We are very excited to announce that the following Delmark artists all received well deserved nominations for the annual Blues Blast Awards:
2025 Blues Blast Music Award Nominees Announced – Blues Blast Magazine
BOB STROGER – Bass Guitarist of the year AND Traditional Blues Album of the year with BOB IS BACK, his new Delmark album with Brazil’s The Headcutters!
TAD ROBINSON – Vocalist of the year AND Soul Blues Album of the year with his big return album to Delmark, SOUL IN BLUE!
JOHNNY IGUANA – Keyboard Player of the year AND Acoustic Blues Album of the year for his amazing blues solo piano extravaganza, AT DELMARK!
WILLIE BUCK – Live Blues Album of the year for the outstanding traditional blues vocalist Willie and his album – LIVE AT BUDDY GUY’S LEGENDS!
BOB IS BACK! is BOB STROGER’S second album as a leader on DELMARK RECORDS, and the second with Bob’s favorite Brazilian partners, The Headcutters. After the huge success of “That’s My Name”, their first Delmark album, Bob, Joe, Ricardo, Leadro and Catuto returned to the studio, this time with rising star pianist Ben Levin and Candice Ivory as guest musicians. The resulting “Bob Is Back!” is another selection of “old school blues” sure to delight audiences around the world. In recent years Bob Stroger received the “Jus’ Blues Music Award”, won several polls as Best Bass Player, including the prestigious “Living Blues” Awards, and was awarded a Lifetime Tribute at the Chicago Blues Festival. The release of this new album aligns with Bob Stroger’s induction into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis, TN. The right thing at the right moment.
Bob Stroger BASS AND VOCALS
Joe Marhofer HARMONICA
Ricardo Maca GUITAR
Arthur Catuto BASS
Leandro Cavera DRUMS
Ben Levin PIANO AND ORGAN (ALL TRACKS EXCEPT TRACK 9) Candice Ivory BACKING VOCALS (TRACK 9) Renée Gros BACKING VOCALS (TRACK 9)
Tad Robinson returns to Delmark with a much-anticipated brand-new recording SOUL IN BLUE! His first as a leader on Delmark since 1998’s Last Go Round; Tad recorded his debut album as a leader way back in 1994 on Delmark (One To Infinity.) He’s added his remarkable soul-drenched vocals and powerful, yet tasteful harp playing to many Delmark recordings over the years, including such hit titles from Dave Specter, Floyd McDaniel, Al Miller, and Rockwell Avenue Blues Band !
Soul-blues singer TAD ROBINSON, was born and raised in Manhattan. At the age of 30, he settled in the second city, drawn there by Chicago’s rich blues heritage. His apprenticeship in the Windy City as a harmonica player led him to the blues clubs and his pure soul inflected voice kept him in demand fronting bands and as a top-tier session singer. After signing with the DELMARK label in the 90’s, Robinson became a regular on the blues circuit in the U.S. and in Europe, and has collected two W.C. Handy Award nominations and eight Blues Music Award nominations in the ensuing years. Along the way he’s been drawn to musicians and kindred souls whose creativity thrives at the nexus of soul and blues.
It’s been six years since Robinson released the Blues Music Award-nominated REAL STREET. Robinson proves on his new DELMARK album Soul In Blue that he still has plenty of skin in the blues game. Six of these tracks were recorded in Indianapolis with his longtime road band, plus special guests, including long time cohorts and friends, guitarists extraordinaire, ALEX SCHULTZ and DAVE SPECTER! Four tracks were cut in Chicago at Delmark’s Riverside Studio with the DELMARK ALL-STARS. (Mike Wheeler, Roosevelt Purifoy, Carlos Showers, Larry Williams, Pooky Styx.) You’ll savor the sounds of a set of mostly self-penned songs along with two covers from Wilson Pickett and Arthur Adams. Robinson and his remarkable collaborators imbue each track with the varied shades of Chicago soul, in blue.
This album was recorded “Live”, with each track in one take, on the 1917 Steinway B piano which came to Delmark via Paul Serrano. This is a collection of blues classics and new compositions by Johnny Iguana.
“Live At Buddy Guy’s Legends” is Willie Buck’s fourth album on Delmark. First came “The Life I Love”, followed by “Cellphone Man” and Delmark LLC’s kickoff blues release “Willie Buck Way”. An elder statesman of the Chicago Blues style, who has performed with everybody and knows everyone in the scene, Willie is one of the last standard bearers of the “old school” blues as its best. This album was recorded at Buddy Guy’s Legends, ground zero for this genre in Chicago, blues capital of the world. For the occasion, Willie brought his right-hand man of many years, Thaddeus Krolicki, to join the Delmark All-Stars consisting of some of the most experienced and respected performers of the Chicago tradition.
Amazing all-star band with BILLY FLYNN, JOHNNY IGUANA, and the late, great drummer WILLIE HAYES last recording!
