Six Louisiana musicians won seven Grammy Awards in 2019

BATON ROUGE, La. — When the music industry gathers next month to honor its best work at the 2020 Grammy Awards presentation, Louisiana’s musical talent will once again be showcased. Fourteen Louisiana acts have been nominated for 21 awards at the 62^nd annual Grammy ceremony, scheduled for Jan. 26, 2020.

Six Louisiana musicians took home seven Grammys at the 2019 awards presentation, in categories ranging from Christian music and jazz to heavy metal and blues.

“Louisiana is the birthplace of much of America’s music, and the talent that is unique to our state continues to rise to the top,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson said. “As the Recording Academy recognizes the best of the best through the Grammy Awards, our state is working to ensure that we continue to provide job opportunities so our best and brightest can live and work in the state they call home. We are proud of this year’s Louisiana nominees and I wish them all the best of luck in January.”

The New Orleans funk, soul, hip-hop and spoken word ensemble Tank and the Bangas garnered their first Grammy nomination in the Best New Artist category. The multifaceted artists who began performing together in 2011 recently made their first national television appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Songwriter, composer and Maroon 5 keyboardist PJ Morton is nominated for three Grammys this year. Morton is nominated for Best R&B song, Say So, featuring guest artist JoJo; Best R&B album, Paul; and Best Traditional R&B performance, the same category for which Morton won a Grammy last year. Morton recorded Paul at his studio in New Orleans.

New Orleans native, saxophonist and composer Branford Marsalis is nominated this year for two Grammy awards: Best Improvised Jazz Solo for The Windup; and Best Jazz Instrumental Album, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul. Marsalis has won three Grammy Awards over the span of his career.

Nine-time Grammy-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Rubén Blades, is nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album, Una Noche Con Rubén Blades. Wynton Marsalis also is nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Marsalis: Violin Concerto in D Major.

The Rebirth Brass Band of New Orleans is nominated for Best Regional Roots Album, Recorded Live at the 2019 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The band won a Grammy in that category in 2011 for Rebirth of New Orleans.

New Orleans singer-songwriter David Debrandon Brown, known by his stage name Lucky Daye, garnered four Grammy nominations from his debut album, Painted. The nominations include Best R&B Performance, Best Traditional R&B Performance, Best R&B song and Best R&B Album.

Koryn Hawthorne of Abbeville, Louisiana, is nominated for Best Gospel Performance/Song, Speak the Name. Hawthorne was nominated last year in the same category for the song, Won’t He Do It. She was a finalist on Season 8 of NBC’s singing competition The Voice in 2015, when she was 17 years old.

New Orleans jazz trumpeter and composer Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah is nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Ancestral Recall. This is Scott’s third Grammy nomination.

Nigel Hall and Eric Bloom of New Orleans, with their band Lettuce, are nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Elevate. This is the group’s first Grammy nomination.

Bobby Rush, a native of Homer, Louisiana, is nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album, Sitting on Top of the Blues. Rush won a Grammy in this category in 2016 for his album, Porcupine Meat.

Cyrille Aimee, a native of France who has lived in New Orleans, is nominated for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals on Marry Me a Little. This is Aimee’s first Grammy nomination.

New Orleans native DJ Khaled is nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance with John Legend and the late Nipsey Hussle for the song, Higher. This is Khaled’s third Grammy nomination.

Shreveport native Kix Brooks is nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Brand New Man with his country music partner Ronnie Dunn and Luke Combs. Brooks & Dunn have won two Grammys over the course of their country music career.

New Orleans native Ellen DeGeneres is nominated for Best Comedy Album for her standup comedy special, Relatable.  This is DeGeneres’ third nomination overall.

About Louisiana Entertainment
Louisiana is one of the top destinations in the world for motion picture production; digital interactive and software development projects; live performance; and sound recording. With state-of-the-art facilities, a wealth of talent, production-friendly communities and a competitive incentive program, Louisiana is the perfect location for the entertainment industries. For more information on Louisiana film, digital interactive, live performance and sound recording programs, visit Louisiana Entertainment, a division of Louisiana Economic Development, at louisianaentertainment.gov.

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