# Blackburn Brothers

The Blackburn Brothers are a Canadian blues band composed of a core group of three siblings, Duane Blackburn (lead vocals, organ, piano), Brooke Blackburn (guitar, vocals, composition), and Cory Blackburn (drums, harmony vocals). They are most noted as two-time Juno Award nominees for Blues Album of the Year.
Formerly known as Blackburn, the band has been described by Living Blues magazine as a "generational family band [that] plays traditional blues and R&B with a contemporary take."
Additional band members include longtime horn section bandmates Neil Brathwaite on tenor saxophone and Ted Peters on trombone, as well as Andrew Stewart on bass guitar. Their studio production team includes oldest sibling Robert Blackburn (guitar, vocals, composition), Howard Ayee (producer, bass), and cousin Nathan Blackburn (bass).

## History

Formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1996, the band's music synthesizes the blues with rhythm and blues, soul and funk. Members of the Black Canadian community, they are the sons of blues singer Bobby Dean Blackburn, a longtime performer in Toronto's music scene.
The band's first album, Soul Searchin', was released in 1997.
In 2010, they released their second album, Brotherhood, and won the Maple Blues Award for Best New Band.
In 2015, Blackburn Brothers released Brothers in This World, which earned them their first Juno nomination for Blues Album of The Year at the Juno Awards of 2016.
Their fourth album, SoulFunkn'Blues, was released in 2023, and garnered the band their second Juno Award nomination for Blues Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024. Additionally, the album received three Blues Music Award nominations for Album of the Year, Soul Blues Album of the Year, and Song of the Year (a new precedent from a Canadian band), and a record-setting nine nominations in the 2024 Maple Blues Awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Electric Act of the Year.

## Discography

* Soul Searchin' (1997, Arctic Records Canada)
* Brotherhood (2010, Make It Real Records)
* Brothers in This World (2016, Electro-Fi Records) (#1 RMR. May 28, 2015)
* SoulFunkn'Blues (2023, Electro-Fi Records) (#1 RMR. Sept 30, 2023)

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2010 | Maple Blues Award | Best New Band | Won |
| 2011 | Maple Blues Award | Horn Player of the Year, Neil Braithwaite | Won |
| 2015 | Maple Blues Award | Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year, Duane Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2016 | Juno Award | Blues Album of the Year, Brothers in This World | Nominated |
| 2016 | Maple Blues Award | Electric Act of the Year | Nominated |
| 2017 | Maple Blues Award | Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year, Duane Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2019 | Maple Blues Award | Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year, Duane Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2020 | Maple Blues Award | Drummer of the Year, Cory Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2020 | Maple Blues Award | Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year, Duane Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2021 | Maple Blues Award | Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year, Duane Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2022 | Maple Blues Award | Electric Act of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | Maple Blues Award | Drummer of the Year, Cory Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2023 | Canada South Blues Society Hall of Fame | Induction | Won |
| 2024 | Juno Award | Blues Album of the Year, SoulFunkn'Blues | Nominated |
| 2024 | Blues Music Award | Album of the Year, SoulFunkn'Blues | Nominated |
| 2024 | Blues Music Award | Soul Blues Album of the Year, SoulFunkn'Blues | Nominated |
| 2024 | Blues Music Award | Song of the Year, "Bobby's Blues" | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Entertainer of the Year | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Electric Act of the Year | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Songwriter of the Year, Brooke Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Recording of the Year, SoulFunkn'Blues | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Producer of the Year, Howard Ayee and Cory Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Male Vocalist of the Year, Brooke Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Guitarist of the Year, Brooke Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year, Duane Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Drummer of the Year, Cory Blackburn | Nominated |
| 2024 | Maple Blues Award | Bassist of the Year, Nathan Blackburn | Nominated |