Grammy Award for Best Americana Album

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Grammy Award for Best Americana Album
Awarded forquality Americana albums
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded2010
Last awardedpresent
Currently held bySarah Jarosz, World on the Ground (2021)
Websitegrammy.com

The Grammy Award for Best Americana Album is an honor presented to recording artists for quality albums in the Americana music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards.[1] Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".[2]

In 2009, the Academy announced that the award for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album would be split into two separate categories: Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Americana Album.[3][4] The distinction between the two award categories is based on the use of acoustic versus electric instruments; acoustic instruments predominate in "contemporary folk" and electric instruments are characteristic of Americana.[4] Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association, called the new category's inclusion "a huge acknowledgment" of the music genre.[5] Hilly admitted to working hard at convincing the Academy to include Americana as its own category.[6][7] The music industry had been using the term "Americana music" for about 15 years before the new award was created.[4] Following is the award's purpose, according to the category description guide from the 2018 Grammy Awards:

Americana is contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music and vocal styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acoustic instruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a full electric band.[8]

The award was first presented in 2010 to Levon Helm at the 52nd Grammy Awards for the album Electric Dirt.[9] Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams have been nominated most times (three).

Recipients[]

A man wearing a dress shirt, sitting behind a drum kit; spectators can be seen in the background.
2010 and 2012 award recipient Levon Helm performing in 2004
Mavis Staples received the award in 2011
2013 recipient Bonnie Raitt
2015 honoree Rosanne Cash
Keb' Mo' received the award in 2020
Year[I] Performing artist(s) Work Nominees Ref.
2010 Levon Helm Electric Dirt
  • Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
  • Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel – Willie and the Wheel
  • Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
  • Lucinda Williams – Little Honey
 [6]
2011 Mavis Staples You Are Not Alone
  • Rosanne Cash – The List
  • Los Lobos – Tin Can Trust
  • Willie Nelson – Country Music
  • Robert Plant – Band of Joy
 [10]
2012 Levon Helm Ramble at the Ryman
  • Linda Chorney – Emotional Jukebox
  • Ry Cooder – Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down
  • Emmylou Harris – Hard Bargain
  • Lucinda Williams – Blessed
 [11]
2013 Bonnie Raitt Slipstream
[12]
[13]
2014 Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell Old Yellow Moon
  • Steve Martin and Edie Brickell – Love Has Come for You
  • Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale – Buddy and Jim
  • Mavis Staples – One True Vine
  • Allen Toussaint – Songbook
 [14]
2015 Rosanne Cash The River & the Thread
  • John Hiatt – Terms of My Surrender
  • Keb' Mo' – BLUESAmericana
  • Nickel Creek – A Dotted Line
  • Sturgill Simpson – Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
 [15]
2016 Jason Isbell Something More Than Free
[16]
2017 William Bell This Is Where I Live
  • The Avett Brothers – True Sadness
  • Kris Kristofferson – The Cedar Creek Sessions
  • Lori McKenna – The Bird and the Rifle
  • The Time Jumpers – Kid Sister
 [17]
2018 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit The Nashville Sound
[18]
2019 Brandi Carlile By the Way, I Forgive You
[19]

2020s[]

Year[I] Performing artist(s) Work Nominees Ref.
2020
 Keb' Mo' Oklahoma
[20]
2021
 Sarah Jarosz World on the Ground
[21]

Artists with multiple wins[]

2 wins
  • Levon Helm
  • Jason Isbell

Artists with multiple nominations[]

See also[]

References[]

General
  • "Grammy Award Winners". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 4, 2011. Note: User must select the "American Roots" category as the genre under the search feature.
Specific
  1. ^ "Grammy Awards at a Glance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  2. ^ "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  3. ^ Sisario, Ben (June 4, 2009). "Polka Music Is Eliminated as Grammy Award Category". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Shriver, Jerry (August 31, 2009). "Grammys will be putting Americana on the map". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  5. ^ Rodman, Sarah (January 29, 2010). "Grammys get a new category: Best Americana Album". The Boston Globe. The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Fusilli, Jim (December 5, 2009). "Grammy Awards: Americana, the Not-So Beautiful". The Wall Street Journal. News Corporation. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  7. ^ Purdy, Nick (July 24, 2009). "Industry Chat: Jed Hilly of the Americana Music Association". Paste. Paste Media Group. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  8. ^ "2011 OEP Category Description Guide" (PDF). National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. p. 3. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  9. ^ "Grammy Award Winners". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  10. ^ "2011 Grammy Nominations: Eminem Leads The Pack". MTV. December 2, 2010. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  11. ^ "Best Americana Album". Grammy.com. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  12. ^ List of 2013 nominees Archived 2012-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Diversity And Talent Fill The American Roots Nominations
  14. ^ "56th GRAMMY Awards: Full Winners List". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  15. ^ List of Nominees 2015
  16. ^ "58th Grammy Nominees". Grammy. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  17. ^ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7597556/grammys-nominees-complete-list-2017
  18. ^ Lynch, Joe (November 28, 2017). "Grammys 2018: See the Complete List of Nominees". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  19. ^ https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2019-grammy-awards-complete-nominations-list
  20. ^ 2020 Grammy Awards nominations list
  21. ^ 2021 Nominations List
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