2027 Grammy Changes: 5 New Categories, New Rules for Best New Artist

Field: Country & American Roots Music Field

Notes: This category recognizes excellence in albums of traditional folk recordings. Awards are presented to artist(s), producer(s), engineer(s)/mixer(s), and songwriter(s) of new songs, if other than artist(s), of greater than 50% playing time on the album. With the addition of this new category, the Best Folk Album category has been revised and renamed Best Contemporary Folk Album.

The Academy is going back to the two folk awards – best contemporary folk album and best traditional folk album – it presented prior to the 2012 consolidation.

This will increase to three the number of genres where the Grammys have categories explicitly called “contemporary” and “traditional.”  The other two are country and blues.

Official Category Description (Traditional Folk): “This category recognizes excellence in albums of traditional folk recordings. Traditional folk includes folk recordings with folk song structures, harmonic structures, and rhythms, including traditional folk instruments such as piano, harmonica, traditional woodwind, strings, and percussion from around the world. It also includes song types such as old time, a capella, work songs, shanty, protest, call and response, ballad, and other traditional folk song structures created in and/or passed through community-rooted tradition distinct from Regional Roots.

“Nominees are Artist(s) of greater than 50% playing time on the album. Grammy statuettes awarded to Artist(s), Producer(s), Engineer/Mixer(s), Songwriter(s) of new songs, if other than Artist(s), of greater than 50% playing time on the album.

Official Category Description (Contemporary Folk): “This category recognizes excellence in contemporary folk recordings. It includes folk recordings that vary from traditional folk song and harmonic structures and may employ non-traditional folk song structures including composition and narrative expression. It can be community-rooted, and it may use production and arrangements of song types such as indie folk, ethno-folk, protest, and folk rock, distinct from the pop approach. It may include traditional folk instruments and non-traditional folk instruments, as well as contemporary production techniques.

“Nominees are Artist(s) of greater than 50% playing time on the album. Grammy statuettes awarded to Artist(s), Producer(s), Engineer/Mixer(s), Songwriter(s) of new songs, if other than Artist(s), of greater than 50% playing time on the album.”