The BLUES Foundation Honors Blues Patrons from around the world at February Awards Ceremony in Memphis.

Honorees Include Key Movers

Memphis, TN – The Blues Foundation will honor 15 individuals and organizations with its 2013 Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) Awards during a recognition luncheon Friday, February 1, 2013, in Memphis, Tennessee. Each year, The Blues Foundation presents the KBA Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to blues music. The KBA ceremony will be held in conjunction with the 29th International Blues Challenge (IBC), which begins January 29 and features the final rounds of the world’s largest and most prestigious blues music competition, as well as seminars, showcases, and receptions for blues societies, fans, and professionals.

The KBAs are awarded on the basis of merit by a select panel of blues professionals to those working to actively promote and document the music. "This year, the KBA Committee was thoroughly pleased with the quality of the nominees submitted for consideration,” notes committee chair Art Tipaldi, editor of Blues Revue. “The fifteen recipients represent an outstanding cross-section of blues boosters. We are pleased to honor these people and organizations as a tribute to the years each has given to supporting the blues."

The 2013 Keeping the Blues Alive Awards recipients:

Affiliate – Colorado Blues Society
Art – Stan Street, Clarksdale, Mississippi
Club – Boulder Outlook Hotel, Boulder, Colorado
Education – Nat Dove, Bakersfield, California
Festival: International – Festival International du Blues De Tremblant, Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada
Festival: U.S. – Mount Baker Rhythm And Blues Festival, Bellingham, Washington
Historical – Shelley Ritter, Clarksdale, Mississippi
International – Vicente Zumel, Barcelona, Spain
Journalism – Bob Margolin, High Point, North Carolina
Literature – I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy by Bob Riesman, Chicago, Illinois
Manager – Marty Salzman, Chicago, Illinois
Print Media – Blues News, Oslo, Norway
Radio: Commercial – Gil Anthony, Dothan, Alabama
Radio: Public - Scott Mullins, Baltimore, Maryland
Record Label – Telarc, Cleveland, Ohio

-- Publisher's note: STLBlues was honored in 2008 as a KBA recipient, one of the Blues industry's most prestigous awards.