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Terry Blade | Official Website
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projects.
Image by Oleksii Drozdov
about.

about.

Black and White Photo of Terry Blade.

#sonicarchaeology.

art as testimony.
Terry Blade is a multimedia artist/director who treats music and sound as testimony. Rooted in the traditions of Black American sound yet unbound by genre, he creates work that preserves memory, confronts identity, and amplifies voices too often left unheard. His multidisciplinary vision has earned recognition on some of the world’s most premier stages, including the
Tribeca Festival, where his visual work was celebrated among leading innovators in film and media, and other Academy Award®-qualifying, BAFTA-qualifying, or Canadian Screen Award-qualifying film festivals such as the LA Shorts International Film Festival, the Leeds International Film Festival,  the Mill Valley Film Festival, and the Regina International Film Festival and Awards.

a cross-disciplinary vision.
Based in Chicago, Blade is a cross-disciplinary conceptual creative whose haunting baritone carries through songs that blend Blues, Soul, Folk, Americana, and R&B. He favors the solitude of the studio over the spectacle of performance, creating projects that function as immersive worlds. From
American Descendant of Slavery, the Album and its exploration of ancestral legacy, to Neo Queer and its bold redefinition of sexuality and masculinity, to the Americana-centered Ethos: Son of a Sharecropper and the blues revival of Chicago Kinfolk: The Juke Joint Blues, his catalog stands as a living archive of cultural weight.

authenticity as archive.
​What unites Blade’s work is its authenticity. His songs serve as sonic archives, his visuals as cultural artifacts, and his albums as fully realized artistic statements. He stands apart from industry convention—not chasing spectacle or trends, but crafting an enduring body of work that challenges, heals, and transforms. His mission is to create art that matters, art that lasts, and art that tells the stories we cannot afford to forget.

preservation as legacy.
The following institutions have documented or curated Blade's work in digital collections:

  • Archives of African American Music and History

  • Bibliothèque départementale de la Vienne

  • Bibliothèque de Gençay et Saint-Maurice

  • Médiathèque départementale de Isère

  • Médiathèque départementale du Pas-de-Calais

  • Médiathèque D'ivry-Sur-Sein

  • Médiathèque numérique de la Sarthe 

strategic service partners.

Portrait of Terry Blade
Portrait of Terry Blade
Portrait of Terry Blade
Terry Blade - Press Pic (3)_edited.jpg
Audacity Logo
Tribe of Noise Logo
Artlist Logo
ASCAP Logo
Independent Distribution On Line Logo
FEIYR Logo
Groover Spark Logo
musosoup.jpg
CD Baby Logo
Submit Hub Logo
Sound Exchange Logo
Free Music Archive Logo
Terry Blade - Press Pic (11)_edited.jpg
Image by Leon Wu
awards.

awards.

#crossdisciplinaryrecognition.

Below are select awards, nominations, and honors received by Terry Blade.

Logo of Blues Blast Music Magazine

2025, Nominee | Blues Blast Music Awards

Historical or Vintage Recording

Chicago Kinfolk: The Juke Joint Blues

Award-Logos_0002_Twitter_SUMMIT_2017-1_2x_edited_edited_edited.jpg

2025, Winner | Summit International Awards

Public Awareness & Advocacy

Chicago Kinfolk: The Juke Joint Blues

Summit Creative Award - Silver

Logo of Graphis

2026, Winner | Graphis

Design: Music, Print

Cover art of ADOS, the Album.

American Descendant of Slavery, the Album

Silver Award

48th Mill Valley Film Festival Logo

2025, Official Selection | Mill Valley Film Festival

Best Music Video

Won't Be Around

Logo of Cresta Awards

2025, Winner | Cresta International Advertising Awards

Audio: Innovative Use of Sound/Audio

Chicago Kinfolk: The Juke Joint Blues

Bronze

Logo of Berlin Commercial Festival & Awards

2025, Nominee | Berlin Commercial Festival

Music Video: Cultural Impact

All Ways - An Ode To Black Women

Digiday Greater Good.png

2025, Nominee | Digiday Greater Good Awards

Racial Equality

Chicago Kinfolk: The Juke Joint Blues

International Sound & Film Music Festival Logo

2025, Nominee | International Sound & Film Music Festival

Best Music Video

Railroad Tracks

Logo of the CSS Design Awards

2025, Winner | CSS Design Awards

Special Kudos Award

Chicago Kinfolk - Reference Image 1_edited.jpg

Chicago Kinfolk: The Juke Joint Blues 

Logo of the CSS Design Awards

2025, Winner | CSS Design Awards

Special Kudos Award

Screenshot 2025-09-24 153153.jpg

Terry Blade: Heritage in Motion

Logo of the CSS Design Awards

2025, Winner | CSS Design Awards

Public Award: UX Design

Screenshot 2025-09-24 153153.jpg

Terry Blade: Heritage in Motion

Logo of the CSS Design Awards

2025, Winner | CSS Design Awards

Public Award: UI Design

Screenshot 2025-09-24 153153.jpg

Terry Blade: Heritage in Motion

Logo of the CSS Design Awards

2025, Winner | CSS Design Awards

Public Award: Innovation

Screenshot 2025-09-24 153153.jpg

Terry Blade: Heritage in Motion

Logo of Leeds International Film Festival

2024, Nominee | Leeds International Film Festival

Best Music Video

Won't Be Around

Logo of Tribeca Festival

2024, Nominee | Tribeca Festival

Best Music Video

Won't Be Around

Logo of LA Shorts Fest

2024, Nominee | LA Shorts International Film Festival

Best Music Video

Won't Be Around

Award-Logos_0002_Twitter_SUMMIT_2017-1_2x_edited_edited_edited.jpg

2024, Winner | Summit International Awards

Video Under $5,000

Won't Be Around

Summit Creative Award - Gold

Logo of Cresta Awards

2024, Nominee | Cresta International Advertising Awards

Film Craft: Use of Music

Won't Be Around

Award-Logos_0002_Twitter_SUMMIT_2017-1_2x_edited_edited_edited.jpg

2024, Winner | Summit International Awards

Direction/Editing

Won't Be Around

Summit Creative Award - Silver

Digiday Greater Good.png

2025, Nominee | Digiday Greater Good Awards

Education

Chicago Kinfolk: The Juke Joint Blues

The Telly Awards_edited.jpg

2024, Winner | Telly Awards

General-Music Video

Won't Be Around

Silver

The Telly Awards_edited.jpg

2024, Winner | Telly Awards

General-Music Video

Won't Be Around

Bronze

The Telly Awards_edited.jpg

2024, Winner | Telly Awards

General-Non-Broadcast

Won't Be Around

People's Telly - Bronze

American Songwriter Magazine Song Contest Logo

2023, Winner | American Songwriter Magazine Song Contest 

Blues

Won't Be Around

First Place

Hollywood Independent Music Awards Logo

2023, Nominee | Hollywood Independent Music Awards

Americana/Roots

Won't Be Around

Josie Music Awards Logo

2023, Nominee | Josie Music Awards

Album of the Year: Folk/Americana

Cover Art of Son of a Sharecropper

Ethos: Son of a Sharecropper

Hollywood Music in Media Awards Logo

2023, Nominee | Hollywood Music in Media Awards

Music Video: Independent

Won't Be Around

Award-Logos_0002_Twitter_SUMMIT_2017-1_2x_edited_edited_edited.jpg

2021, Winner | Summit International Awards

Audio

ADOS Cover Art

American Descendant of Slavery, the Album

Summit Creative Award - Bronze

The Telly Awards_edited.jpg

2023, Winner | Telly Awards

Craft - Use of Music

Black Hurts

Bronze

Hollywood Music in Media Awards Logo

2020, Nominee | Hollywood Music in Media Awards

Best Music: Singer-Songwriter

Cover Art of Unloveable

The Unloveable

Image by Mia Harvey
public screenings.

public screenings.

#exhibitionhistoriography.

Official public screenings of Terry Blade's work can be found below.

Image by Carlos Fernando Bendfeldt MD
contact.
Image by Oleksii Drozdov

contact.

#discursiveexchange.

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