Best Traditional Folk Album
Let me put it this way: NARAS (the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences - the group of musicians, producers, and other industry folk who, each year, vote for the nominees and Grammy Award winners) is a pretty sentimental bunch. I wouldn’t put it past them to give the Grammy nod to Jo-El Sonnier because his Cajun music CD brings to mind the current state of post-hurricane(s) Louisiana. Sonnier is a much lauded artist with an impressive biography, and an even more impressive ear for music, to boot.
BUT Tim O’Brien’s Fiddler’s Green is one of my personal favorites from last year. I know it doesn’t hold the same sentimentality (for me or, I reckon, the Academy) as a CD full of Cajun Mardi Gras!, but O’Brien’s instrumentation and renderings of traditional tunes on this record are just magnificent.
If I had my ‘druthers, I’d like to see Sonnier and O’Brien make a record together. That would be a shoe-in for my pick of the year. And although the Chieftans, Tom Paxton, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore are Grammy-quality artists, I’m going to go with my gut on this one:
Most Likely to Win: Jo-El Sonnier Cajun Mardi Gras!
My Personal Favorite: Tim O’Brien Fiddler’s Green
Best Contemporary Folk Album
I love Bruce Springsteen as much as the next guy, but I just don’t think the mainstream-loving Academy is ready to lose him to the tree-hugging, festival going, Unitarian folk music world just yet. I think maybe the reason he got the Contemporary Folk nomination nod this year is that maybe the Academy hasn’t heard of Eliza Gilkyson, and they’re a little afraid of Ani Difranco (despite the fact that they nominated her here last year). Nonetheless, I think Bruce’s undying Boss status will keep him in the iron clutches of rock & roll until further notice, at least for the purpose of discussing the Grammy Awards.
On the other hand, while John Prine is one of the best songwriters around, and Rodney Crowell’s CD was on the Americana charts for at least 128 weeks last year, I have to go with my prediction:
Most Likely to Win: Nickel Creek Why Should the Fire Die?
My Personal Favorite: Rodney Crowell The Outsider
Best Bluegrass Album
This one is a toughie. Everyone on the list is very deserving of the trophy, but IBMA Artist of the Year Cherryholmes probably has a darn good chance. On the other hand, original Blue Grass Boy Del McCoury’s The Company We Keep did make a big stir. It’ll be interesting to see if the Academy opted to go with old faithful (McCoury) or the family that prays together (Cherryholmes). But I’ll go ahead and put in my two cents:
Most Likely to Win: Del McCoury Band The Company We Keep
My Personal Favorite: Cherryholmes Cherryholmes
Non-Folk Categories In Which Folk Artists Were Nominated
I know this could be a potentially unpopular statement, but I think hip-hop folksinger Kanye West should take home every trophy for which he’s nominated. There, I said it.
Best Solo Rock Performance - Now this is bossman Bruce’s time to shine, even though I think it’ll probably go to the sentimental favorite, Folk rocker Neil Young.
Best Rock Album should, again, go to Neil for Prairie Wind, but it’s probably more likely in the hands of U2 for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (presumably the way to dismantle an atomic bomb is by playing rock music). Because, let’s face it, U2 had more radio hits last year.
