Three Yellow Dog Records Artists Nominated for Blues Music Awards

Dec. 13, 2007 - PRLog -- Yellow Dog Records is well-represented in the just-announced 2008 Blues Music Awards, with three artists recognized with award nominations.  The Soul of John Black and his Yellow Dog Records debut album The Good Girl Blues are nominated for "Best New Artist Debut", while Mary Flower is nominated for "Acoustic Artist of the Year".  Fiona Boyes becomes a two-time nominee with this year's nomination for "Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year".

The Blues Music Awards (formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards) are universally recognized as the highest honor given to Blues artists.  The awards have been presented by The Blues Foundation in ceremonies since 1980 to celebrate excellence in recording and performance during the previous year.  This year's awards ceremony will be held May 8, 2008 at the Grand Casino Event Center in Tunica, MS, and will reveal the results of voting conducted by members of the Blues Foundation at its web site, www.blues.org, between now and Feb 29, 2008.

"These three musicians represent very different approaches to the blues tradition," said Michael Powers, president of Yellow Dog Records, "yet each clearly reflects the music's roots while extending them in distinctive ways.  As a group, they demonstrate the depth and power of the genre."

The Soul of John Black is the nom de performance of soul/roots guitarist John "JB" Bigham, an accomplished performer who has toured and recorded with artists as acclaimed and diverse as Fishbone, Miles Davis, Eminem, Dr. Dré, and Nikka Costa. Bigham's new album The Good Girl Blues, a "funky blend of blues, soul, and rock" that merges rootsy, bluesy fundamentals with modern soul, funk, and hip-hop influences, was released by Yellow Dog Records in 2007 to critical acclaim, also earning widespread airplay and reaching the #2 position on XM Satellite Radio's Bluesville channel.  The album was recently named one of five Blues finalists for Album of the Year in the Independent Music Awards (three of the other four finalists are also Blues Music Award nominees), and is currently featured in Blues listening posts throughout the Borders Books and Music chain.

As the only woman to twice finish in the top three at the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship, acoustic guitarist Mary Flower is no stranger to critical acclaim.  Working in both the intricately syncopated Piedmont fingerpicking style as well as her own deeply bluesy lap-slide guitar, Flower has earned raves from critics and audiences alike for her springwater-clear vocals and guitar mastery, as well as her beautiful original compositions.  Flower maintains an active performance schedule at national blues and folk festivals and instructional camps, and serves as coordinator of Guitar Week for the Davis & Elkins Augusta Heritage Center.

This year, Yellow Dog Records released Flower's newest album, Instrumental Breakdown, a disc that compiles the instrumental tracks from her previous albums along with a couple of newly-recorded tunes.  Flower is the subject of a feature article in the upcoming Feb/Mar '08 issue of Blues Revue magazine, and is also distinguished in the upcoming Jan/Feb '08 issue of Dirty Linen magazine, which features a song from Instrumental Breakdown as the closing track of its inaugural "Editor's Choice" sampler CD.

Australian guitarist, singer, and songwriter Fiona Boyes made her first impression on the US Blues scene in 2003 when she won the acoustic title at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.  A versatile performer who transitions effortlessly between picking traditional acoustic country blues, laying out sweet, stinging riffs on her Telecaster, or tearing a slide across the neck of her Maton Mastersound, Fiona's more modern stylings were featured on her US debut album, Lucky 13, which was nominated in 2007 for "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year."  Her strong schedule of touring and festival performances throughout 2007 earned her follow-up recognition this year with a nomination for "Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year."  Recently relocated to Portland OR, Fiona will continue to tour the US throughout 2008.  She serves on the advisory board of the West Virginia Blues Society and is currently in pre-production on a new album, planned for release in the summer of 2008.

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About Yellow Dog Records

Based in Memphis, TN, Yellow Dog Records was founded in 2002 with the goal of cultivating the American musical heritage.  The label features artists who emphasize innovative approaches to authentic American musical roots traditions - Blues, Jazz, Soul, and Americana styles.  By providing support for recording, production, promotion and distribution, Yellow Dog Records brings this vital music to new and wider audiences.

Website: yellowdogrecords.com