Black Pumas, the three-year-old Austin soul-funk duo that earned two Americana Award nominations this year, made a splash on Tuesday with three Grammy Award nominations, including Best American Roots Performance and Record of the Year for “Colors” and an overall Album of the Year nod for their debut Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition). The highly danceable band is the brainchild of Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada, who met through colleagues only in 2017.
Other roots music nominations blurred lines, particularly Alabama Shakes founder and lead singer Brittany Howard, who scored a remarkable five nominations across four genres: Best American Roots Performance for “Short And Sweet,” Best Rock Song and Rock Performance for “Stay High,” Best R&B Performance for “Goat Head” and Best Alternative Music Album for Jamie, which was released on Sept. 20. Americana favorite Brandy Clark netted two nominations in Country: Your Life Is A Record for album and “Who You Thought I Was” for solo performance. Grace Potter’s Daylight and Sturgill Simpson’s Sound & Fury were among the nominees in the Best Rock Album category.
The coveted Americana Album nominations went to the wide-ranging contingent of Hiss Golden Messenger, Lucinda Williams, Sarah Jarosz, Courtney Marie Andrews and Marcus King. While Bluegrass Album hopefuls were revealed as Billy Strings, the Steep Canyon Rangers, Thomm Jutz, Danny Barnes and the various artists behind the John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 1. Best Folk Album nominees are Laura Marling, The Secret Sisters, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, the collaboration Bonny Light Horseman and the late Leonard Cohen.
John Prine received two nominations for his posthumous release “I Remember Everything,” namely American Roots Song and American Roots Performance. Others in the Song category are “Cabin” by the Secret Sisters, “Ceiling To The Floor” by Sierra Hull, “Hometown” by Sarah Jarosz and “Man Without A Soul” by Lucinda Williams.
The 63rd annual Grammy Awards show will air Sunday, Jan. 31. A complete list of roots-related nominees compiled by the Americana Music Association follows:
Best Americana Album:
Old Flowers — Courtney Marie Andrews
Terms of Surrender — Hiss Golden Messenger
World On the Ground — Sarah Jarosz
El Dorado — Marcus King
Good Souls Better Angels — Lucinda Williams
Best American Roots Performance:
"Colors" — Black Pumas
"Deep in Love" — Bonny Light Horseman
"Short and Sweet" — Brittany Howard
"I'll Be Gone" — Norah Jones & Mavis Staples
"I Remember Everything" — John Prine
Best American Roots Song:
(Artist names appear in parentheses.)
“Cabin” — Laura Rogers & Lydia Rogers, songwriters (The Secret Sisters)
“Ceiling to the Floor” — Sierra Hull & Kai Welch, songwriters (Sierra Hull)
“Hometown” — Sarah Jarosz, songwriter (Sarah Jarosz)
“I Remember Everything” — Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)
“Man Without a Soul” – Tom Overby & Lucinda Williams, songwriters (Lucinda Williams)
Best Bluegrass Album:
Man On Fire — Danny Barnes
To Live in Two Worlds, Vol. 1 — Thomm Jutz
North Carolina Songbook — Steep Canyon Rangers
Home — Billy Strings
The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 1 — Various Artists
Best Traditional Blues Album:
All My Dues Are Paid — Frank Bey
You Make Me Feel — Don Bryant
That's What I Heard — Robert Cray Band
Cypress Grove — Jimmy "Duck" Holmes
Rawer Than Raw — Bobby Rush
Best Contemporary Blues Album:
Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? — Fantastic Negrito
Live at the Paramount — Ruthie Foster Big Band
The Juice — G. Love
Blackbirds — Bettye LaVette
Up and Rolling — North Mississippi Allstars
Best Folk Album:
Bonny Light Horseman — Bonny Light Horseman
Thanks for the Dance — Leonard Cohen
Song for Our Daughter — Laura Marling
Saturn Return — The Secret Sisters
All the Good Times — Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Best Regional Roots Music Album:
My Relatives "Nikso Kowaiks" — Black Lodge Singers
Cameron Dupuy and The Cajun Troubadours — Cameron Dupuy and The Cajun Troubadours
Lovely Sunrise — N? Wai ?Eh?
Atmosphere — New Orleans Nightcrawlers
A Tribute to Al Berard — Sweet Cecilia
Best Rock Performance:
"Stay High" — Brittany Howard
"Daylight" — Grace Potter
Best Rock Song:
"Stay High" — Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
Best Rock Album:
Daylight — Grace Potter
Sound & Fury — Sturgill Simpson
Best Alternative Music Album:
Jaime — Brittany Howard
Best R&B Performance:
"Goat Head" — Brittany Howard
Best Country Solo Performance:
"Who You Thought I Was" — Brandy Clark
Best Country Song:
"Bluebird" — Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby & Miranda Lambert, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
"Crowded Table" — Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna, songwriters (The Highwomen)
Best Country Album:
Your Life Is a Record — Brandy Clark
Best Song Written for Visual Media:
"Carried Me With You [From Onward]" — Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package:
Ode to Joy — Lawrence Azerrad & Jeff Tweedy, art directors (Wilco)
Best Album Notes:
The Bakersfield Sound: Country Music Capital of The West, 1940-1974 — Scott B. Bomar, album notes writer (Various Artists)
Best Historical Album:
Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions — Béla Fleck, compilation producer; Richard Dodd, mastering engineer (Béla Fleck)
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical:
Black Hole Rainbow — Shawn Everett & Ivan Wayman, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Devon Gilfillian)
Expectations — Gary Paczosa & Mike Robinson, engineers; Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Katie Pruitt)
Jaime — Shawn Everett, engineer; Shawn Everett, mastering engineer (Brittany Howard)
25 Trips — Shani Gandhi & Gary Paczosa, engineers; Adam Grover, mastering engineer (Sierra Hull)
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical:
Dan Auerbach
Dave Cobb
Best Music Film:
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice — Linda Ronstadt; Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, video directors; Michele Farinola & James Keach, video producers