Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album
- Live At The 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - BeauSoleil & Michael Doucet
- From Now On - Michael Doucet
- Homage Au Passé - Pine Leaf Boys
- Live At The 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys
- Cedric Watson - Cedric Watson
Note to self: if I ever want to win a Grammy nomination, I should be sure to record a live album at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. This category, now in its second year, is sure to spark some controversy this year with this slate of nominees. First off, Michael Doucet got nominated twice. Which makes sense; his name is synonymous with Cajun music for many people, especially those outside of Louisiana. Secondly, there's no straight-ahead zydeco anywhere on this list - the first four nominees all play fairly progressive forms of Cajun music, and Cedric Watson plays old-school Creole fiddle. So there are definitely some debates to be had. One debate that can't come up, though, is over the quality of these nominees - they're all fantastic.
Who will win: Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys. Unless Michael Doucet is super-effective at campaigning his friends to choose one CD over the other, he will cancel himself out. And the Pine Leaf Boys and Cedric Watson are amazing young musicians, but their name recognition may not be widespread enough to snag the win. Steve Riley, on the other hand, is well-known, well-loved, and very much deserving.
Who should win: Cedric Watson. If it were any other CD that the Mamou Playboys had ever released, I'd probably pick that one, but I just don't love live CDs all that much. I think Cedric's take on old-style fiddle (and occasionally some new-style accordion) is refreshing and real, and even if he doesn't win this year, he's one of those musicians to watch out for. But I also really like the Pine Leaf Boys' album, because Courtney Granger (who actually replaced Cedric Watson as the PLB's fiddler) is one of the most talented musicians in the world, in my not-so-humble opinion.
Best Polka Album
- El Maestro Del Acordeón Y Sus Polkas - Paulino Bernal
- Speechless - LynnMarie & Charlie Kelley As The Boxhounds
- Back To Back Hall Of Fame Polkas - Walter Ostanek & His Band, Jerry Darlak & The Touch And Bob Kravos & His Band
- Hungry For More - Polka Family Band
- Let The Whole World Sing - Jimmy Sturr And His Orchestra
Jimmy Sturr got nominated, therefore rendering every other nominee effectively irrelevant. Jimmy Sturr always wins. Sure, there are some great other albums on this list (I especially like LynnMarie), and an all too common non sequitur (Paulino Bernal belongs in either the Tejano or Norteno category, over in the Latin field), but no one can beat Jimmy Sturr.
Who will win: Jimmy Sturr. He's the Chuck Norris of polka, and cannot be beat.
Who should win: Jimmy Sturr. If you want to get a perfect score on your SATs, in fact, write Jimmy Sturr for every answer. If there were a nuclear holocaust, all that would remain would be cockroaches and Jimmy Sturr. I'm teasing, of course, I actually really love Jimmy Sturr, as do most people who know his music, and that's why he wins so frequently.
Best Native American Music Album
- Songs From The Black Hills - Bryan Akipa
- Spo'Mo'Kin'Nan - Black Lodge
- Red Rock - Northern Cree
- Come To Me Great Mystery — Native American Healing Songs - Various Artists
- Faith - Kevin Yazzie
Who will win: Come To Me Great Mystery. Grammy voters love a compilation, especially in categories where they're not familiar with most of the artists or albums. It seems judicious to vote for a bunch of people who worked together over voting for one, I guess.
Who should win: Black Lodge. They turn out one great CD after another, and are definitely deserving of the award for this one.
Best Hawaiian Music Album
- 'Ikena - Tia Carrere & Daniel Ho
- 'Aumakua - Amy Hanaiali`i
- Force Of Nature - Led Kaapana & Mike Kaawa
- Hawaiian Slack Key Kings Masters Series Vol. II - Various Artists
- The Spirit Of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar - Various Artists
Who will win: Hawaiian Slack Key Kings Masters Series Vol. II. Again, compilations are a favorite in these obscure categories, and compilations of slack key guitar masters have won this award multiple times. The fact that The Spirit of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar was produced by Daniel Ho, who's also nominated for his duet CD with Tia Carrere, will likely cancel out the votes for those two albums.
Who should win: Tia Carrere, because she's a fox. In French she would be called "la renarde" and she would be hunted with only her cunning to protect her. Seriously, I cannot resist Wayne's World references where Tia Carrere is involved. Can't be done. Nope. Anyway, it turns out that Miss Carrere (Cassandra, to those of you who are children of the '80s) is actually a beautiful singer, and her Hawaiian-language duet album with Daniel Ho is a little bit slack-key, a little bit hula, and even a little bit pop... basically, just a really nice island-y album.
