The Blues Foundation will produce the 26th W.C. Handy Blues Awards on Thursday May 5, 2005 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The nominees are:

Acoustic Blues Album of the Year
Paul Oscher - "Alone With The Blues"
Billy Branch & Kenny Neal - "Double Take"
Corey Harris - "Mississippi To Mali"
Paul Rishell & Annie Raines - "Goin' Home"
Carey & Lurrie Bell - "Second Nature"

Acoustic Blues-Artist of the Year
Paul Oscher
Corey Harris
David "Honeyboy" Edwards
Paul Rishell & Annie Raines
Eric Bibb

Best New Artist Debut
Watermelon Slim - "Up Close & Personal"
John Lee Hooker, Jr. - "Blues With A Vengence"
Nora Jean Bruso - "Going Back To Mississippi"
Michael Powers - "Onyx Root"
The Bo-Keys - "The Royal Sessions"

Blues Album of the Year
W.C. Clark - "Deep In The Heart"
Mavis Staples - "Have A Little Faith"
The Holmes Brothers - "Simple Truths"
Guitar Shorty - "Watch Your Back"
Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers - "Keepin' It Real"

Blues Band of the Year
Little Charlie & The Nightcats
Smokin' Joe Kubek Band
Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers
Magic Slim & The Teardrops
Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets
The Holmes Brothers

Blues Entertainer of the Year
Bobby Rush
Kim Wilson
B.B. King
Pinetop Perkins
Solomon Burke

Blues Song of the Year
"Alone With The Blues" - WRITER Paul Oscher , Performed by Paul Oscher
"Have A Little Faith"- WRITER Jim Tullio and Jim Weider, Performed by Mavis Staples
"Run Myself Out Of Town"- WRITER Wendell Holmes, Performed by The Holmes Brothers
"Piecework Politicians" - WRITER James Harman, Performed by James Harman
"Nothin' Ever Hurt Me"- WRITER EG Kight, Performed by EG Kight

Comeback Blues Album of the Year
Big Joe Duskin - "Big Joe Jumps Again!"
Gary U.S. Bonds - "Back In 20"

Contemporary Blues Album of the Year
Charlie Musselwhite - "Sanctuary"
The Holmes Brothers - "Simple Truths"
Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters - "Now My Soul"
Guitar Shorty - "Watch Your Back"
Michael Powers - "Onyx Root"

Contemporary Blues-Female Artist of the Year
Janiva Magness
Marcia Ball
Shemekia Copeland
EG Kight
Deborah Coleman

Contemporary Blues-Male Artist of the Year
Kim Wilson
Chris Thomas King
Charlie Musselwhite
James Harman
Robert Randolph

Historical Blues Album of the Year
Hound Dog Taylor - "Release The Hound" (Alligator Records)
Charles Brown - "A Life In The Blues" (Rounder Records)
Muddy Waters - "Hard Again" (Epic/Legacy)
Johnny Winter - "Second Winter" (Columbia/Legacy)
Lucille Bogan - "Shave 'em Dry" (Columbia/Legacy)
Muddy Waters - "I'm Ready" (Epic/Legacy)

Instrumentalist-Bass
Bob Stroger
Willie Kent
Bill Stuve
Calvin "Fuzz" Jones
Mookie Brill
Sherman Holmes

Instrumentalist-Drums
Jimi Bott
Popsy Dixon
Sam Carr
Sam Lay
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith

Instrumentalist-Guitar
Ronnie Earl
Duke Robillard
Kirk Fletcher
Bob Margolin
Roy Rogers

Instrumentalist-Harmonica
Kim Wilson
Charlie Musselwhite
Rod Piazza
James Harman
Paul Oscher

Instrumentalist-Horns
Calvin Owens - Trumpet
Mark Kazanoff - Saxophone
Roomful of Blues Horns
Greg Piccolo - Saxophone
Sax Gordon - Saxophone

Instrumentalist-Keyboards
Henry Butler
Honey Piazza
Dave Maxwell
Marcia Ball
Jon Cleary

Instrumentalist-Other
Robert Randolph - Pedal Steel Guitar
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Fiddle
Sonny Rhodes - Lap Steel Guitar
Otis Taylor - Banjo
Andra Faye - Mandolin

Soul/Blues Album of the Year
Mavis Staples - "Have A Little Faith"
Bobby Rush - "Folk Funk"
W.C. Clark - "Deep In The Heart"
Tad Robinson - "Did You Ever Wonder?"
Charles Wilson - "If Heartaches Were Nickels"

Soul/Blues-Female Artist of the Year
Mavis Staples
Bettye LaVette
Etta James
Toni Lynn Washington
Barbara Lynn

Soul/Blues-Male Artist of the Year
Bobby Rush
Tad Robinson
Little Milton
Solomon Burke
W.C. Clark

Traditional Blues Album of the Year
James Cotton - "Baby Don't You Tear My Clothes"
Jody Williams - "You Left Me In The Dark"
Duke Robillard - "Blue Mood: The Songs Of T-Bone Walker"
Pinetop Perkins - "Ladies Man"
Sam Myers - "Coming From The Old School"

Traditional Blues-Female Artist of the Year
Jessie Mae Hemphill
Nora Jean Bruso
Ruth Brown
Koko Taylor
Maria Muldaur

Traditional Blues-Male Artist of the Year
Robert Lockwood Jr.
Jody Williams
Sam Myers
Hubert Sumlin
Pinetop Perkins