Here Are The Nominees For Best Americana Album | 2020 GRAMMYs
The 2020 GRAMMYs are just around the corner, and now the nominations are in for the coveted honor of Best Americana Album. While we'll have to wait until the 62nd GRAMMY Awards air on CBS on Jan. 26 to find out who will win, let's take a look at which albums have been nominated for Best Americana Album.
Years To Burn – Calexico And Iron & Wine
When these two truly distinctive sounding projects first collaborated 14 years ago on In The Reins, both Calexico and Iron & WIne's Sam Beam were still feeling their way through their own sonic pathways. With their second collaboration, Years To Burn rings rootsy and hook-filled with ecclectic flair of instrumentation and well-crafted songs you'd expect from considernig the creative ground both Calexico and Iron & Wine have covered in the decade plus since their first team-up. The project also yielded a nomination for Best American Roots Performance for the album's "Father Mountain."
Who Are You Now – Madison Cunningham
Rising singer/songwriter Madison Cunningham turned a lot of heads with her Who Are You Now, attracting critical acclaim for her songwriting prowess that seemed to come from a wisdom beyond her years. No doubt, her unique folk swaggar sound lavishes her debut album with the sensation of a promising talent with limitless potential and earned her her first career GRAMMY nomination.
Oklahoma – Keb’ Mo’
Blues and roots veteran Keb' Mo's 14th studio album sizzles with both joy and grit. Enlisting the likes of Rosanne Cash. Jaci Velasquez, Robert Randolph and Taj Mahal, Keb' is gunning for his fifth career GRAMMY with his first nomination in the Best Americana Album category.
Tales Of America – J.S. Ondara
Kenyan singer/songwriter J.S. Ondara tells a now-famous story of how he thought "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" was written by Guns 'N Roses, and how discovering it was a Bob Dylan song led to a remarkable move to folk music and the United States (Minneapolis initially, in fact, as an homage to Dylan). But Ondara had a story to tell all his own, and on Tales Of America, he provides an insightful look at the country's current state through the eyes of an immigrant on his way to his first career GRAMMY nom.
Walk Through Fire – Yola
With four GRAMMY nominations this year, it's safe to say Yola arrived in style in 2019. But the "Queen Of Country Soul"'s path to success was a rocky—and firey—one, which inclded overcoming homelessness and the loss of her mother. The Dan Auerbach-produced Walk Through Fire stands tall as inspiraional testiment to perseverence of the human spirit, and earned Yola a nomination for Best New Artist as well as Best American Roots Song and Best American Roots Performance for "Faraway Look."
