2025 GRAMMYs – Who Will, Who Should
“Music’s Biggest Night” is upon us. Well, if you’re reading Americana Highways, it’s more like “Music’s Biggest Early Afternoon.” The “GRAMMYs Premiere Ceremony” will stream this Sunday (February 2) at 12:30pm PST (links below). It’s where the bulk of the awards are given out, including the ones we’re most interested in. We’ll skip over the “Country” categories here – a significant percentage of the nominees are (putting it charitably) hot garbage. Below, we’ll look at who will (W) win (given voters’ historic tendency to go with older, more easily recognizable acts), and who SHOULD (S) win, from the opinion of one (non-voting) writer who actually puts in the work.
Best American Roots Performance
The Fabulous Thunderbirds Featuring Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal & Mick Fleetwood – “Nothing in Rambling” – W
Rhiannon Giddens – “The Ballad of Sally Anne”
Shemekia Copeland – “Blame It on Eve”
Sierra Ferrell – “Lighthouse” – S
Will: The Fabulous Thunderbirds – Bonnie Raitt? Mick Fleetwood? Academy catnip. If I had a house, I’d bet it here.
Should: Sierra Ferrell – Even though this is a performance category, I’m still a bit of a purist when it comes to awards – I feel they should go to original works. As good (and dire) as Giddens’ banjo-laden performance is, it’s from an Alice Randall tribute album. Ferrell’s nom is for an original (penned with Lindsay Lou), and it’s from one of the year’s best albums, Trail of Flowers.
Best Americana Performance
Beyonce – “Ya Ya” – W
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – “Empty Trainload of Sky”
Madi Diaz & Kacey Musgraves – “Don’t Do Me Good”
Madison Cunningham – “Subtitles”
Sarah Jarosz – “Runaway Train”
Sierra Ferrell – “American Dreaming” – S
Will: Beyonce – If this is another year that she doesn’t win Album of the Year (for Cowboy Carter), Beyonce could sweep through the down-ballot categories. Which also means she could take Best Country Album for…an album that really wasn’t that country.
Should: Sierra Ferrell – The first track from Trail of Flowers was one of the year’s best songs, regardless of genre, and Ferell brings a certain “It” to every single performance that no one else possesses. (Side note – love seeing Madi Diaz twice in these categories).
Best American Roots Song (written by artist, unless otherwise noted)
Aoife O’Donovan – “All My Friends”
Iron & Wine & Fiona Apple – “All in Good Time” (written by Sam Beam)
Mark Knopfler – “Ahead of the Game” – W
Shemekia Copeland – “Blame It on Eve” (written by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough)
Sierra Ferrell – “American Dreaming” (written by Ferrell and Melody Walker) – S
Will: Mark Knopfler – At 75, he’s STILL one of the best guitar players out there, and this piece of advice from an old hand to the musicians who haven’t made it yet is a fine song. That, plus name recognition, should be enough to grab a GRAMMY.
Should: Sierra Ferrell – “Wake up again in an old motel/Is it somewhere different, I can’t tell/Every set of curtains opens to the open road” is one of the best lines of the year. Enough said.
Best Americana Album
Charley Crockett – $10 Cowboy
Maggie Rose – No One Gets Out Alive
Sarah Jarosz – Polaroid Lovers
Sierra Ferrell – Trail of Flowers
T Bone Burnett – The Other Side – W
Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood – S
Will: T Bone Burnett – Seemingly everyone in our corner of the Academy has recorded with, or been produced by, the omnipresent multi-hyphenate. That’s a lot of goodwill to overcome.
Should: Waxahatchee – In an absolutely stacked category, Tigers Blood barely edges out Sierra Ferrell’s breakthrough album. Katie Crutchfield and producer Brad Cook’s genius move of inviting MJ Lenderman to the studio paid off by launching both songwriters into a higher orbit.
Best Bluegrass Album
Billy Strings, Live Vol. 1 – W/S
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes – I Built a World
Dan Tyminski – Dan Tyminski: Live From the Ryman
The Del McCoury Band – Songs of Love and Life
Sister Sadie – No Fear
Tony Trischka – Earl Jam
Will/Should: Billy Strings – It was tempting to pick Tyminski, Burnett’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? running mate (name recognition does, indeed, have a quarter-century reach). But Strings’ game-changing footprint can’t be ignored by even the fuddy-duddy-est of voters. Can it?
Best Folk Album
Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future – S
American Patchwork Quartet – American Patchwork Quartet
Aoife O’Donovan – All My Friends
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodland – W
Madi Diaz – Weird Faith
Will: Welch & Rawlings – The pair has been doing their mix of folk, bluegrass and Americana for nearly 30 years, and no one does it better. Any award they win is well-deserved. Zero complaints if this is the pick.
Should: Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future was a sometimes-unsettling (for real – the family dog died in the first damn song!) but unfailingly beautiful record with equal shares of heartbreak and emotional renewal. Now, about that new Big Thief album…
Go here to stream the GRAMMYs Premiere Ceremony:
https://live.grammy.com/
