The year 2013 is drawing to a close, and that means annual awards shows are around the corner. Our own music awards show, the Best of the Beat, honoring New Orleans and Louisiana artists for their accomplishments this year, arrives on Saturday, January 18, 2014. But the national Recording Academy’s anticipated event of the year — the Grammy Awards — takes place in Los Angeles just one week after our Best of the Beat Music Awards. On Sunday, January 26, 2014, the best of the best in American music will gather and the 2014 Grammy Awards will be presented.
Allen Toussaint nominated for two 2014 Grammy Music Awards.
The Grammys announced this year’s nominees over the weekend, and a dozen Louisiana artists are on the bill in the categories of R&B, country, jazz, gospel, American roots, Americana, regional roots and blues. Here they are:
10. Best Dance Album
A Color Map of the Sun — Pretty Lights
Label: 8 Minutes 20 Seconds Records
*This one gets an honorable mention because the album features numerous New Orleans artists: Uncle Lionel Batiste, Glen David Andrews, Big Al Carson, Ben Jaffe, Carl LeBlanc, Simon Lott, Earl Scioneaux III aka The Madd Wikkid , Jeff Albert, Mario Abney and more. Plus, the album was engineered by Wesley Fontenot of the New Orleans Music Shed.
19. Best R&B Song
“Only One” — PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton featuring Stevie Wonder)
Album: New Orleans
Label: Cash Money / Universal Republic
26. Best Country Solo Performance:
“I Want Crazy” — Hunter Hayes (Breaux Bridge, LA)
Track from: Hunter Hayes (Encore)
Label: Atlantic
29. Best Country Album:
Two Lanes of Freedom — Tim McGraw (Delhi, LA)
Label: Big Machine Records
31. Best Improvised Jazz Solo:
“Don’t Run” — Terence Blanchard
Track from: Magnetic
Label: Blue Note Records
39. Best Gospel Album
Best Days Yet — Bishop Paul S. Morton
Label: Tehillah Music Group / EOne
*This one also gets an honorable mention because the father and son duo of Bishop Paul Morton and rising R&B/jazz-funk artist PJ Morton (listed above) are both nominated for Grammys this year. Raised up in the tradition of his father’s Gospel church, PJ would later go on to pioneer fusions in the “neo soul” scene nationally and is now signed to the New Orleans-founded Cash Money Records, with whom he released his first major label debut this year. Talk about keeping it in the (New Orleans) family.
45. Best American Roots Song:
“Shrimp Po-Boy, Dressed” — Allen Toussaint
Track from: Songbook
Label: Rounder Records / EMI
46. Best Americana Album:
Songbook — Allen Toussaint
Label: Rounder Records / EMI
48. Best Blues Album:
Down in Louisiana — Bobby Rush
Label: Deep Rush Records
50. Best Regional Roots Music Album:
The Life & Times of… The Hot 8 Brass Band — The Hot 8 Brass Band
Label: Tru Thoughts
Le Fou — Zachary Richard
Label: Avalanche Productions
Dockside Sessions — Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience
Label: Musicmatters Records
67. Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
The Moorings — Andrew Duhon
Trina Shoemaker, engineer; Eric Conn, mastering engineer (Andrew Duhon)
Label: Andrew Duhon
Be sure to tune in to the live television broadcast of the 2014 Grammy Awards on January 26 to see which of our Louisiana artists take home the prize.
