The Grammy Awards are here. These musicians with NC ties could win.
The 64th Grammy Awards ceremony is Sunday, and nominees have waited months to hear whether they will take home the music industry’s biggest awards.
That includes many North Carolina musicians and groups who were nominated for awards in November and expected to attend the ceremony Jan. 31.
But a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations postponed the ceremony to April 3.
Sunday, awards in 86 categories will be presented with a select group given out during the broadcast at 8 p.m. The ceremony will air live from Las Vegas on CBS and the Paramount+ streaming service with Trevor Noah as host.
North Carolina will be well represented with some repeat nominees, winners and a well-known mother and son nominated in two different categories.
Durham jazz singer Nnenna Freelon, who has been nominated for several Grammys before, is nominated this year for “Time Traveler” in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category. The nomination is the sixth in her career with the first in 1996.
Pierce Freelon, her son, is nominated for Best Children’s Album for “Black to the Future.” He also contributed a song on the Grammy-nominated album, “All One Tribe,” in the same category.
Durham singer Rissi Palmer also contributed a song to the nominated children’s albums, “All One Tribe,” by the 1 Tribe Collective as well as a song to “Activate” by 123 Andrés.
Durham duo Sylvan Esso was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for “Free Love.” This is their second nomination, following 2017’s “What Now” in the same category.
Triangle-based producer 9th Wonder is nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album for his work on the collaborative EP, “Dinner Party: Dessert.”
J. Cole, who grew up in Fayetteville and lives in the Triangle, is up for three awards: Best Rap Album for “The Off-Season.” Cole earned his first Grammy Award in 2020 after several nominations.
Roots musician Rhiannon Giddens, who grew up in Greensboro and went to the N.C. School of Science and Math in Durham, is nominated for two awards. She is nominated for Best Folk Album with Francesco Turrisi for “They’re Calling Me Home.” Both are nominated alongside songwriter Justin Robinson for Best American Roots Song for “Avalon.”
Country superstar Luke Combs nabbed a nomination for Best Country Solo Performance for “Forever After All.”
Grammy nominees with N.C. ties
▪ Best Dance/Electronic Music Album: “Free Love,” Sylvan Esso
▪ Best Progressive R&B Album: “Dinner Party: Dessert,” Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder & Kamasi Washington
▪ Best Rap Performance: “M Y . L I F E,” J. Cole Featuring 21 Savage & Morray
▪ Best Melodic Rap Performance: “P R I D E . I S . T H E . D E V I L,” J. Cole Featuring Lil Baby
▪ Best Rap Song: “M Y . L I F E,” Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph & Jermaine Cole, songwriters (J. Cole Featuring 21 Savage & Morray)
▪ Best Rap Album: “The Off-Season,” J. Cole
▪ Best Country Solo Performance: “Forever After All,” Luke Combs
▪ Best Jazz Vocal Album: “Time Traveler,” Nnenna Freelon
▪ Best American Roots Song: “Avalon,” Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson & Francesco Turrisi, songwriters (Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi)
▪ Best Folk Album: “They’re Calling Me Home,” Rhiannon Giddens With Francesco Turrisi
▪ Best Children’s Music Album:
- “Black To The Future,” Pierce Freelon
- “Activate,” 123 Andrés (Durham singer Rissi Palmer contributed “I Just Can’t Sit Down.”)
- “All One Tribe,” 1 Tribe Collective (Pierce Freelon contributed “Cootie Shot” and Palmer contributed “Little Black Boy, Little Black Girl.”)
Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony
Hosted by: LeVar Burton
With performances by: Jimmie Allen, Ledisi, Mon Laferte, Allison Russell, Curtis Stewart, Madison Cunningham, Falu, Nnenna Freelon, Kalani Pe’a, John Popper, and The Isaacs
When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday (awards will be presented in more than 70 of the 84 Grammy categories)
Where: Online at live.grammy.com and youtube.com/grammy
64th annual Grammy Awards
Hosted by: Trevor Noah
With performances by: Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, BTS, Brandi Carlile & Brothers Osborne, Jack Harlow, Jon Batiste, Foo Fighters, H.E.R., Nas, Chris Stapleton, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler
Where to watch: 8 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS, airing live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and on the Paramount+ streaming service
The San Diego Union-Tribune contributed to this story.
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 5:45 AM.