The story of American gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe who rose from humble beginnings to become the proclaimed Godmother of Rock and Roll is inspirational. What makes this even more surreal is the fact that 110 years after her birth a musical play celebrates Rosetta’s achievements, her character played by British Soul Queen Beverley Knight, who also began singing in church as a child.
It is timely therefore to acknowledge and celebrate the successes of all our women blues singers on both sides of the pond because they are the torchbearers who are securing the future of the genre.
From a UK perspective, six multi-award-winning singers stand out at this point in time with most of them having just released new and highly acclaimed recordings. Many more of our chanteuses are expected to follow.
In alphabetical order:
Alice Armstrong first appeared as a finalist in the UK Blues Awards Emerging Blues Artist Of The Year category in 2021 and Blues Vocalist Of The Year finalist in 2022 and 2023. A year later, and again in 2025, she won Contemporary Blues Artist Of The Year.
“Life I Chose” is a beautifully arranged, emotionally charged blues ballad written by Alice and from her five-track EP, Live At Area 88, in Milton Keynes which features four original songs and a cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady.” Alice co-wrote the sensational, climactic “Upbeat Baby” with Marcus Praestgaard-Stephens and Matthew Long which started life as a stunning single with powerful Hammond accompaniment and funky, sassy vocals.
Elles Bailey is the most decorated UK Blues Awards winner, starting with the inaugural presentation in 2018 ranking as finalist in several categories. By 2020 she had won Blues Album Of The Year plus Blues Artist Of The Year, replicating that triumph again the following year. In 2023 Elles won UK Blues Artist and Blues Vocalist awards plus UK Blues Album, Shining In The Half Light. The Blues Vocalist Award was repeated in 2024 and this year she added Blues Based Broadcaster Of The Year to her repertoire alongside Album Of The Year, Beneath The Neon Glow. Elles has acquired many other Americana Awards, tours relentlessly and is also a weekly radio presenter for Planet Rock. She has tens of thousands of followers and millions of streams on Spotify.
This stripped down version of “Hate That I Love You” from the Beyond The Neon Glow Reimagined LP to be released on May 9th is breathtakingly exquisite and haunting. The song does not feature on the original album.
As Elles explains: “I truly feel that Jonny Henderson (keys) and I have created a little piece of magic with these versions. They were recorded live in the studio and I love how you can hear the creaks of the piano and the room, and the cracks in my voice. This is music at its most honest and I really hope you enjoy hearing my favourite Elles Bailey album, reimagined in this way.”
Kyla Brox
Kyla has won a variety of UK, European and International Blues Challenges and Awards and has topped the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association (IBBA) album charts.
The youngest daughter of legendary bluesman Victor Brox, Kyla’s poignant and upbeat autobiographical “Bluesman’s Child” with its superb saxophone interpolations reveals her lifestyle: “Too many hours in the back of a van” and “Two in the morning still on stage/No chance of school next day.” This is from her Pain and Glory album. Her most recent recording Live At Koniz Castle showcases Kyla at her brilliant best and on course to get increasingly closer to the perfection she aspires to.
Rebecca Downes
Rebecca won the UK Blues Female Vocalist Award in 2018 having been voted winner in that category and Emerging Artist Of The Year at the 2016 British Awards.
From her latest CD Stranger Blue is “Hallelujah,” a cover of the Leonard Cohen classic which is a tour de force and a wise choice given that Rebecca not only nails it but also makes the song her own. Similarly, Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” with Steve Birkett’s tasteful guitar accompaniment and Rebecca’s gorgeous vocal tones making it distinctive and special. The release of a new album in October is eagerly anticipated.
Joanne Shaw Taylor
Born in the West Midlands, England and now living in America, Joanne is an international star who has been collecting awards since 2010, charting singles and albums regularly, and touring extensively. Her 10th studio album Black & Gold will be released on June 6th via Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records.
Joanne’s new single, “Look What I’ve Become,” is a deeply personal exploration of grief and healing. The title is apt because this is exactly what JST is about on this hard rocking, blues-infused, high energy, guitar-screaming, vocal-cord shredding extravaganza. By contrast, her versatility is such that she also delivers just as effectively on the sensitive, heartfelt slow blues and ballads punctuating her forthcoming album.
Emma Wilson
Emma won the 2022 UK Blues Awards Emerging Blues Artist Of The Year and was finalist for the Blues Album Of The Year with Wish Her Well and again in 2024 with Memphis Calling. Last year Emma featured on Living The Blues by Terry Marshall and Friends, a collaboration of the best grass roots musicians in the country. Who could forget Emma’s version of “Dr Feelgood” which drew comparisons with Aretha Franklin in terms of sincerity and empathy for the original?
One of the most authentic chanteuses on the UK scene, Emma was inspired by her visit to Clarksdale, MS in 2024 where she was invited by the Pinetop Perkins Foundation to sing at the hallowed Ground Zero Club. She decided to make an album which showed her long time respect for the blues through the compositions of the legendary vocalist and upright bass player Willie Dixon. A Spoonful Of Willie Dixon will be available on all digital sites and on CD from Friday, May 2nd.