Country, Folk and Americana
Best Country Solo Performance
Cam, “Burning House”
Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”
Carrie Underwood, “Little Toy Guns”
Keith Urban, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”
Lee Ann Womack, “Chances Are”
Probably Chris Stapleton. Usually Album of the Year nominees net a couple wins in their home categories and he’ll likely pick this one up. Cam is an intriguing possibility here, though.
PREDICTION: Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Brothers Osborne, “Stay A Little Longer”
Joey + Rory, “If I Needed You”
Charles Kelley, Dierks Bentley & Eric Paslay, “The Driver”
Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”
Blake Shelton feat. Ashley Monroe, “Lonely Tonight”
“Girl Crush” will probably win this one and it’s certainly deserving of it. However, I’m also pulling for the sweet, low-key husband and wife bluegrass duo Joey + Rory here. Following Joey Martin Feek’s terminal cancer diagnosis signalling the likely end for the group, it would be great if they got a much deserved Grammy win. If they win instead of “Girl Crush”, I’m all for it.
PREDICTION: Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”
Best Country Song
Lee Ann Womack, “Chances Are”
Tim McGraw, “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools”
Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”
Brandy Clark, “Hold My Hand”
Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”
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For the songwriting award, I’m going to give my prediction to Chris Stapleton – again the Grammys usually give a bunch of awards to artists that get nominated in the big four – but this could really go any way.
PREDICTION: Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”
Best Country Album
Sam Hunt, Montevallo
Little Big Town, Pain Killer
Ashley Monroe, The Blade
Kasey Musgraves, Pageant Material
Chris Stapleton, Traveller
As strong as Kasey Musgraves’ new album is, I’m gonna chalk this one up as yet another win for Stapleton. The country awards are basically mostly his to lose.
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PREDICTION: Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Best American Roots Performance
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, “And I Am Born to Die”
Buddy Guy, “Born to Play Guitar”
The Milk Carton Kids, “City of Our Lady”
Punch Brothers, “Julep”
Mavis Staples, “See That My Grave is Kept Clean”
I’m going to guess that Bela Fleck is a favorite here, but Mavis Staples’ song is quite superb and I think she’s got the best chance to take this one.
PREDICTION: Mavis Staples, “See That My Grave is Kept Clean”
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Best American Roots Song
The Mavericks, “All Night Long”
Don Henley & Merle Haggard, “The Cost of Living”
Punch Brothers, “Julep”
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, “The Traveling Kind”
Jason Isbell, “24 Frames”
One thing the Grammys loves to do is award graying rock legends in esoteric categories. That’s what will probably happen here as Henley and Haggard upset a very good cuts from country icons Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell and former Drive-By Truckers member Jason Isbell. And in that it’s Henley’s only nomination for something off his high profile comeback album Cass Country and you have an unsurprising shoe-in for this award
PREDICTION: Don Henley & Merle Haggard, “The Cost of Living”
Best Americana Album
Brandi Carlile, The Firewatcher’s Daughter
Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, The Traveling Kind
Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free
The Mavericks, Mono
The Punch Brothers, The Phosphorescent Blues
Isbell has a better chance at an award here, for his highly acclaimed new solo album. If Emmylou and Rodney take it instead, that will be just as fine, but Isbell is definitely the favorite here.
PREDICTION: Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free
Best Bluegrass Album
Dale Ann Bradley, Pocket Full of Keys
Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Before the Sun Goes Down
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, In Session
Ralph Stanley & Friends, Man of Constant Sorrow
The Steeldrivers, The Muscle Shoals Recordings
At 88 years old, Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley is the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry. Yet he’s only won this award once, in 2002 for a collaboration album with Jim Lauderdale and the Clinch Mountain Boys. I’m predicting he’ll take it this year.
PREDICTION: Ralph Stanley & Friends, Man of Constant Sorrow
Best Folk Album
Norman Blake, Wood, Wire & Woods
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Rhiannon Giddens, Tomorrow is My Turn
Patty Griffin, Servant of Love
Glen Hansard, Didn’t He Ramble
My prediction is for the debut solo record from Carolina Chocolate Drops frontwoman Rhiannon Giddens, but Oscar winner Glen Hansard, and bluegrass great Norman Blake are also strong contenders.
PREDICTION: Rhiannon Giddens, Tomorrow is My Turn
Up next: All the other awards we’re comfortable talking about, including spoken word and video of the year.
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