| Grammy Award for Best Americana Album | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | quality Americana albums |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
| First award | 2010 |
| Currently held by | Jon Batiste – Big Money (2026) |
| Website | grammy.com |
The Grammy Award for Best Americana Album is an honor presented to recording artists for quality albums in the Americana music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards.[1] Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".[2]
In 2009, the Academy announced that the award for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album would be split into two separate categories: Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Americana Album.[3][4] The distinction between the two award categories is based on the use of acoustic versus electric instruments; acoustic instruments predominate in "contemporary folk" and electric instruments are characteristic of Americana.[4] Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association, called the new category's inclusion "a huge acknowledgment" of the music genre.[5] Hilly admitted to working hard at convincing the Academy to include Americana as its own category.[6][7] The music industry had been using the term "Americana music" for about 15 years before the new award was created.[4] Following is the award's purpose, according to the category description guide from the 2018 Grammy Awards:
Americana is contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music and vocal styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acoustic instruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a full electric band.[8]
The award was first presented in 2010 to Levon Helm at the 52nd Grammy Awards for the album Electric Dirt.[9] Lucinda Williams is the artist with most nominations (three) without a win (see below for a table with artists with most wins and nominations).
Recipients
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2010s
2020s
Artists with multiple wins
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Artists with multiple nominations
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See also
References
- General
- "Grammy Award Winners". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 4, 2011. Note: User must select the "American Roots" category as the genre under the search feature.
- Specific
- "Grammy Awards at a Glance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- Sisario, Ben (June 4, 2009). "Polka Music Is Eliminated as Grammy Award Category". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- Shriver, Jerry (August 31, 2009). "Grammys will be putting Americana on the map". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- Rodman, Sarah (January 29, 2010). "Grammys get a new category: Best Americana Album". The Boston Globe. The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- Fusilli, Jim (December 5, 2009). "Grammy Awards: Americana, the Not-So Beautiful". The Wall Street Journal. News Corporation. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- Purdy, Nick (July 24, 2009). "Industry Chat: Jed Hilly of the Americana Music Association". Paste. Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- "2011 OEP Category Description Guide" (PDF). National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 3, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
- "Grammy Award Winners". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- "2011 Grammy Nominations: Eminem Leads The Pack". MTV. December 2, 2010. Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- "Best Americana Album". Grammy.com. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
- "List of 2013 nominees". Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- "56th GRAMMY Awards: Full Winners List". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
- "List of Nominees 2015" (PDF). Grammy.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- "58th Grammy Nominees". Grammy. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
- "Here is the Complete List of Nominees for the 2017 Grammys". Billboard. December 6, 2016.
- Lynch, Joe (November 28, 2017). "Grammys 2018: See the Complete List of Nominees". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- "61st GRAMMY Awards: Full Nominees List". Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- "2020 Grammy Awards nominations list". Grammy.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- "2021 Nominations List". Grammy.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- "2022 GRAMMYs Awards: Complete Nominations List". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- Lee, Taila (November 15, 2022). "2023 Grammy Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". grammy.com. Recording Academy. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- "2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- "2025 GRAMMYs: See The OFFICIAL Full Nominations List | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
- Willman, Chris (November 7, 2025). "Grammy Nominations 2026: Kendrick Lamar Leads With Nine as Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas Land Among Top Nominees". Variety. Retrieved November 7, 2025.