ads, just a genuine love for the music. If you enjoy what we do here, one of the best ways to show your support is by checking out the SlowBlues Merch Store at https://slowblues.no/merch. We've recently updated the collection with several new items – from t-shirts to accessories – all designed with the blues spirit in mind.

Every purchase helps keep the lights on and the content flowing. And speaking of growth: SlowBlues.no is now available in German! We've been promised a feature in one of Germany's leading blues magazines, so we're excited to welcome a whole new audience to the community. Whether you grab a shirt, share an article, or just keep reading – every bit of support means the world. Thank you for being part of this. 🎶

📸 One more thing: we're always looking for authentic artist photos to improve our profiles. Many artists still have placeholder images, and we'd love to fix that. If you have photos of blues artists – especially from live shows or festivals – and have the rights to share them, please submit them through our contribution form at https://slowblues.no/contribute. Proper photographer credit is always given. Every photo helps tell the story of the blues.

🌍 Until Next Week – Keep the Blues Alive

That's my week. Blues Music Awards nominees announced. BluesGig launched for Nordic organisers. Duke Robillard still swinging at 76. And Oz & The Wizards getting ready to rock Kristiansand. Not a bad week for the blues.

As always, I want to hear from you. Who are your BMA picks? Have you tried BluesGig yet? Are you going to Teateret on March 7? Drop me a line at post@slowblues.no – your voices make this community what it is.

And while you're here: test your knowledge with our Blues Quiz at https://slowblues.no/blues-quiz, explore 330+ artist profiles, or share this dispatch with a friend who needs more blues in their feed. Every share counts. The blues is a conversation – and we're glad you're part of it. 🎸

#SlowBlues #BluesMusicAwards2026 #BluesGig #DukeRobillard #OzAndTheWizards #NordicBlues