MEMBERS of a blues band from Malvern are keeping their fingers crossed after being nominated for a prestigious award.

Becky Tate, of BabaJack, has been nominated in the other instrument category of the British Blues Awards for her cajon/ stomp/drum playing.

Voting for the awards, which form part of the Newark Blues Festival on Saturday and Sunday, September 8-9, starts on Thursday.

Becky described the recognition as “massive” for the band.

She said: “To be recognised at this level is such a huge endorsement for BabaJack and everything that we are working so hard to do. We are still pinching ourselves. It’s amazing to be nominated and it would be magic to win.

“All the other nominees are in the biggest most established bands in the UK blues scene and then there’s l’il ole us, definitely the outsiders, so it’s amazing that we are counted amongst them.”

The three-piece, who are completed by Trevor Steger and Marc Miletitch, have already been confirmed for a performance slot at the festival and released their third studio album, Rooster, in March.

The awards were set up in 2010 with the aim of acknowledging and rewarding artists for their dedication and hard work to blues.

There are now awards in 16 categories and committee members gather nominations from the leading figures in the blues scene, from festival organisers to promoters and broadcasters.

For more information, go to britishbluesawards.com.