Sierra Leone: Bai Kamara Jr nominated for blues award

Kamara Jr, who is nominated for Salone, is the only African nominee across all categories of the awards' 13th edition. He is nominated alongside Mark Telesca, Libby Rae Watson & Bert Deivert, Hudspeth & Taylor, Catfish Keith, and Bob Margolin.

"It is a beautiful sign of international recognition of this particular blues album, which marks a new stage in Kamara Jr's career," the musician's management said.

Kamara Jr, who is also an activist, uses the Krio language to tackle the themes of corruption, abuse of power and social injustice on the 15-track album. When reviewing Salone, Blues Blast Magazine said the album "would remind many listeners of Keb' Mo' – both for the quality of his vocals and for the intense rhythmic nature of the music he generates. Like Keb', he digs a cadenced ditch from the jump, dives into it and drives relentlessly and pleasantly forward throughout."

Released on German label Moosicus/MIG Music in January, Salone was named Album of the Month by the French-speaking Blues Radios Collective (CRB), Album of the Week by NDR Info, Radio Jade and Bongartz in Germany, and Music of the Day by Mediapart and Rolling Stone in France.

Rolling Stone gave the album a four-star review and invited Kamara to perform a live session for the magazine’s In My Room video series amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The BBMAs are organised by Blues Blast Magazine, a free weekly online publication that boasts subscribers in more than 90 countries.

Each year, artists and record labels submit their music for consideration. Once the list of nominees is compiled, the public is invited to vote in the following categories:

• Contemporary Blues Album
• Traditional Blues Album
• Rock Blues Album
• Acoustic Blues Album
• Live Blues Recording
• Historical or Vintage Recording
• New Artist Debut Album
• Blues Band
• Male Blues Artist
• Female Blues Artist 
• Sean Costello Rising Star Award

Vote for the 2020 BBMA nominees here.