Billy
Branch
Emmy Award Winner · 3× Grammy Nominee · Blues Hall of Fame
Featured
Blues in Schools
For over 45 years, Billy Branch has brought authentic Chicago Blues into schools across America and around the world, preserving the tradition by passing it to the next generation.
About
Billy Branch — Emmy Award winner, 3-time Grammy Award® nominee, retired Grammy® governor, and winner of multiple Blues Music Awards — recently received the 2026 B.M.A. Best Harmonica Award and the 2026 Living Blues Award. He's also received multiple B.M.A. Keeping the Blues Alive Awards for his fifty-year International Blues in Schools program.
Branch is an honored recipient of the Mellon Foundation's 2026 Taproot Artists Fellowship, recognizing him as an American Culture-Bearer — honoring a 50-year Blues career that began with his seven-year tenure as Willie Dixon's harmonica player. He is a 2020 inductee into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame Museum in Memphis, and serves on the Board of Directors of both the Blues Foundation and the Little Walter Foundation.
"After learning from the masters, he developed his own, instantly recognizable, signature sound — powerful, melodic, funky, jazzy and contemporary."
News
March 2026 · WTTW Chicago
16 Oscars: 'Sinners' Sparks Conversation About Chicago Blues History and Its Future
The Oscar-winning film 'Sinners' has renewed national attention on Chicago Blues. Billy Branch weighs in on the genre's roots, legacy, and what its future looks like.
March 2026 · AOL / Chicago Tribune
Rick Kogan: Billy Branch Bought…
Tribune columnist Rick Kogan profiles Billy Branch in a wide-ranging feature on the Blues legend's life, music, and enduring presence in Chicago.
February 2026 · Chicago Tribune
Chicago Blues: Billy Branch
The Chicago Tribune spotlights Billy Branch and the living tradition of Chicago Blues — its history, its champions, and its place in the city's cultural identity.