The Grammys’ Americana Category Is Often a Catch-All. Sierra Ferrell’s Album Was Made for It

Leading up to the Grammy nominations on Nov. 8, Rolling Stone is breaking down 13 different categories. For each, we’re predicting the nominees, as well as who will (and who should) win on Grammy night. 

With many of Americana’s biggest recent Grammy winners (Jason Isbell, Rhiannon Giddens) absent from this year’s proceedings, the Best Americana Album nominations are anyone’s guess — especially since this year’s releases could conceivably be nominated in other categories (Folk, Rock, Country, and Alternative, among them). Says Margi Cheske, president of Fantasy Records, who have released LPs by Allison Russell and Nathaniel Rateliff: “This year is more wide open for surprises than in past years.”

Best Americana Album — Our Predictions

The Avett Brothers, The Avett Brothers
Sierra Ferrell, Trail of Flowers
Sarah Jarosz, Polaroid Lovers
The Red Clay Strays, Made by These Moments
Waxahatchee, Tigers Blood

Who Will Win?

Sarah Jarosz, Polaroid Lovers
If there’s one roots artist who feels like a lock for recognition this year, it’s Jarosz, who has 10 previous Grammy nominations (split between the Folk and Americana categories). Her last three records all received nods, and she’s already won in this category with 2020’s World on the Ground. On top of that, her latest LP, Polaroid Lovers, is the most accessible of her career. “She’s kind of like the new Alison Krauss,” says Cheske. “Her new record is incredible and definitely deserving of a nomination.”

Who Should Win?

Sierra Ferrell, Trail of Flowers
The Recording Academy can be famously slow to recognize up-and-coming talents, even when they’re as red hot as Sierra Ferrell. But the West Virginia singer-songwriter has had such a star-making year — major festival slots, rave reviews, features with two of the single most popular artists in the country (Zach Bryan, Post Malone) — that it’s hard to imagine Ferrell being ignored altogether. “She’s so incredibly unique and talented that, again, I can’t imagine she wouldn’t get nominated,” says Cheske. “But you never know.”

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Forecasting the Field

The Americana field is traditionally a welcome space for hard-to-categorize acts. This year, that could mean roots-rock band the Red Clay Strays and indie-country artist Waxahatchee. Look for the Avett Brothers too, whose reunion LP with Rick Rubin (and first release via Americana powerhouse Thirty Tigers in 17 years) alone make a strong case for the band to earn a nomination for Best Americana Album. “They’re so grounded in the Americana community that it would be surprising if they didn’t get nominated,” Cheske says. Don’t rule out the Mavericks, a pillar of the Americana format and this Grammy category, either. Other surprises could include long-last Recording Academy recognition for hard-working acts like Charley Crockett, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Lake Street Dive, none of whom have ever received Grammy nominations but have grown their cult followings into arena-levels of success in the past few years. Another possibility: The Hanseroth Twins, the backing band of Grammy darling Brandi Carlile, who released their solo debut this year.