The Blues Foundation Rescinds Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Award Nomination

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Shreveport guy Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an amazing artist. He has 3 certified platinum albums under his belt, he's been nominated for Grammys and all sorts of awards, he formed a super group with Stephen Stills and Barry Goldberg...I mean, if there's something you can do in the music business, Kenny has done it.

However, one thing KWS won't be doing in 2021 is winning the award for Blues Rock Artist of the Year from the Blues Music Awards. Today, the Blues Foundation has rescinded Kenny Wayne's nomination. They also have officially asked Kenny's father, Ken Shepherd, to step down as a member of their Board of Directors. You may be asking yourself, "What did Kenny and his father do to get dumped like this?" Well, according to the Blues Foundation, the Shepherds violated their zero tolerance policy on racism.

Here's what the Blues Foundation said about the situation in a release on their website:

The decision to rescind the nomination was based upon continuing revelations of representations of the Confederate flag on Shepherd’s “General Lee” car, guitars and elsewhere.  The Blues Foundation has also asked Ken Shepherd, father of Kenny Wayne Shepherd, to step down as a member of its Board of Directors.  The Blues Foundation states that it is resolute in its commitment to purposefully address racism and contribute to a more equitable blues community.

Kenny Wayne issued a statement on his FB page, where he states that he "stand[s] in complete opposition to all forms of racism and oppression". You can read his full statement on the situation below:

Despite the decision made by the Blues Foundation, Kenny's latest live album "Straight to You" is widely considered the best live album of 2020 and he was recently featured on a statewide Grammy kickoff show and inducted to the North Louisiana Walk of Stars.