2021 Grammy Nominations: Roots Music Plants Seeds Across Categories

Nominations for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards landed today, and there are roots music names sprinkled widely throughout the categories.

Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile) and Dan Auerbach (Yola, Gibson Brothers, Marcus King) are among the Producer of the Year nominees, and Brittany Howard is nominated, with different songs, in the R&B, American Roots, and Rock performance categories.

The full list of nominees is vast, and you can view it here. Below, we present a list for categories we think might be of interest to roots music lovers, starting, of course, with the American Roots categories. (Albums and songs eligible for nomination for this edition of the Grammys had a release date between Sept. 1, 2019, and Aug. 31, 2020.)

The prime-time Grammy Awards show will be broadcast on CBS on March 14 at 8 p.m. ET, hosted by The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah. The Premiere Ceremony, which includes the American Roots categories, will stream at Grammy.com starting at 3 p.m. ET that day.

Best Americana Album
Courtney Marie Andrews – Old Flowers (ND feature)
Hiss Golden Messenger – Terms of Surrender (ND review)
Sarah Jarosz – World on the Ground (ND feature)
Marcus King – El Dorado (ND review)
Lucinda Williams – Good Souls Better Angels (ND review)

Best American Roots Song
The Secret Sisters (Laura Rogers and Lydia Rogers, songwriters) – “Cabin”
Sierra Hull (Sierra Hull and Kai Welch) – “Ceiling to the Floor”
Sarah Jarosz – Hometown
John Prine (Pat McLaughlin and John Prine) – “I Remember Everything”
Lucinda Williams (Tom Overby and Lucinda Williams) – “Man Without a Soul”

Best American Roots Performance
Black Pumas – “Colors”
Bonny Light Horseman – “Deep in Love”
Brittany Howard – “Short and Sweet”
Norah Jones and Mavis Staples – “I’ll Be Gone”
John Prine – “I Remember Everything”

Best Bluegrass Album
Danny Barnes – Man on Fire (ND review)
Thomm Jutz – To Live in Two Worlds, Vol. 1
Steep Canyon Rangers – North Carolina Songbook
Billy Strings – Home (ND review)
Various Artists – The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 1 (ND review)

Best Traditional Blues Album
Frank Bey – All My Dues Are Paid
Don Bryant – You Make Me Feel (ND review)
Robert Cray Band – That’s What I Heard (ND review)
Jimmy “Duck” Holmes – Cypress Grove (ND review)
Bobby Rush – Rawer Than Raw (ND review)

Best Contemporary Blues Album
Fantastic Negrito – Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? (ND review)
Ruthie Foster Big Band – Live at the Paramount (ND review)
G. Love – The Juice
Bettye LaVette – Blackbirds (ND review)
North Mississippi Allstars – Up and Rolling (ND review)

Best Folk Album
Bonny Light Horseman – Bonny Light Horseman (ND feature)
Leonard Cohen – Thanks for the Dance (ND review)
Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter
The Secret Sisters – Saturn Return (ND review)
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – All the Good Times

Best Regional Roots Music Album
Black Lodge Singers – My Relatives “Nikso Kowaiks”
Cameron Dupuy and The Cajun Troubadours – Cameron Dupuy and The Cajun Troubadours
Nā Wai ʽEhā – Lovely Sunrise
New Orleans Nightcrawlers – Atmosphere
Sweet Cecilia – A Tribute to Al Berard

Best Global Music Album
Antibalas – Fu Chronicles
Burna Boy – Twice as Tall
Bebel Gilberto – Agora
Anoushka Shankar – Love Letters
Tinariwen ­– Amadjar (ND review)

Other roots nominations of interest:

— Béla Fleck’s Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions is nominated in the Best Historical Albums category.

— Rufus Wainwright’s Unfollow the Rules is nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

— Dolly Parton and Zach Williams’ performance of “There Was Jesus” is nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song, and Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary) album by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, is nominated for Best Roots Gospel album (read our feature story about the album here).

— Brandi Carlile, with “The Twins” Phil and Tim Hanseroth, are nominated for the song “Carried Me With You” from Onward in the Best Song Written for Visual Media category.

— Jeff Tweedy is nominated as an art director (with Lawrence Azerrad) for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for Wilco’s Ode to Joy.

— Among the nominees for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, are Katie Pruitt’s Expectations (for Gary Paczosa, Mike Robinson, and Paul Blakemore); Brittany Howard’s Jaime (Shawn Everett); and Sierra Hull’s 25 Trips (Shani Gandhi, Gary Paczosa, and Adam Grover).

And now for the mainstream categories with roots artists among the nominees (or just because we thought you’d like to see them):

Album of the Year
Jhené Aiko – Chilombo
Black Pumas – Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition) (ND review)
Coldplay – Everyday Life
Jacob Collier – Djesse Vol. 3
Haim – Women in Music Pt. III
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Post Malone – Hollywood’s Bleeding
Taylor Swift – Folklore

Record of the Year
Beyoncé – “Black Parade”
Black Pumas – “Colors”
DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch – “Rockstar”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Billie Eilish “Everything I Wanted”
Dua Lipa – “Don’t Start Now”
Post Malone – “Circles”
Megan Thee Stallion – “Savage”

Song of the Year
“Black Parade,” Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk and Rickie “Caso” Tice, songwriters (Beyoncé)
“The Box,” Samuel Gloade and Rodrick Moore, songwriters (Roddy Ricch)
“Cardigan,” Aaron Dessner and Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
“Circles,” Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Austin Post and Billy Walsh, songwriters (Post Malone)
“Don’t Start Now,” Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Dua Lipa and Emily Warren, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
“Everything I Wanted,” Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“I Can’t Breathe,” Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)
“If the World Was Ending,” Julia Michaels and JP Saxe, songwriters (JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels)

Best New Artist
Ingrid Andress
Phoebe Bridgers
Chika
Noah Cyrus
D Smoke
Doja Cat
Kaytranada
Megan Thee Stallion

Best Rock Performance
Fiona Apple – “Shameika”
Big Thief  – “Not”
Phoebe Bridgers – “Kyoto”
Haim – “The Steps”
Brittany Howard – “Stay High”
Grace Potter – “Daylight”

Best Rock Album
Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death
Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka
Grace Potter – Daylight
Sturgill Simpson – Sound & Fury (ND review)
The Strokes – The New Abnormal

Best Alternative Music Album
Fiona Apple ­– Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Beck – Hyperspace
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher (ND review)
Brittany Howard – Jamie (ND review)
Tame Impala – The Slow Rush

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Jack Antonoff
Dan Auerbach
Dave Cobb
Flying Lotus
Andrew Watt

Best Music Film
Beastie Boys Story, Beastie Boys
Black Is King, Beyoncé
We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, Freestyle Love Supreme
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, Linda Ronstadt
That Little Ol’ Band From Texas, ZZ Top

Best Country Album
Ingrid Andress – Lady Like
Brandy Clark – Your Life Is a Record (ND review)
Miranda Lambert – Wildcard
Little Big Town – Nightfall
Ashley McBryde – Never Will (ND review)

Best Country Solo Performance
Eric Church – “Stick That in Your Country Song”
Brandy Clark – “Who You Thought I Was”
Vince Gill – “When My Amy Prays”
Mickey Guyton – “Black Like Me”
Miranda Lambert – “Bluebird”

Best Country Song
“Bluebird,” Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby and Miranda Lambert, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
“The Bones,” Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins and Laura Veltz, songwriters (Maren Morris)
“Crowded Table,” Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna, songwriters (The Highwomen)
“More Hearts Than Mine,” Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis and Derrick Southerland, songwriters (Ingrid Andress)
“Some People Do,” Jesse Frasure, Shane McAnally, Matthew Ramsey and Thomas Rhett, songwriters (Old Dominion)