Young singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and tributes & shout-outs to basketball great Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash earlier that day, dominated the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards telecast on Sunday, January 26. However, a number of coveted Grammy Awards also were presented by The Recording Academy in the American Roots Music Field and others during a premiere ceremony at Los Angeles’ Staples Center that streamed live on Grammy.com hours prior to the televised awards show on CBS.
Sara Bareilles, a singer-songwriter and actress, won the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance for “Saint Honesty,” a song co-written with Lori McKenna, that appears on Amidst the Chaos, Bareilles’ sixth studio album. Bareilles may be best known for having starred in and written songs for the Broadway musical Waitress.
Also in the running for Best American Roots Performance was the female trio I’m With Her, who took home the award for Best American Roots Song. Comprised of Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, and Sara Watkins — each of whom is a talented singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist in her own right — the harmonic trio was recognized for “Call My Name,” which they co-wrote.
To listen to “Call My Name,” click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRZWhfuI6dQ
Keb’ Mo’ — an American blues musician, singer-songwriter and previous Grammy Award winner – won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album for Oklahoma.
Singer-Songwriter Patty Griffin, who was not in attendance, won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album for her self-titled release. Griffin previously won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album in 2011 for Downtown Church.
Michael Cleveland, a Southern Indiana fiddler, won Best Bluegrass Album of the Year for Tall Fiddler. His previous release, Fiddler’s Dream, was nominated in the same category in 2017. During the weekend, the Louisville (Kentucky) Federation of Musicians Cleveland also honored Cleveland as its 2020 Musician of the Year. The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) has named him as its Fiddle Player of the Year 12 times, while Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper has been hailed as its Instrumental Group of the Year six times.
Here’s a link to a recording of Michael Cleveland performing “Tall Fiddler”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcwx6AifG7Q
The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues album went to Delbert McClinton & Self-Made Men for Tall, Dark & Handsome, while Gary Clark Jr.’s This Land was named Best Contemporary Blues Album.
Charleston, South Carolina-based quintet Ranky Tanky — known for its jazz-inspired arrangements of the traditional Gullah music originated by the descendants of enslaved Africans of the southeastern Sea Islands and South Carolina’s Lowcountry — was recognized for Best Regional roots Album for Good Time.
On Saturday afternoon, Jan. 25, the Blues Foundation, Folk Alliance International and International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) co-hosted a celebration of nominees in the American Roots Music Field that featured performances by a number of them.
Among the other Grammy Award winners that may be of particular interest to AcousticMusicScene.com readers:
– On the eve of the sixth anniversary of American folk music icon Pete Seeger’s death, Pete Seeger: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection (Jeff Place and Robert Santelli, compilation producers) was named Best Historical Album.
– The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album went to Hadestown (Anais Mitchell & Todd Sickafoose, producers; Anais Mitchell, composer & lyricist). Hadestown also was the big winner during the recent Tony Awards.
– Angelique Kidjo, a New York-based Beninese singer-songwriter, won the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album for Celia.
Although nominated for four Grammy Awards — Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song for “Faraway Look” and Best Americana Album for Walk Through Fire, as well as Best New Artist – Yola, a 35 year-old rootsy British singer-songwriter, was shut out.
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