Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann\u2019s Mental Illness<\/em> won Best Folk Album. Her first new studio recording in five years, it marks a return for Mann to a slower and more acoustic sound \u2013 with the focus on acoustic guitar, piano, and, of course, her voice — after she rocked out more on her previous album, 2012\u2019s Charmed. That recording had harkened back more toward her days as the lead vocalist for rockers \u2018Til Tuesday in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n The Infamous Stringdusters feature Andy Hall (dobro), Andy Falco (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), and Travis Book (double bass). Although the band has received a number of International Bluegrass Music Awards over the years, this marked its first Grammy win \u2013 having previously been among the nominees for Best Country Instrumental Performance in 2011. Released on Compass Records last January, Laws of Gravity<\/em> is The Infamous Stringdusters\u2019 seventh studio album and was recorded while the band was on tour. <\/p>\n Rhonda Vincent & The Rage have won a bevy of awards overs the years from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA). Hailed as the queen of bluegrass music, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rhonda Vincent is an eight-time IBMA vocalist of the Year and multi-time SPBGMA Entertainer and Female Vocalist of the Year. Her bandmates include Hunter Berry (fiddle), Brent Burke (dobro). Mickey Harris (bass & vocals), Aaron McDaris (banjo), and Josh Williams (guitar & vocals). <\/p>\n Other Grammy Award winners in the American Roots Music Field include:<\/p>\n Best American Roots Performance: \u201cKiller Diller Blues\u201d (Alabama Shakes)<\/p>\n Best Traditional Blues Album: Blue & Lonesome<\/em> (The Rolling Stones)<\/p>\n Best Contemporary Blues Album: TajMo<\/em> (Taj Mahal and Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019)<\/p>\n Best Regional Roots Album: Kalenda<\/em> (Lost Bayou Ramblers)<\/p>\n Outside of the American Roots Music Field, Chris Stapleton, a country music artist who has also garnered considerable folk and roots radio airplay, received Gammy Awards for both Best Country Song (\u201cBroken Halos,\u201d written with Mike Henderson0, Best Country album (From A Room; Volume 1<\/em>) and Best Country Solo Performance (“Either Way”). A Kentucky-born singer-songwriter who formerly fronted The SteelDrivers, Stapleton has penned a number of songs that have topped the country music charts.<\/p>\n Americana Music Association, Folk Alliance International Hosted Pre-Grammy Events<\/strong><\/p>\n Americanafest is a six-day festival and conference celebrating American roots-inspired music that is put on by the Americana Music Association. Early registration is currently available for the next one that is set for Sept. 11-16 in Nashville and will feature educational panels and seminars, showcases at venues around the music city, and the annual Americana Honors & Awards Show. Established in 1999, the Americana Music Association is a professional trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music throughout the world. For more information, visit www.americanamusic.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Infamous-Stringdusters-Grammy-2018-300x225.jpg\")
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On Saturday, Jan. 27, prior to the Grammy Awards, both the Americana Music Association and Folk Alliance International hosted celebratory events at popular NYC live music venues City Winery and Joe\u2019s Pub, respectively. An Americanafest Pre-Grammy Salute to Emmylou Harris — who will be honored by The Recording Academy with a Lifetime Achievement Award later this year — was presented by the Americana Music Association and featured performances by Brandi Carlile, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Harris, Jack Ingram, Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019, and The Secret Sisters, among others. Hailing from northern Alabama, The Secret Sisters (Lydia and Laura Rogers) were among this year\u2019s nominees for Best Folk Album and also shared their sisterly harmonies at Joe\u2019s Pub during the afternoon, where Folk Alliance International honored past and present nominees in that category and other roots artists. Among the other artists at Joe\u2019s Pub were Ashley Campbell (Glen\u2019s daughter), Olivia Chaney of Ofa Rex (also a Best Folk album nominee), Rose Cousins (an award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter and the afternoon\u2019s emcee), Michael Daves, bluesman Guy Davis (whose collaboration with Fabrizio Poggi on Sonny and Brownie\u2019s Last Train<\/em> earned a nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album), Anais Mitchell, and Dar Williams.<\/p>\n