Blues Heaven 2026 hits a major milestone! We have now announced half of the artists who will celebrate our 20th anniversary at Arena Nord – meaning 7 out of 14 names are now in place on our star-studded lineup.
Here are the first seven world-class artists:
James Hunter Six (UK)
Grammy-nominated for “Best Traditional Blues Album” for People Gonna Talk, which reached #1 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums Chart and was named one of MOJO’s Top 10 albums of the year in 2006. The same year, he was nominated for an Americana Music Award as “Best New/Emerging Artist,” and MOJO Magazine has since crowned him “The United Kingdom’s Greatest Soul Singer.” With tours alongside Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, Etta James and Willie Nelson, plus appearances on major American talk shows (Leno, Letterman and Conan), he is a true master of soul and rhythm & blues.
GA-20 (USA)
GA-20 has topped the Billboard Blues Chart multiple times with their raw, analogue sound; both Live Vol. 1 and Try It… You Might Like It! GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor hit the top spot, while Crackdown also debuted at #1 on the Blues chart. Crackdown was also nominated for a Blues Music Award, and the band has been nominated for both Blues Music Awards and Blues Blast Awards. Rolling Stone has called their music “100% Blues… a pure marvel and delight,” and the band has been named “Blues Artist of the Year” at the Boston Music Awards six times (2019, 2021–2025). They also won “Blues Act of the Year” at the New England Music Awards 2024 and have graced the cover of both Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar Magazine.
Alice Armstrong (UK)
Alice Armstrong has been named “Contemporary/Modern Blues Artist of the Year” at the UK Blues Awards two years in a row (2024 and 2025) and is one of the most talked-about new voices on the British blues scene. She won the UK Blues Challenge in 2024 and, in 2025, took victory at the European Blues Challenge in Split, Croatia, where she and her band beat acts from 22 other countries and brought the trophy home to the UK. Alice has been invited to Joe Bonamassa’s prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive At Sea Mediterranean cruise and appears regularly on BBC Radio 2 – often praised for her powerful, soul-infused voice, compared to both Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin.
Joakim Tinderholt & His Band (NO)
One of Scandinavia’s strongest exponents of ’50s rock ’n’ roll and rhythm & blues, with two Spellemann Award nominations to their name for the albums You Gotta Do More and Hold On. The band has also been nominated for the Blues Blast Music Awards in the USA, where both the debut album You Gotta Do More and later releases have received international attention. Joakim Tinderholt & His Band has represented Norway at the European Blues Challenge and is an established name on the European blues and rock ’n’ roll scene, with appearances at, among others, Screamin’ Festival (Spain), Rhythm Riot (England), and Moulin Blues (Holland).
These three names have already been announced on Blues Heaven’s star-studded lineup:
Kid Ramos Band feat. Brian Templeton (USA)
With a career spanning more than 40 years, Kid Ramos is one of the most respected guitarists in West Coast blues and a key figure on the American roots scene. He is known from, among others, The Fabulous Thunderbirds (guitarist 1993–2002) and collaborations with James Harman, Roomful of Blues, and The Mannish Boys. Ramos has received the Orange County Music Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award for his invaluable contribution to the blues, and together with singer Brian Templeton – frontman of The Radio Kings, Delta Generators, and The Proven Ones – he delivers a powerful meeting of West Coast guitar and gritty New England vocals.
John Németh & The Blue Dreamers (USA)
John Németh is a true heavyweight of modern soul blues with five Blues Music Awards, including for “Soul Blues Male Artist,” “Traditional Blues Album,” and “Instrumentalist – Harmonica.” He has more than 20 Blues Music Award nominations and has been nominated four years in a row for the prestigious B.B. King Entertainer of the Year – one of the highest honours in the blues world. With a voice deeply rooted in classic soul and harmonica playing of absolute world-class calibre, he is often highlighted as a bridge-builder between traditional and modern blues.
Thornetta Davis & ZBlues Band (USA)
Thornetta Davis is “Detroit’s Queen of the Blues,” officially crowned by the Detroit Blues Society in 2015, and has won more than 30 Detroit Music Awards – including six awards in 2018 and eight in 2017 for the album Honest Woman. She is a ten-time Blues Music Award nominee and won the 2023 Blues Music Award for “Soul/Blues Female Artist,” with another nomination in 2024 in the same category. Thornetta has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Detroit Blues Society, is honoured by the Jus’ Blues Foundation, and has performed worldwide – from Europe to Australia – alongside legends such as B.B. King, Ray Charles, Etta James, and Bonnie Raitt.
