Were you one of the nearly 24 million viewers who tuned into the 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards Ceremony yesterday? We were definitely watching and cheering on the 25 Levitt artists nominated for the prestigious award!
Congratulations to the following seven artists who took home a 2017 GRAMMY last night:
William Bell | Levitt Shell Memphis (2008)
Best Americana Album: This Is Where I Live
William Bell’s GRAMMY win was a notable one for the R&B genre—this was the first GRAMMY award that the legendary singer-songwriter took home in his five-decade career. Also nominated for Best Traditional R&B performance for his song “Three of Me,” Bell joined blues artist Gary Clark, Jr. on-stage for a gritty cut of “Born Under a Bad Sign,” a ‘60s classic that Bell wrote with fellow Memphian and past Levitt performer Booker T. Jones (Levitt Shell Memphis 2010, 2012).
Sarah Jarosz | Levitt Shell Memphis (2016)
Best American Roots Performance: “House of Mercy”
Best Folk Album: Undercurrent
Also nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Sarah Jarosz’s fourth studio album Undercurrent (2016) displays an array of the folk artist’s musical talents, including her haunting vocals as well as her guitar, mandolin and banjo playing. This year marks Jarosz’s first GRAMMY wins, though she is no stranger to the annual music award ceremony. She was previously nominated for three GRAMMY Awards, including Best Country Instrumental Performance for her 2009 song “Mansinneedof.”
Maren Morris | Levitt Pavilion Arlington (2009)
Best Country Solo Performance: “My Church”
Rising country star and first-time GRAMMY nominee Maren Morris picked up nominations for a whopping total of four categories, including Best New Artist. In addition to winning a GRAMMY for her country radio hit “My Church,” the Arlington, Texas native was joined by 15-time GRAMMY winner Alicia Keys for an emotional country-soul duet of “Once,” a song off of Morris’ GRAMMY-nominated Hero (2016) album.
Pentantonix | Levitt Pavilion Arlington (2012, 2013)
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: “Jolene” — featuring Dolly Parton
Pentatonix’s GRAMMY win last night marked the group’s first GRAMMY Award in a country music category. With two awards in the Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella category already under their belts, Pentatonix shared yesterday’s win with Dolly Parton who originally wrote “Jolene” in 1973. The award marked Dolly Parton’s eighth GRAMMY win.
Gregory Porter | Levitt Shell Memphis (2012)
Best Jazz Vocal Album: Take Me To The Alley
Previously nominated in both R&B and jazz categories, singer Gregory Porter took home his second GRAMMY Award last night (Porter’s first GRAMMY was for his 2013 album Liquid Spirit). During his acceptance speech, Porter told fellow artists and industry professionals to “keep spreading love” and thanked the late jazz singer Al Jarreau who passed away on Sunday morning.
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo | Levitt Pavilion Arlington (2016)
Best Children’s Album: Infinity Plus One
Taking musical risks paid off for kid-hop artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, whose genre-crossing album incorporated a full brass band, strings, analog synths and more. In his acceptance speech, Skidoo acknowledged his path into the children’s music scene, which started ten years ago while making rhymes with his then five-year-old daughter Saki. She joined her father on-stage last night to accept the award.
Snarky Puppy | Levitt Pavilion Arlington (2010, 2013)
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: Culcha Vulcha
Though not in attendance at the award ceremony, jazz fusion ensemble Snarky Puppy won their third GRAMMY Award while playing the GroundUp Music Festival in Miami, Fla. yesterday. The band described their winning album, Culcha Vulcha (2016), as representative of who they are—“just us, without special guests, playing our own music.”