Nominees in more than 75 categories have been named for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, to be broadcast live from Los Angeles, California on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, on CBS television stations.

Listed below are the nominees in the American Roots Music Field that may be of particular interest to readers of AcousticMusicScene.com: The number of award categories in the field was reduced earlier this year as part of a restructuring by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. that has seen a 30% drop from 2011 in the total number of categories to be recognized across all genres and fields.

Citing a shortage in the number of entries and challenges in distinguishing between Contemporary Folk and Americana and Contemporary and Traditional Blues, The Recording Academy consolidated the blues categories and the traditional and contemporary folk categories into one per genre. In addition, the Hawaiian, Native American and Cajun/Zydeco categories have been combined in a new Regional Roots Music category that also incorporates Polka music (which has a regional home in the Great Lakes area).

Best Folk Album

Barton Hollow
The Civil Wars [Sensibility Music LLC]

I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive
Steve Earle [New West Records]

Helplessness Blues
Fleet Foxes [Sub Pop]

Ukulele Songs
Eddie Vedder [Monkeywrench Inc. /Universal Republic]

The Harrow & The Harvest
Gillian Welch [Acony Records]

Best Americana Album

Emotional Jukebox
Linda Chorney [Dance More Less War Records]

Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down
Ry Cooder [Perro Verde Records LLC/Nonesuch]

Hard Bargain
Emmylou Harris [Nonesuch]

Ramble At The Ryman
Levon Helm [Vanguard/Dirt Farmer Music]

Blessed
Lucinda Williams [Lost Highway Records]

Best Bluegrass Album

Paper Airplane
Alison Krauss & Union Station [Rounder]

Reason and Rhyme: Bluegrass Songs by Robert Hunter & Jim Lauderdale
Jim Lauderdale [Sugar Hill Records]

Rare Bird Alert
Steve Martin And The Steep Canyon Rangers [Rounder]

Old Memories: The Songs of Bill Monroe
The Del McCoury Band [McCoury Music]

A Mother’s Prayer
Ralph Stanley [Rebel Records]

Sleep With One Eye Open
Chris Thile & Michael Daves [Nonesuch]

Best Blues Album

Low Country Blues
Gregg Allman [Rounder]

Roadside Attractions
Marcia Ball [Alligator]

Man in Motion
Warren Haynes [Stax Records]

The Reflection
Keb Mo [Yolabelle International/Ryko Records]

Revelator
Tedeschi Trucks Band [Masterworks]

Best Regional Roots Music Album

Can’t Sit Down
C.J. Chenier [World Village]

Wao Akua – The Forest of the Gods
George Kahumoku, Jr. [Daniel Ho Creations]

Rebirth of New Orleans
Rebirth Brass Band [Basin Street Records]

Grand Isle
Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys [Mamou Playboy Records]

Not Just Another Polka
Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra [Starr Records]

In addition to The Civil Wars’ debut album, Barton Hollow, receiving a nod for Folk Album of the Year, its title track is among the nominees for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Mumford & Sons, who, like The Civil Wars, have topped the Roots Music Report folk radio charts, received nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rock Performance, and Best Rock Song for “The Cave” [Glassnote Records] from its album entitled Sigh No More (songwriters: Ted Dwayne, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford and County Winston). “Down By the Water,” written by Colin Meloy for The Decemberists, also was nominated for Best Rock Performance. “Life in Eleven,” a track from Bela Fleck & the Flecktones’ album Rocket Science [eOne Music], composed by Bela Fleck and Howard Levy, is among the nominees for Best Instrumental Composition. Hear Me Howling: Blues, Ballads & Beyond as Recorded by the San Francisco Bay by Chris Strachwitz in the 1960s [Arhoolie Records] received nods for Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album.

A complete list of nominees in all categories appears online at www.grammy.com.