Brandi Carlile Sweeps Americana Category at the 2019 Grammy Awards
This story has been updated.
Brandi Carlile is the big winner coming out of the 2019 Grammy Awards Premier Ceremony, where some 70+ awards are handed out ahead of the telecast version of the awards show, including the Americana, bluegrass, folk, and blues awards. Brandi Carlile won Best American Roots Performance for “The Joke,” as well as Best Americana Album for By The Way, I Forgive You. She also won Best American Roots Song, which is a songwriters award she shares with Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth—a.k.a. ‘The Twins” who make up her band. Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings also share in the accolades as producers of By The Way, I Forgive You.
This makes Brandi Carlile three for three with the six nominations she is up for on the night. The three other awards she is up for are the all-genre Song of the Year and Record of the Year for “The Joke,” and Album of the Year for By The Way, I Forgive You, all of which will be given away during Sunday night Grammy telecast. It could be a very big night for Brandi Carlile, and Americana music by proxy.
“I’m going to say something,” Carlile said while accepting her award for Best Americana Album. “I wrote this win or lose. If we didn’t win anything, I was just going to put this in an envelope with a heart on it and give it to [Dave Cobb].”
Brandi Carlile then read,
“Americana music is the island of the misfit toys. I am such a misfit. It is this music that has shaped my life and made me who I am, and even given me my family. I came out of the closet at 15-years-old when I was in high school, and I can assure you I was never invited to any parties. I never got to attend a dance. To be embraced by this loving and enduring community has been the dance of a lifetime. Thank you for being my island.”
Dave Cobb also spoke after Brandi Carlile’s third award. “I’m so proud to be involved, and get to go into the studio with such incredible talent, including the talent that’s out there tonight. Thank you guys for giving us this platform.”
Other winners in the American roots categories included The Travelin’ McCourys for their self-titled album for Best Bluegrass Album, The Punch Brothers and All Ashore for Best Folk Album, Buddy Guy and The Blues Is Alive and Well for Best Traditional Blues Album, and Fantastic Negrito and Please Don’t Be Dead for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
Country awards handed out during the pre-telecast include “Butterflies” by Kacey Musgraves for Best Country Solo Performance, Best Country Song for Kacey Musgraves’ “Space Cowboy,” and “Tequila” by Dan + Shay for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Willie Nelson also won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for his Frank Sinatra tribute, My Way.
Make sure to stop by Saving Country Music during the Grammy Awards telecast for the Saving Country Music LIVE blog.
EARLY GRAMMY WINNERS
- Best Americana Album – Brandi Carlile – By The Way, I Forgive You
- Best American Roots Performance – Brandi Carlile – “The Joke”
- Best American Roots Song – “The Joke,” Brandi Carlile (Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth, songwriters)
- Best Bluegrass Album – The Travelin’ McCourys – The Travelin’ McCourys
- Best Folk Album – The Punch Brothers – All Ashore
- Best Traditional Blues Album – Buddy Guy – The Blues Is Alive and Well
- Best Contemporary Blues Album – Fantastic Negrito – Please Don’t Be Dead
- Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album – Willie Nelson – My Way (Frank Sinatra Tribute)
- Best Country Solo Performance – Kacey Musgraves – “Butterflies”
- Best Country Song – Kacey Musgraves – “Space Cowboy” (Luke Laird, Shane McAnally and Kacey Musgraves, songwriters)
- Best Country Do/Group Performance – Dan + Shay – “Tequila”
February 10, 2019 @ 3:57 pm
I was rooting for Brandi. ????????????????
February 10, 2019 @ 4:00 pm
I’m overall neutral when it comes to Carlile – she’s shed her skin too many times. But, I’m routing for her. I’m hearing a ton of great about the new Tayna Tucker album Carlile produced and had a hand in writing every song. I feel a big night for her will be a big boost to the Tucker album.
February 10, 2019 @ 4:29 pm
She’s shed her skin too many times??? Please explain cause i’m lost
February 10, 2019 @ 4:48 pm
When she first hit the scene she was indie rock, then she shifted to alt-country, now she’s Americana. Last time I saw her in concert was in 2012 and I really liked her set because I thought it was rootsy and country-grounded …. something that was missing in her albums (IMO). She’s an artist always evolving. But, I’ve never been able to pin point her style.
February 10, 2019 @ 4:41 pm
I think you kind of buried the lead here Trigger. Meant to Be was left high and dry for country duo or group song!!!!!!!!
February 10, 2019 @ 6:19 pm
The best country song of the year was a Kacey Musgraves song? Really?
God these awards are a joke.
I could name about 1000 better songs than the one of hers that won.
Starting off with every song from Pat Reedy’s album That’s All There Is.
I could go on and on…
But god forbid a real country artist like him would get recognized.
February 10, 2019 @ 6:22 pm
You should have seen the other nominees.
February 10, 2019 @ 11:04 pm
Nice pre-Grammy piece about Brandi in The Guardian. She comes across as a complex and real person.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/08/brandi-carlile-grammys-country-gay-marriage-cancun
February 11, 2019 @ 7:44 am
I like Brandi and By The Way I Forgive You is a good album. But me thinks Brandi winning Americana Album of The Year for it and Best Americana Roots Song for The Joke has more to do with the Grammys overarching efforts to ensure more inclusiveness with female and gay performers in this year’s awards than the actual best album and song. Especially when it beat John Prine’s best album in years. But hey…that’s just my opinion…your results may vary.
February 11, 2019 @ 11:04 am
Just saw that Brandi will have the chance to open some tour dates for the HUGE Heart reunion tour this summer
February 11, 2019 @ 6:43 pm
Brandi Carlile slayed the Grammys, win or lose.
February 12, 2019 @ 9:29 am
Congrats for Brandi. She is so talented. By The Way, I Forgive You is good album. Its well deserved.
February 12, 2019 @ 11:14 am
Bill,
You are exactly correct. Reminds me of the Dixie Chicks win for their “Taking The Long Way”.
The Grammy’s are always about making a statement. Especially as the statements lean towards the liberal side.
I predicted Brandi would win because of this. Was an easy prediction.
On the “Taste of Country” website, here are some quotes”
“I was brought up by Lilith Fair to believe that men and women enjoy live music equally and that women can not only headline a festival – they can BE a festival,”
“So many people feeling unloved. Boys feeling marginalized and forced into these kind of awkward shapes of masculinity that they do or don’t belong in,” she says, “so many men and boys are trans or disabled or shy. Little girls who got so excited for the last election, and are dealing with the fallout. The song is just for people that feel under-represented, unloved or illegal.”
NO WAY was the Grammy’s not going to reward that.
February 12, 2019 @ 11:16 am
By the way, my statements have nothing to do with her music itself. Much the same can be said for the Grammy nods.
February 14, 2019 @ 5:19 pm
As someone who has followed Brandi and The Twins career from her first album 14 years ago,
I have never been so utterly and thoroughly disappointed as I am with “By the Way, I Forgive You”…..a boring, meandering, painfully tuneless mess.
Shooter’s sparse Lanoisuque production only makes the whole affair that much more bleak.
Annoying and completely forgettable.