Every year on this show, we do an episode where Piet runs down the year's Grammy nominees either from or living in Wisconsin. And almost every year, I'm surprised by how many there are. With so many Grammy categories and so many credited musicians eligible for awards, there are almost always more local nominees than you might think. Last year there were about a half dozen nominated artists from the Milwaukee area, one of whom took home an award: producer Michael "CameOne" Cerda, who was honored for producing the Kanye West’s track “On God” in the Best Contemporary Christian Music Album category.
This year there aren't as many local nominees as usual. Piet flags just three Wisconsin nominees, but they're all near and dear to our hearts. Perennial Grammy favorite Justin Vernon, of Bon Iver, is up for an award as a contributor to Taylor Swift's Album of the Year candidate "Evermore." Vernon contributed to five songs on that album, including the title track, which he co-wrote and sang on.
Two other nominees have Milwaukee ties. The electronic pop duo Sylvan Esso (whose members met at Cactus Club while band member and local music veteran Nick Sanborn was still living in the city) is up for a well-deserved Best Dance/Electronic Album nomination for their 2020 album "Free Love."
Milwaukee guitarist Angie Swan, meanwhile, is represented with a nomination for Spike Lee's concert film "David Byrne's American Utopia," which is up for Best Music Film.
Hear us talk about those nominees -- and their chances of winning their respective categories -- on this week's episode below. The Grammys air Sunday, April 3.