So why not kick off the march to Grammy night with some biased predictions?
I'll get down to business pretty quickly. I think the Dixie Chicks are going to clean up. Nominated for five awards this year, the Chicks may have ticked off Nashville, but Hollywood loves them. Regardless of anything anyone might have said or done during the Debacle of Dixie Chicks Dissent, the girls can play! Besides being a great record, their latest album was an enormous success in record stores and on iTunes, despite it all. Call them bluegrass, country-pop or rock-and-roll ... who cares how you define it? I think they'll go home with at least a couple of trophies this year. At the very least, they're expected to put on a great performance on the show.
As for the folk and bluegrass categories, here's how I think it will (or maybe just how it should) break down:
Best Bluegrass Album
This is a tough category, since all the nominess were incredible; but I'm going to have to go with the Grascals on this one. Their album was in the top 20 on the Americana charts for most of 2006, and they're one of the most exciting groups in contemporary bluegrass. Long List of Heartaches was a great record, and very deserving of the award.
Runner up: Rhonda Vincent - All-American Bluegrass Girl
Best Traditional Folk Album
If I were NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), I'd easily give the award to Ramblin' Jack, with Odetta as the runner up. Nonetheless, I have a sneaking suspicion that Bruce Springsteen will win for his We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, if for no other reason than the academy seems to have a real soft spot for The Boss. I didn't think it was an incredible record, but that's just me. I think he's the safe choice for a majority of NARAS members who, I'm just guessing here, are likely not hugely familiar with Jack Elliot or even Ralph Stanley.
Runner Up: Odetta - Gonna Let it Shine
Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album
This is another tough one. I think Bob Dylan will win the award, even though Modern Times was more of a blues record. Rosanne Cash's Black Cadillac could be a great contender, though, and is the one I'd choose if I had a choice. Every song was excellent. Cash ably blended so many facets of Americana, channeling the spirits of Johnny and June, while also adding her gritty alt.country flavor. I think it was a splendid record and I hope Cash gets it.
Runner Up: Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris - All the Roadrunning
As for the other categories in which folk artists are nominated, I think Solomon Burke could take the award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for his work with Dolly Parton on "Tomorrow is Forever" from his Nashville album.
Chris Thile just might (or at least should) take the award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for his "The Eleventh Reel" from How to Grow a Woman From the Ground
Thanks to American Idol, of all things, KT Tunstall just might walk away with a grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" single. There's an awful lot of buzz circulating around her since her nomination. She's up against some stiff competition, though.
Really, there's only one way to find out who wins ... well, okay, there are a couple of ways. You can watch the Grammy telecast on CBS on February 11, or you can check the Internet the next morning. I'll let you know who won in the folk categories. For more insight into the folk nominees, check out Grammy.com.
