So I had a little insomnia tonight. Woke up at 2:10 AM EST. Visited the Kos, played a little Candy crush Saga, read the editorials in the New York Times and listened to some Mountain Stage. I saw on a news feed the Grammy's were announced and went over to the LA Times to read the list of nominees. I skimmed through the bigger named artists, and listened to some songs I hadn't heard and then scrolled down to the Americana and Roots section. These are the artists I go to hear on Mountain Stage, a live performance NPR radio show I attend very often (10 or 12 times a year!) I thought I would see how many artists I had heard in person, and was pleased to see that a number of nominees had just been to Mountain Stage and put on a great performance.
Follow me below the orange squiggle to some great videos.
Buddy And Jim by Buddy Miller And Jim Lauderdale was nominated for best Americana album- and they had a great show this spring.
This link has interviews interspersed with the performance I saw. For some reason that show isn't up yet in the Mountain Stage Archives.
The Streets Of Baltimore by Del McCoury Band was also nominated for best Bluegrass Album.
I saw them perform November 3, 2013 and it was also a fantastic show. That show hasn't played on the air yet, but you can stay tuned for it.
Then I listened to all the nominated Roots songs and they were terrific.
Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott were nominated for their song "Keep Your Dirty Lights on" about coal mining. This one is my personal favorite. I love Tim O'Brien, who was just inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. Here is the video of their song.
Steve Earle was nominated for his song "Invisible" (performed with the Dukes and Duchesses). This video is so touching and deserves a wide audience.
Sarah Jarosz was nominated for her haunting song, "Build me up from Bones." So talented and only 22 years old.
Steve Martin (yes that Steve Martin) and Edie Brickell were nominated for their sweet song about a single mother, "Love has come for you."
And my favorite for long shot win, Allen Toussaint from New Orleans, relocated to New York City after Hurricane Katrina was nominated for both his album Songbook and his own song, Shrimp Po-Boy Dressed. Here is the itunes link to the album so you can hear a sample of the nominated song.
https://itunes.apple.com/...
Here is a video of a song from the album- which I think has a real chance.
So if you have insomnia or just work up early and want to hear some great Americana and Roots music, enjoy!