The SoCal Sound: Celebrating Our GRAMMY® Nominees
Written by Karissa Kelly; published by Matt Blake
It’s that time of year again when we anxiously await the Recording Academy’s verdict on our favorite songs, albums, and maybe even a few records we haven’t heard of. What began in 1958 as “The Gramophone Awards” seeking to engage a growing public interest in music and the recording industry- and reward the best and brightest composers, songwriters, and musicians of the time, The Grammys have become an annual ritual in which we still clamor around a screen, feeling the euphoria of our favorite artists’ wins, and the heartbreak of their losses. Here’s your guide to this year’s nominees, a quick look at their repertoire and the shiny gold accolades they hope to gain for their collections. May the best artists win!
Adrienne Lenker
Perhaps best known for her work with indie-folk darlings, Big Thief, Adrienne Lenker is an accomplished vocalist and guitarist with a stunning collection of solo work. This time around, her sixth solo album, Bright Future has been nominated for Best Folk Album, another notch in her belt following her success with Big Thief, touting five Grammy nominations in previous years. To The SoCal Sound’s loyal listeners, you might recognize “Sadness as a Gift” or “Vampire Empire” from the airwaves, so we encourage you to give the whole Bright Future album a spin.
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish is an incredibly accomplished young woman and musician who needs no introduction. She creates ballads of moody pop blended with deeply heartfelt lyrics that resonate with a generation. Taking the world by storm with her single “Ocean Eyes” in 2016, she has since been nominated for 32 Grammys, with nine confirmed wins, five of which she took home the first year she was nominated for her 2020 album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Impressive, no?
This year, Billie Eilish boasts seven nominations, including Best Pop Recording for “L’Amour De Ma Vie,” Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of The Year for Hit Me Hard and Soft, Best Pop Solo Performance, Song of The Year, and Record of The Year for “Birds of a Feather”, a favorite here at The SoCal Sound, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Guess.”
Billy Strings
Billy Strings is an American Bluegrass musician with a repertoire of four studio albums including his 2021 Grammy-winning album Home, deemed the Best Bluegrass album of that year among his seven total nominations. This year, Mr. Strings has been nominated once again for his winning category of Best Bluegrass Album with his latest record, Live Vol. 1. Here at The SoCal Sound, we’ve been loving “Guild the Lily” from Highway Prayers, and hope that you’ve been loving it too! Best of luck to Billy Strings this Grammy season!
Brittany Howard
Brittany Howard, the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter of the band Alabama Shakes has garnered nine Grammy nominations and four wins with her band. Brittany Howard has earned herself even more bragging rights this year. Her solo studio record, What Now, a tantric blend of soaring vocals and lilting strings, has been nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, and we couldn’t agree with this nomination more. The SoCal Sound loyalists will recognize her track, “Stay High” from one of our very own SoCal Sound Sessions with the legend herself. You may also recognize her iconic hits “What Now,” “Red Flags,” and “Prove It To You.” We’ll be watching from home in hopes that she’ll take home that golden gramophone for her collection!
Fiona Apple, Iron & Wine
Fiona Apple has solidified her presence within the alternative music sphere, with her resounding raw lyricism, bold and brash experimentation, and an attitude that made her a force of nature in the alternative scene and the recording industry at large. Fiona Apple has amassed 11 nominations over the course of her career, and 3 wins for her 2020 album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters.
Iron & Wine, the stage name for singer-songwriter Sam Beam, has carved his place as a keenly intuitive and introspective storyteller over the last two decades, and it’s finally time his work got the appreciation it deserves. With 4 other nominations in the rearview, Iron & Wine’s collaborative single with Fiona Apple, “All in Good Time” has been nominated for Best American Roots Song. “All in Good Time’ is an intimate homecoming of two distanced hearts putting the past of foiled plans, fights, and broken dreams behind them. Just like the Grammy nomination, the best things come all in good time.
Fontaines DC
Irish post-bunk band Fontaines D.C. has caused an electrifying commotion in the rock scene. Curating a surrealist early-internet-inspired experience, Fontaines D.C. clearly resonates with the Academy. This year, they stand as prospective winners of Best Rock Album for their latest record, Romance, following their 2021 nomination for the same category of A Hero’s Death. They have also been nominated for Best Alternative Music Performance for their hit, “Starburtser” from the Romance release. If you’re a SoCal Sound “O.G.” you’ll remember our SoCal Sound Session with the Dublin rockers.
Jack White
Here we have yet another alternative veteran, known and respected for his innovative work with The White Stripes. Jack White has earned himself respect and adoration as a solo artist as well. With 34 former nominations and 12 total wins, Jack White proves his relentless creativity to us again with his 6th studio album, No Name, which has now been nominated for Best Rock Album. The SoCal Sound listeners have surely heard “That’s How I’m Feeling” on the airwaves, but we encourage you to give the whole record a listen before award night if you plan to scream and jump up and down in your living room when he takes the prize.
Kacey Musgraves, Madi Diaz
Managing to defy genre with not one, not two, but three albums in a row, Kacey Musgraves is coming back to her country roots, this time with the ethereal surrealist and meticulous worldbuilding she’s blessed us with over the past six years. Her 2024 album Deeper Well, and the preceding Starcrossed and Golden Hour albums, have resonated with listeners far outside the country music scene, collecting hearts in pop music and warm embraces in alternative music. Deeper Well has been nominated for Best Country Album and features Best Country Song and Best Solo Country Performance nominee, “The Architect.” The 17-time nominated artist with seven confirmed kills, Kacey Musgraves is a name we’ll be waiting to hear win the awards, so we can say, “I told you so.”
Madi Diaz is a shining light in the folk-Americana sphere. She’s gained traction within the Recording Academy which brought Diaz her first two Grammy nominations. She’s a strong contender for Best Folk Album, where her record Weird Faith is nominated; and for Best Americana Performance for her collaboration with Kacey Musgraves on the song “Don’t Do Me Good,” a melodic duo of heartbreak and letting go of personal accountability for pointless regrets – which never sounded so good. On award night, we hope to see these two incredibly talented women standing side-by-side on that stage.
Lake Street Dive
The new kid on the block, Lake Street Dive is a harmonious machine of jazz, pop, soul, and R&B. Their newest release, Good Together, has earned them their first Grammy nomination for the Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. The title track “Good Together” is a song we’ve found to be irresistible in our playlist curation; we can’t get enough of it. The SoCal Sound extends heartfelt congratulations to Lake Street Dive for a milestone achievement. We hope to see their name in future seasons!
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam, one of the most influential bands and purveyors of grunge, is back with two nominations this year. With just one previous Grammy win for 1996’s Best Rock Performance for their song “Spin the Black Circle” off their iconic album Vitalogy, Pearl Jam returns with Dark Matter, a larger-than-life album that works as proof of the band’s relentless urge to push the boundaries of their genre while staying true to their roots -raw emotion and powerful storytelling. A chronicle of humanity’s downward spiral into terminal distraction, Dark Matter has been nominated for Best Rock Album. The lead single, “Wreckage” has also earned a nomination for Best Rock Performance. Dark Matter explores destruction and redemption. That resonates, right?
St. Vincent
St. Vincent is a name you’ve surely been hearing a lot of, and for good reason. This genre-defying creative was not only crowned by Rolling Stone Magazine as the 26th greatest guitarist of all time, she also had the honor of performing at the iconic Kate Bush’s induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And now Annie Clark, AKA St. Vincent returns to the 2025 Grammy Award season with four nominations. Her latest album, All Born Screaming, has been nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, and her breakout single “Broken Man” has been nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance. St. Vincent’s song “Flea,” another SoCal Sound favorite, is a contender for the Best Alternative Music Performance prize. The competition is getting hot!
The Beatles
The Beatles simply need no introduction, but in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past half-century or so, they kinda changed music as we know it through their innovation of recording techniques and their insistence on exercising creative authority over their vision - no big deal. With 25 nominations and seven wins in their back pocket, this year, they’re one of few artists who can say they’ve transcended the grave with the last-ever Beatles song, “Now and Then.” The track is vying for Best Record and Best Rock Performance, despite controversy over the song’s validity for use of AI. Either way, it’s no easy feat to win a Grammy, so we say, may the best win!
The Black Crowes
Rock and roll-blues duo The Black Crowes consecrate their iconic bare-boned and bold attitude with their 10th studio album, Happiness Bastards. The latest record from the Robinson Brothers is yet another nominee for Best Rock Album. It features a SoCal Sound replay, “Wanting and Waiting”, and a collaboration single with breakout country star, Lainey Wilson, called “Wilted Rose,”also heard on The SoCal Sound airwaves. We’re glad to see The Black Crowes back in the game after just 1 nomination for Best New Artist in 1991. Check out the SoCal Sound interview with Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes with our own Matt Pinfield!
The Black Keys
Since their debut in 2004, The Black Keys have mastered their bluesey garage-rock sound. Over their 15 total nominations in previous years, they’ve taken home 5 wins which came in 2011 for their record, Brothers and in 2013 from El Camino. Their newest album’s title track, “Beautiful People (Stay High)” has been nominated for Best Rock Performance. With yet another strong contender for the category, it’s too hard for us to choose who to root for!
The Rolling Stones
The larger-than-life household name and well-deserved reverence within the world of rock and roll and the recording industry at large, The Rolling Stones are undeniable music royalty. Over 13 nominations since their first in 1979, The Stones have taken home three wins including Best Rock Album for Voodoo Lounge in 1995. They return, loud and proud as ever to deliver more of the Rolling Stones magic that has stood the test of time. For Best Rock Album, enter Hackney Diamonds, featuring some of our favorite tracks, “Angry” and “Mess It Up.” Will this legacy artist take the golden gramophone? Time will tell.
Waxahatchee
The stage alias of singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, Waxahatchee carries the wistful somber of growing up in the town that’s skipped over on your way to somewhere else. Her sound is down-to-earth Americana articulated through earnest poetry. Waxahatchee has received her first-ever nomination this Grammy season for Best Americana Album for her record, Tigers Blood. The nominated album includes tracks that an avid SoCal Sound listener is surely familiar with, like “Right Back to It” (feat. MJ Lenderman) and her single, “Bored.” We love to see an underdog winning, and whether or not she takes the prize, we’re cheering for her success just the same.
