Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album
| Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | quality contemporary folk music albums |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
| First award | 1987 |
| Currently held by | I'm with Her – Wild and Clear and Blue (2026) |
| Most wins | Bob Dylan, Steve Earle (3) |
| Most nominations | Steve Earle (8) |
| Website | grammy.com |
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album is an award presented by the Recording Academy to honor quality folk music albums in any given year. The award was originally presented from 1987 to 2011, before being merged with Best Traditional Folk Album to form the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. The category was revived in 2026 and was re-presented at the 69th Annual Grammy Awards in 2027, with the Academy stating that the award honors “excellence in albums of contemporary folk recordings.”[1] The category sits in the Country & American Roots field.
The inaugural recipient of the award was a tribute album to Steve Goodman, which was awarded to its producers Al Bunetta, Dan Einstein, Hank Neuberger and was presented at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards. Goodman himself won the following year with Unfinished Business. Tracy Chapman was the first female winner of the category with her self-titled debut album in 1989. The most recent recipient is I'm with Her, whose album Wild and Clear and Blue won at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in 2026. Bob Dylan and Steve Earle have the most wins in the category, with three each, with Earle also having the most nominations, with eight.
History
[edit]Prior to 1987, contemporary and traditional folk albums were combined as the Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording. From 1987 to 1991, the category was presented as Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, the category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. As of 2010 the category was split into two categories; Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Americana Album.
Following the 2011 Grammy Award ceremony, the award was discontinued due to a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, this category merged with the Best Traditional Folk Album category to form the new Best Folk Album category. The Recording Academy decided to create this new category for 2012 upon stating there were "challenges in distinguishing between... Contemporary and Traditional Folk".[2] The inaugural recipients of the award were The Civil Wars, who won in 2012 for their album Barton Hollow, and the final recipients were I'm with Her, who won in 2026 for their album Wild and Clear and Blue.
On June 16, 2026, it was announced that the Best Traditional Folk Album category would be returning, and that the Best Folk Album category would be renamed Best Contemporary Folk Album.[3] Of the announcement, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. stated, "2027 is going to be an amazing year for the Grammy Awards, and one that reflects the extraordinary growth we're seeing across music. The changes advanced by our Recording Academy members speak to the breadth of today's music industry and the many genres, crafts and creators shaping it. We're excited to see these updates come to life in the year ahead as we celebrate the music people who are driving music forward".[4] It was stated that the re-separation of the Best Folk Album category "provides more precise recognition across different forms of folk music and better reflects the breadth of that musical landscape".[5] The Folk Alliance International, a non-profit organization centred around the folk genre, petitioned the Recording Academy for the return of the Traditional and Contemporary Folk Album categories, and celebrated the announcement, stating that it was something their membership had "long called for" and which "addresses a significant representation and credibility gap in the genre" and challenges a "long-held stereotype that folk music is exclusively Eurocentric", as well as their hope that this would allow for more culturally diverse folk and traditional music to be honored moving forwards.[6]
Eligibility
[edit]According to the Recording Academy's rulebook for the 2027 ceremony, eligible albums for this category include recordings "that vary from traditional folk song and harmonic structures and may employ non-traditional folk song structures including composition and narrative expressions" and includes subgenres such as indie folk, ethnofolk, protest music, folk rock, and any others that differ from the folk-pop approach. Eligible albums can include both traditional and non-traditional folk instrumentation and incorporates contemporary production techniques.[7]
Winners and nominees
[edit]1987-2011
[edit]
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Best Folk Album, 2012-2025
[edit]
2026-present
[edit]| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | ||
| TBA | TBA |
^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
Artists with multiple wins
[edit]- 3 wins
- 2 wins
- Chris Thile (one as a member of the Punch Brothers)
- Emmylou Harris
- Gillian Welch
- David Rawlings
- John Prine
- Sarah Jarosz (one as a member of the I'm with Her)
Artists with multiple nominations
[edit]Includes nominations for Best Folk Album.
3 nominations
|
|
See also
[edit]- List of Grammy Award categories
- Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album
- Grammy Award for Best Americana Album
References
[edit]- ^ Zelmer, Emily (June 16, 2026). "Grammys Announce Five New Categories, Including Best R&B Collaboration and Best Latin Song". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Explanation For Category Restructuring". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ Errico, Marcus (June 16, 2026). "Major Grammy rule changes: Best New Artist, Best Album eligibility expanded, Asian Pop Music one of 5 categories added". Gold Derby.
- ^ "Five New Categories And Rule Updates Take Effect For 2027 Grammys". NARAS. June 16, 2026. Archived from the original on June 16, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ "Grammys CEO Harvey Mason jr. Talks New Grammy Categories Debuting At The 2027 Grammys: "The Grammys Have Evolved"". NARAS. June 16, 2026.
- ^ "GRAMMY Folk Category Announcement: Best Traditional Folk Album & Best Contemporary Folk Album". Folk Alliance International. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- ^ "69TH GRAMMY AWARDS RULES & GUIDELINES" (PDF). NARAS. June 16, 2026.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 1987". AwardsandShows. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 1988". AwardsandShows. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 1989". AwardsandShows. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ "A List of 32nd Annual Grammy Nominees". AP NEWS. APNews. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
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- ^ "And the Nominees Are..." UPI. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
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- ^ "2011 – 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees And Winners: American Roots Field". The Recording Academy. November 30, 2011. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
- ^ List of 2013 nominees Archived February 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "56th GRAMMY Awards: Full Winners List". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- ^ "List of Nominees 2015" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 2016: See the Full Winners List". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- ^ "59th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees". GRAMMY.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- ^ Lynch, Joe (November 28, 2017). "Grammys 2018: See the Complete List of Nominees". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ Grammy.com, 7 December 2018
- ^ "Grammy Awards Nominations: The Complete List". Variety. 2019-11-20. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
- ^ "2021 Nominations List". Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ "2022 GRAMMYs Awards: Complete Nominations List". GRAMMY.com. 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ "2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ "2025 GRAMMYs: See The OFFICIAL Full Nominations List | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ^ Phillips, Jevon; Crust, Kevin (1 February 2026). "Grammys 2026: The complete winners list". LA Times. Retrieved 2 February 2026.