It’s onerous to overstate how massive that is, each within the current tense, and for what it may imply for the long run. The Recording Academy has simply introduced that for the upcoming season of the Grammy Awards, there’ll no lengthy simply be a Greatest Nation Album class. There will likely be a brand new “Greatest Conventional Nation Album” award to associate with the “Greatest Up to date Nation Album” award.
Which means that for the primary time, conventional nation music and its artists will lastly be acknowledged by the Grammy Awards impartial from common, trendy nation music. That is one thing that’s been clamored and advocated for over a few years, if not many years. And it has lastly come to fruition.
However removed from the conclusion of an vital effort, that is simply the very starting of it, and the beginning of essential work that must be carried out by conventional nation music artists, their representatives, and their followers to make sure this award is supported and stays round indefinitely.
Usually talking, nation music isn’t hurting for awards. With The CMA Awards every November operated by the Nation Music Affiliation, and the ACM Awards every spring from the Academy of Nation Music, and a number of different startup or intermittent awards, it looks as if there’s at all times an awards present in nation music that simply got here or went.
However what makes the Grammy Awards distinctive is that they’re a non-profit that as a substitute of simply recognizing the large mainstream names, has dozens of awards throughout extra non-commercial genres which can be extra apt to acknowledge artistic excellence over industrial success. Together with the Grammy’s classes overlaying nation music, in addition they have what are known as the American Roots classes.
American Roots consists of issues like Greatest Americana Album, Greatest Bluegrass Album, Greatest People Album, in addition to a number of music and efficiency awards the place you usually see what many would contemplate conventional nation artists get nominated and win. In actual fact, in 2025, Appalachian artist Sierra Ferrell just about swept the American Roots classes, successful 4 Grammy awards, giving her an enormous increase in her profession.
However “Americana” has at all times been an imperfect definition for conventional nation. Americana is meant to be a mixture of varied American roots genres, whereas conventional nation is essentially the most pure type of nation music. Nonetheless, Americana is the place artists like Sierra Ferrell, Charley Crockett, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, and others have landed prior to now. Tyler Childers as soon as famously stated, “Americana ain’t no a part of nothin’,” talking to how polarizing the time period is taken into account by many nation artists.
Although Americana is a superb place for performers like Jason Isbell or Brandi Carlile who combine extra rock or people kinds in with nation influences, conventional nation music now formally has a house within the Grammy course of. And this residence couldn’t come at a greater time. The enchantment of conventional nation is at present surging behind a crop of younger performers like Zach High and The Castellows.
And as nation’s reputation creates a cavalcade of superstars from different genres making “nation” information, this new class helps make sure that the little girls and boys who grew up dreaming of constructing nation and successful a Grammy for it don’t get locked out of the method. This award additionally opens up a higher risk for girls, Black and Brown, and different under-represented performers to nab a nomination or a win, serving to to assist these artists who’re homegrown in nation music versus imported from different genres.
And simply because there’s this new Conventional Nation Album award doesn’t imply we shouldn’t proceed to advocate for high quality artists to win the Grammy’s Up to date Nation Album award, together with the opposite nation awards for songs and performances. In any case, traditionally, The Grammy have gotten it extra proper than nation’s devoted awards organizations.
Sturgill Simpson, Tanya Tucker, and Willie Nelson all have gained the Greatest Nation Album Grammy in latest reminiscence. This isn’t about giving up the struggle for the time period “nation” and what which means. It’s about opening up a brand new avenue so the most effective in conventional nation is given a chance to be acknowledged annually versus having to compete with modern performers.
The definition of the brand new Greatest Up to date Nation Album class nonetheless states, “the intent is to acknowledge nation music that continues to be reminiscent and related to the legacy of nation music’s tradition, whereas additionally participating in additional modern music types.”
The Greatest Conventional Nation Album definition states, “Conventional nation consists of nation recordings that adhere to the extra conventional sound constructions of the nation style, together with rhythm and singing fashion, lyrical content material, in addition to conventional nation instrumentation similar to acoustic guitar, metal guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, electrical guitar, and stay drums. It additionally consists of sub-genres similar to Western, Western Swing, and Outlaw nation.”
Now that the Grammy Awards have acknowledged conventional nation, may we additionally see a situation the place one thing just like the CMA Awards add the same class, or perhaps a couple or a couple of like Greatest Conventional Nation Album, Track, and Artist? Why not. It’s been wanted for years. And if the CMA’s accomplish that, why wouldn’t the ACMs?
However let’s not get forward of ourselves. Initially, we have to reward the knowledge of the Grammy Awards by ensuring this new Conventional Nation Album class is supported. It’s comprehensible when you’re a standard nation artist, performer, songwriter, or fan, you would possibly really feel just like the Grammys and all these awards exhibits deserted you years in the past. However this can be a massive alternative to alter all of that.
That is the place all of us are available and should do our half. The Grammy Awards don’t simply choose nominees out of skinny air. Albums and songs should be submitted to the Grammys. How the Recording Academy decides what classes to remove, and what classes to maintain yr after yr has to do with what number of entries every class receives. The extra entries, the more healthy the class is. The much less entries, the extra they have to determine in the event that they need to take it away, or maybe mix it with one other class.
There was once a devoted award for Western swing, for instance. However on account of an absence of curiosity, it was eliminated. Fortunately for Western swing performers although, they may now qualify for the brand new Conventional Nation Album class.
The eligibility interval for the following cycle of Grammy Awards is August thirty first, 2024, to August thirtieth, 2025. So in case you are an artist with an album you consider qualifies as conventional nation and was launched in that point interval, do what you possibly can to ensure it’s submitted to the Grammy Awards. When you’re a fan or consultant of such an artist, allow them to know this new class exists, and to submit their album. The entry interval for the Grammy Awards begins on July sixteenth, and ends on August twenty ninth.
And regardless that there isn’t at present a “Greatest Conventional Nation Track” or “Greatest Conventional Nation Efficiency” award, conventional nation artists ought to nonetheless submit their songs to the present Grammy nation music and efficiency classes too. That method if there’s sufficient songs and momentum, we open up the opportunity of a standard nation music class sooner or later as nicely.
Paradoxically, one of the under-supported classes within the Grammy Awards course of is Greatest Nation Album. Why is that? Partly it’s as a result of Nashville main labels don’t submit their complete catalogs to the Grammys. They solely submit a choose few albums they hope will win, considering their different picks would possibly compete with the titles they’re making an attempt to push. Within the Americana world, it’s the other. The labels submit their complete catalogs. That’s one of many causes Americana is likely one of the most crowded classes within the Grammy course of.
Some will let you know that awards don’t matter. And for certain, music doesn’t should win some trophy to make an impression or to be validated. However we noticed the wild success Sturgill Simpson loved after successful a Grammy Award. We’re seeing that very same success with Sierra Ferrell as we communicate. Since mainstream radio and the CMAs/ACMs proceed to disregard many conventional nation artists, this new award simply offers us one other device within the arsenal to take the most effective in conventional nation, and ensure it doesn’t get ignored.
However even deeper than this new award itself is the opportunity of creating a complete new avenue for conventional nation artists to be acknowledged in. No totally different than how you’ve got traditional rock, trendy rock, and heavy metallic, nation music is an enormous style and rising by the minute. It’s time to begin being extra intentional in what we name it, and the way we categorize nation music. George Strait just isn’t making the identical music as Jelly Roll. And it’s about time The Grammy Awards and all these massive organizations begin recognizing this.
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