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DECEMBER 2011: 7 Rosebud Artists Nominated for 12+ Blues Music Awards: Tommy Castro, Ruthie Foster, Charlie Musselwhite, Marcia Ball, Jon Cleary, Bettye LaVette and Duke Robillard All Honored with Nominations

7 Rosebud Artists have been honored with 12-plus nominations for the 2012 Blues Music Awards. Tommy Castro, Ruthie Foster, Charlie Musselwhite, Marcia Ball, Jon Cleary, Bettye LaVette and Duke Robillard have all been nominated.

Tommy Castro is once again among the most-nominated artists this year. He garnered nominations for B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Band of the Year and Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year (all awards which he has won previously). In addition, Tommy Castro Presents The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue - Live! (which features Tommy and his band on their own and alongside various other artists) is nominated for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year. He is also featured in the nominated DVD, All Jams on Deck (shot on the October 2010 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise). The "Jams" DVD also features fellow Rosebud Artists Marcia Ball and Coco Montoya among others. In a related nomination, longtime Tommy Castro Band saxophonist Keith Crossan is up for Best Instrumentalist - Horn.

Ruthie Foster is also among the most-nominated artists this year with 3 nominations: for B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, the Koko Taylor Award for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year (an award she won last year) and DVD of the Year for her Live At Antone's DVD.

25-time BMA winner Charlie Musselwhite is nominated in 2 categories he won last year: Best Instrumentalist - Harmonica and Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year. Bettye LaVette is nominated for Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year, an award she has won previously. Duke Robillard is nominated for the Gibson Guitar Award, an honor he has won previously 4 times (when the category was known as Best Instrumentalist - Guitar). Both Jon Cleary and Marcia Ball are nominated for Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year. Marcia has been honored with 4 of her 8 previous Blues Music Award wins in this category. This is Jon's 3rd nomination in the category.

Congratulations to all the nominees! The 33rd Blues Music Awards will be held at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, TN, on May 10, 2012 and will be broadcast live in their entirety on Sirius XM's B.B. King's Bluesville. Catch all the nominees performing individually live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

Marcia Ball and Jim Lauderdale have both been honored with 2012 GRAMMY Award Nominations. Marcia's Roadside Attractions is up for Best Blues Album, her fifth GRAMMY nomination overall and a very impressive fourth CD in a row of hers to be nominated. Jim's Reason And Rhyme is nominated for Best Bluegrass Album. This is Jim's sixth GRAMMY nomination overall including GRAMMY wins in 2008 and 2002.

Both Trombone Shorty and Dirty Dozen Brass Band members Gregory Davis and Roger Lewis are featured on 2012 GRAMMY nominated albums. Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews is a featured performer on Jeff Beck's Rock 'N' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul (nominated for Best Rock Album). Troy also wrote the song "AP Touro" for the Rebirth Brass Band's album Rebirth Of New Orleans, nominated for Best Regional Roots Music Album. Jeff Beck and Rebirth are featured guests on Trombone Shorty's latest album, For True, along with 2012 GRAMMY nominees Warren Haynes and Ledisi. The Dirty Dozen's Gregory Davis (Trumpet) and Roger Lewis (Saxophone) are featured on the track "Ya Messinagh" from Tinariwen's album Tassili, which is nominated for Best World Music Album.

Congratulations to all the nominees! Check out Marcia, Jim, Trombone Shorty and The Dirty Dozen performing individually live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

Marcia Ball was recently featured on the House of Blues Radio Hour, hosted by Elwood Blues (a/k/a Dan Aykroyd). The show aired the weekend of August 13-14, 2011, and it's available online here. Also on the site is the studio-cam video of Marcia's interview from the show, as well as bonus audio clips from the interview, posted here.

Marcia was recently awarded Living Blues Awards for both Blues Artist of the Year (Female) and Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard). She was honored with wins in both these categories in 2009 and in the Outstanding Musician category in 2007 and 2008.

Catch Marcia performing live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

JULY 2011: Rosebud Artists Mavis Staples, Marcia Ball and Charlie Musselwhite Honored at 2011 Living Blues Awards

Top honors were awarded to Rosebud artists Mavis Staples, Marcia Ball and Charlie Musselwhite at the 18th Annual Living Blues Awards. Mavis won the Critics' Poll Blues Artist of the Year Award (Female) and Most Outstanding Blues Singer. In the Readers' Poll, Marcia was awarded Blues Artist of the Year (Female) and Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard). For the fifth year in a row Charlie won Readers' Poll Most Outstanding Musician award (Harmonica). Congratulations Mavis, Marcia and Charlie!

Catch each of these artists performing live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

JUNE 2011: Rosebud Artists Nominated For 7 Living Blues Awards: Marcia Ball, Ruthie Foster, Bettye LaVette, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples All Get Nods - CAST YOUR VOTE

Marcia Ball, Ruthie Foster, Bettye LaVette, Charlie Musselwhite and Mavis Staples have all been nominated for 2011 Living Blues Awards, with Marcia and Charlie nominated for two awards each.

The Rosebud Agency's 2011 Living Blues Awards Nominees: Blues Artist of the Year (Female):
- Marcia Ball 
- Ruthie Foster 
- Bettye LaVette 
Most Outstanding Blues Singer: Mavis Staples 
Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica): Charlie Musselwhite 
Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard): Marcia Ball 
Best Blues Album of 2010 (New Recordings): Charlie Musselwhite - The Well

Last year Charlie received his eighth Living Blues Award for Outstanding Musician (and his fourth in a row) and Ruthie was honored with Blues Artist of the Year (Female) in the Critics' Poll. Marcia was awarded in 2009 for both categories she's nominated in this year, adding to her wins in the Outstanding Musician category in 2007 and 2008. Bettye has previously been honored with two Reader's and three Critics' Awards, including Blues Artist of the Year (Female) and Most Outstanding Blues Singer. Mavis has also previously been honored with two Critics' Awards including Blues Artist of the Year (Female).

You can vote here for your choices, as well as write-in candidates: All ballots must be received by July 15, 2011. Congratulations to all the nominees!

Check out these artists performing live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

APRIL 2011: Marcia Ball's Roadside Attractions Hits #1 on Top 50 Blues Radio Airplay Chart

Marcia Ball's latest CD, Roadside Attractions, has hit #1 on the Top 50 Blues Radio Airplay Chart (For the Week of April 22, 2011). The album has received great reviews recently from About.com ("Roadside Attractions is another terrific recording in a long series of thoroughly enjoyable albums from this New Orleans mainstay."); PopMatters ("Ball is the real deal: equal parts New Orleans, boogie woogie, swamp music, and Texas soul all wrapped up into one package... The tracks flow into each other to create a mighty musical force."); and AllMusic ("...it cooks and rattles and rocks with Ball's typical joyous energy and powerful piano... it's easily Ball's best and most personal statement to date. But don't worry - she still knows that all paths lead to the dancefloor, and once there... you better be ready to dance. This wonderful album will insist on it.").

An adopted daughter of New Orleans, Marcia will be playing her 32nd show at this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 7, as well as many other shows around New Orleans during Jazz Fest. These include playing the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Gala on the eve of the Fest 4/28; a show at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art on 4/30; playing as part of WWOZ's Piano Night A Benefit at House of Blues on 5/2; on 5/4 she'll play both the Wednesday At The Square series at Lafayette Square Park, followed by a solo set at Snug Harbor's Piano Night; on 5/5 she'll again be playing twice - at both an In-Store Performance at Louisiana Music Factory, followed by playing as part of Down on the Bayou III, the New Orleans Musicians Clinic Benefit at The Howlin' Wolf; and on 5/6 she'll perform at The Maple Leaf.

Catch Marcia live on stage as she tours extensively across the country in the coming months, please see Tour Dates >>

Marcia Ball's new CD release, Roadside Attractions, was #1 most added record at Americana radio and is the top debut at #25 on the AMA Americana Airplay Chart. Two days after Roadside Attractions was released, NPR picked "Everybody's Looking for the Same Thing" from the CD as their Song of the Day. Check out the feature here.

In other radio news, on April 7, prior to her performance at B.B. King Blues Club in New York City, Marcia was featured in a live in-studio interview and performance at New York's Jazz station, 88.3 FM WBGO at 3 PM EST. Listen online here.

Critics have been very enthusiastic about Marcia's new CD in early reviews. PopMatters says, "Ball is the real deal: equal parts New Orleans, boogie woogie, swamp music, and Texas soul all wrapped up into one package. Her new album shows that she's also an incredible songwriter... The tracks flow into each other to create a mighty musical force. " AllMusic also praises the album: "...it cooks and rattles and rocks with Ball's typical joyous energy and powerful piano... The whole album is full of motion and life, and it's easily Ball's best and most personal statement to date. But don't worry - she still knows that all paths lead to the dancefloor, and once there... you better be ready to dance. This wonderful album will insist on it."

Check out Marcia live on stage, including her 32nd show at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 7, as well as many other shows around New Orleans during Jazz Fest. Please see Tour Dates >>

Marcia Ball releases her new album, Roadside Attractions, on March 29, 2011. The album was produced by songwriter, musician, producer Gary Nicholson (Delbert McClinton, Wynonna Judd, T. Graham Brown) and was recorded in Austin and Nashville. Marcia is a four time GRAMMY Nominee, including her last three albums: Peace, Love & BBQ (2008), Live! Down The Road (2005) and So Many Rivers (2003), plus an earlier nomination for Sing It! (1998), a collaboration with Tracy Nelson and fellow Rosebud artist Irma Thomas.

Marcia has been honored with eight Blues Music Awards, four in the last five years alone for Best Piano Player of the Year and she has received an addition 32 nominations over the years. She is the winner of two 2009 Living Blues Readers' Poll Awards for Blues Artist of the Year (Female) and Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard), adding to her wins in the category in 2007 and 2008. In addition, last year Marcia was inducted into the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame. As USA Today explained, "Based in Austin and steeped in New Orleans, Marcia Ball plumbs the richness of both musical meccas. From rootsy swamp pop and blues-drenched boogie woogie to languid ballads, Ball is equally comfortable with brash roadhouse romps and caressing love songs."

Catch Marcia performing live on stage during her extensive Spring Tour, please see Tour Dates >>

MAY 2010: Marcia Ball, BeauSoleil, Jon Cleary and Allen Toussaint To Perform At Gulf Aid Benefit May 16, 2010

Marcia Ball (performing with The Voice of the Wetlands Allstars), BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Jon Cleary (performing with Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys) and Allen Toussaint will be among the performers at the Gulf Aid benefit concert at Mardi Gras World River City in New Orleans. Also performing will be Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, Mos Def, Kermit Ruffins, Ani DiFranco, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and many more.

The show will raise funds to focus on two key elements of recovery from the oil continuing to pour into the Gulf of Mexico from the collapsed BP oil rig: wetlands/coastal environmental issues and the well-being of fishermen and the regional seafood industry. All funds will be managed and distributed by the Gulf Relief Foundation in partnership with WWOZ-FM community radio in New Orleans. Donations may also be sent to the Gulf Relief Foundation, a 501 C3 non-profit corporation located at 3001 17th Street, Metairie, LA 70009.

WWOZ will stream the show live at wwoz.org.

Catch Marcia Ball, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Jon Cleary and Allen Toussaint playing live on stage individually as they tour throughout the Summer, please see Tour Dates >>

JANUARY 2010: Marcia Ball To Be Inducted Into Gulf Coast Music Hall Of Fame

Four-time GRAMMY nominee and eight-time Blues Music Award Winner Marcia Ball will be inducted into the Gulf Coast Music Hall Of Fame in Port Arthur, Texas January 23, 2010.  She will be joining legends in the Hall of Fame including Janis Joplin, ZZ Top and Edgar and Johnny Winter.  Later that night Marcia will headline the Hall of Fame Show at the Port Arthur Civic Center. Marcia was recently named Blues Artist of The Year - Female and Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboards) for the 3rd consecutive year in the Living Blues Readers Poll Awards. Marcia will be on tour throughout the Winter, including dates with Sisters In Soul featuring Marcia Ball, Bettye LaVette & Maria Muldaur and in the early Spring at the International Jazz Festival in Bern, Switzerland.  Please see Tour Dates >>

AUGUST 2009: Marcia Ball & Charlie Musselwhite Winners Again in 2009 Living Blues Awards

Marcia Ball and Charlie Musselwhite were recently honored with two 2009 Living Blues Awards each. Marcia won Blues Artist of the Year (Female) and Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard) in the Readers' Poll. Charlie was awarded Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica) in both the Readers' Poll and the Critics'Poll. This is the third year in a row both Marcia and Charlie have been awarded Most Outstanding Musician in the Readers' Poll. Congratulations Marcia and Charlie!

JULY 2009: Bill Frisell Honored As Guitarist Of The Year & Other Rosebud Artists Score In Downbeat's 57th Annual Critics Poll

Other Rosebud Artists also scored top ten rankings in the poll including Marcia Ball in the category of Blues Artist - Rising Star, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews for Trombone - Rising Star, and Bettye LaVette as one of the top Blues Artists.

Congratulations to all!

JULY 2009: Bill Frisell, Duke Robillard and Marcia Ball NPR Features

Bill Frisell, Duke Robillard and Marcia Ball are all featured on separateNPR programs in the coming weeks:

Bill Frisell's new album, Disfarmer, out July 21 on Nonesuch Records, was chosen as an Exclusive First Listen on NPR's website. Recently named Guitarist of the Year for the second year in a row by the Jazz Journalists Association, Bill's new CD showcases "evocative original themes and motifs here, surrounded by backgrounds sounding distant echoes of country, bluegrass and old-time mountain music" per NPR's Patrick Jarenwattananon. The Disfarmer project began as a touring multimedia work, with Bill scoring a slideshow of images from photographer Mike Disfarmer (1884-1959). Bill is joined on the CD by Greg Leisz (steel guitars, mandolin) Jenny Scheinman (violin) and Viktor Krauss (bass).

Duke Robillard's performance at the Mountain Stage radio show in Charleston, WV is scheduled to be broadcast beginning the weekend of July 24-26. It will also be archived in it's entirety. For a complete list of stations that carry Mountain Stage please click here. Duke, four-time Best Blues Guitarist winner at the Blues Music Awards, recently released Stomp! The Blues Tonight, which he describes as "Blues / classic-rhythm-and-blues, basically where I started in my Roomful of Blues days."

Marcia Ball will appear live on Mountain Stage on August 9, 2009 at the Clay Center in Charleston, WV. For detailed information, please click here. Also on the bill are Hill Country Revue, Cracker, Other Lives and Maia Sharp. Marcia, a four-time Grammy nominee, won her fourth Pinetop Perkins Best Piano Player Award in the past five years at the Blues Music Awards. Marcia was also recently nominated for Most Outstanding Musician, Keyboard in the upcoming Living Blues Awards, a category she has won the last two years.

JUNE 2009: Rosebud Artists Nominated For Living Blues Awards - Vote

Living Blues Magazine has honored Bettye LaVette, Marcia Ball, and Charlie Musselwhite with nominations in their Annual Reader's Poll. Bettye LaVette is honored with two nominations: Best Live Performer and Most Outstanding Blues Singer. Marcia Ball and Charlie Musselwhite are nominated in categories both won for the last two years straight: Most Outstanding Musician, Keyboard and Harmonica, respectively. Marcia is also nominated for Blues Artist of the Year (Female). You can cast your vote at - livingblues.com - by clicking on 2009 LIVING BLUES AWARDS VOTE HERE! All ballots must be received by July 5, 2009.

Best of luck to all the nominees!

MAY 2009: Rosebud Artists Everywhere At New Orleans Jazz Fest

Rosebud Artists could be found performing in a wide variety of formats during the 40th Annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (April 24 - May 3).

Marcia Ball was featured in a Piano Night benefit for WWOZ at House of Blues, a performance at the Wednesday on the Square series in Lafayette Square Park, headlining sets at Snug Harbor and House of Blues and her rousing set at the Festival directly preceding Bonnie Raitt. (read full story)

MAY 2009: Marcia Ball and Albert Collins Honored With Blues Music Awards, John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" Inducted Into Blues Hall of Fame

At the 30th Blues Music Awards in Memphis on May 7, 2009, Marcia Ball was honored with her fourth Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award in the past five years. The late Albert Collins, a Rosebud Artist until his passing in 1993, won Historical Album of the Year for Albert Collins Live at Montreux 1992. John Lee Hooker's hit "Boom Boom" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (Hooker was a Rosebud artist for 25 years until his passing in 2001). Deanna Bogart, who plays in the Rosebud booked Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue with Tommy Castro, won for Best Instrumentalist - Horn.

Congratulations to all the winners!

FEBRUARY 2009: Marcia Ball's Most Generous and Fun Birthday

Marcia Ball is turning 60 - who would believe that? To celebrate, she is hosting a three day Great Big Birthday Bash in Austin, TX over this Valentine's Day weekend to benefit the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) and Sweet Home New Orleans. The shows will feature an extensive list of Marcia's musician friends including Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie, Sonny Landreth, Angela Strehli, Maria Muldaur, Tracy Nelson, Lavelle White, Lou Ann Barton, Sarah Brown and more. On Sunday there will be a five keyboard "Pianorama Brunch" featuring Floyd Domino, Johnny Nicholas, Nick Connolly, Riley Osborne and Marcia on five keyboards all at the same time. All of the shows take place at Antone's. If you cannot make it to the shows but would like to donate to the causes, please click here and scroll down to the Marcia Ball Birthday Fund. Happy Birthday Marcia and what an exemplary way to celebrate by helping those less fortunate!

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