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The Australian blues artist, Fiona Boyes, has been nominated for the prestigious international award: the Blues Music Award.

In December, 2009 the Memphis-based Blues Foundation released the Blues Music Award nominations for 2010, and Australian Fiona Boyes, acclaimed Maton guitarist, Yellow Dog Records recording artist, and Australia’s most successful international blues performer, was named in the final five nominees for Traditional Female Blues Artist of the Year.

This marks Fiona’s fourth straight nomination and the first time any artist has been nominated consecutively in four distinct categories – Contemporary Blues Album (2007), Contemporary Female Blues Artist (2008), Acoustic Blues Album (2009), and Traditional Female Artist (2010).

The Blues Music Awards, now in their 31st year, are the highest and most prestigious international accolades for blues artists. Chosen by an international panel of critics, reviewers, and industry leaders, Fiona joins previous nominees such as Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Ruth Brown, Big Mama Thornton, Alberta Hunter, and Sippie Wallace in a rare place of recognition and honour.

Following a successful performing and recording career in Australia, Fiona made her debut appearance on the international blues scene in 2003 when she became the first woman, and the first Australian, to win the International Blues Challenge, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Having won multiple recording and performance awards in Australia and New Zealand, she released her first US album, Lucky 13, in 2006. This CD went to the top of many of the major US Blues and Roots music charts, including #1 on the world’s largest radio network XM-Sirius Satellite Radio.

Lucky 13 was lauded by Grammy and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominator, Jeff Tamarkin, as ‘one of the best blues albums – by anyone – in years.’ It was nominated for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year in the 2007 Blues Music Awards, again marking another milestone for Fiona, as the first Australian blues album ever to be nominated in the history of the Awards.

Fiona was based in the US in 2008-09, and toured relentlessly. She was again nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2008, this time as Contemporary Female Blues Artist of the Year.

In 2008 she released Live From Bluesville, which won the 2009 US Blues Critics Award for Best Live Album, and received a third consecutive Blues Music Award nomination, this time for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year.

In August 2009 Fiona released her 3rd US album, Blues Woman, which sat in the top of the major blues charts for more than 4 months and, according to Downbeat magazine, ‘Blues Woman … places her among the leading blues artists today.’

Voting for the Blues Music Awards follows an exhaustive process. In the first round, all current blues releases available worldwide may be submitted for consideration by a board of more than 120 nominators. The nominators are carefully-screened blues experts, consisting of radio programmers, print media representatives, retailers, reviewers, educators, publicists, festival presenters, and talent buyers.

In round two, the albums that have garnered most nominations are considered again by the nominators, with a final list of five nominees in each category being put forward by the panel, for voting in the final round. The final five are then announced in December and are voted on by the public, with voting closed on March 1st.

As an Australian, Fiona is particularly asking the blues lovers of Australia to support her nomination by voting for her in the final round, which is decided by the voting public.