BEST BLUES BAND/ARTIST

Hipbone Sam

Once again Hipbone Sam (aka Kevin Hawkins) easily took this category, making him nearly ready for the BOS Hall of Fame (there really isn’t one yet) and surely declaring him our most popular blues performer. Always on the go and at the gig, Hipbone, covering lead vocals and rhythm guitar, could very well be the hardest working guy in Springfield show business. Band members Rick Mari (lead guitar, vocals), Hawkeye Kane (harmonica, vocals), Rob Ross (drums, vocals) and Mark Riefler (bass) are a big part of the band’s success, and the Bone would be the first one to tell you that. This year finds Hipbone Sam sponsored by Coors Light and his new CD, The Best of Hipbone Sam, is available on AMI & TouchTunes Digital Jukeboxes in the U.S., Canada and U.S. military installations worldwide. Go, Sam, go. Other blues bands receiving plenty of votes include Brooke Thomas and the Blues Suns, Hurricane Ruth, Mary Jo Curry and Tombstone Bullet and Back Pack Jones. Runner-up: Black Magic Johnson