The 54th annual Grammy nominations were announced this morning, and Ravinia Festival artists are distributed throughout. We are extraordinarily excited to have our beloved performers receiving the recognition they so aptly deserve.
We have a Ravinia showdown on our hands for the “Best Pop Duo of the Year” award with Tony Bennett and the late Amy Winehouse for “Body and Soul” off Tony Bennett’s album Duets II in contention against Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera’s “Moves like Jagger”. Tony Bennett appears on the nomination list in two more categories, “Best Pop Vocal Album of the Year” for Duets II and “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)” for his duet with Queen Latifah “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)” on Duets II. What a year for Tony Bennett! Tony’s nomination for “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)” will be challenged by The Tierney Sutton Band and Sting with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. It’s going to be a nail biter.
Carrie Underwood received yet another Grammy nomination, “Best Country Solo Performance”, for her single “Mama’s Song” off Play On. David Frost and Judith Sherman were nominated for “Producer of the Year Classical”, for their work with Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass and the Lincoln Trio, respectively. The Mariachi Divas receive their third Grammy nomination for “Best Regional Mexican or Tejano Album” for their seventh studio album “Orale”.
The Grammy nominations for the “Best Bluegrass Album” of the year are dominated by Ravinia Festival artists. Alison Krauss, The Del McCoury Band, Chris Thile, and Steven Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers comprise four of the six total nominations! May the best album win! We can’t wait to hear the results.
Other Ravinia Festival performers that received nominations include Booker T. Jones, Dave Koz, Harry Connick Jr., Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Trace Adkins, Pat Metheny, Sonny Rollins, Kurt Elling, Los Tigres Del Norte, Emmylou Harris, Levon Helm, Marcia Ball, Keb Mo, Femi Kuti, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Rob Fisher, Béla Fleck, Andrew Davis, Nicholas McGegan, Eric Owens, Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Joyce DiDonato, Topi Lehtipuu, The King’s Singers, Ursula Oppens, and Andreas Scholl.
Congratulations to every one of these amazing talents, and from all of us at Ravinia Festival we wish you the best of luck in your respective categories.