Your significant other leaving you, losing your job, or your pet passing away all make for great blues song ideas. The genre is rooted in sadness, but ironically these artists spread only love and positivity through the storied genre. Coming in first is local blues mainstay Howard “Guitar” Luedtke and Blue Max; Luedtke’s signature ebony Gibson Les Paul continues to burn with a deep passion for the blues. In second place is The Sue Orfield Band, a popular tenor saxophone-driven outfit. Coming in third is Mojo Lemon, a band with decades worth of history in the Chippewa Valley. — Parker Reed