Nemeth leads with 5 Blues Music Awards nominations

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Singer and harmonica player John Nemeth, vocalist Shemekia Copeland, country blues artist Rory Block, and guitarist Eric Gales are among the top nominees for this year’s Blues Music Awards. The Blues Foundation on Tuesday released the list of nominees for the 44th installment of the awards, which will be handed out May 11 in Memphis, Tennessee. Nemeth leads the way with five nominations, including song of the year, band of the year and best traditional blues album. Block, Copeland and Gales are each nominated for three awards. Willie J. Campbell was posthumously nominated in the instrumentalist-bass category. He died in December.