Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance

The Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance is an award category at the annual Grammy Awards. It was first presented in 2015.

Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance
"Lighthouse" by Sierra Ferrell is the current recipient.
Awarded for	Quality performances in the American Roots subgenres (folk, bluegrass, regional roots music, etc.)
Country	United States
Presented by	National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First award	2015
Currently held by	Sierra Ferrell, "Lighthouse" (2025)
Website	grammy.com

The award was first approved by the board of trustees of the Grammy Awards in June 2014.^[1] According to NARAS, the award encompasses all of the subgenres of the American Roots category field, which include bluegrass, blues, folk and regional roots styles of music such as Cajun, Hawaiian, Indigenous, Polka, Zydeco, go-go, second line brass, swamp pop, and Conjunto music. The category is open for solo artists, duos, groups and other collaborations and is for singles or tracks only. It was joined by a sister category, Best Americana Performance, in 2023.

The Grammy is awarded to the performer(s) of the winning recording.

Recipients

Inaugural recipient Rosanne Cash

2016 winner Mavis Staples

2021 honoree John Prine won the Grammy for "I Remember Everything", the final song he recorded before his death.

Year[I]	Performing artist(s)	Work	Nominees	Ref.
2015	Rosanne Cash	"A Feather's Not a Bird"	Gregg Allman and Taj Mahal – "Statesboro Blues" Billy Childs featuring Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas – "And When I Die" Keb' Mo' featuring the California Feet Warmers – "The Old Me Better" Nickel Creek – "Destination"	[2]
2016	Mavis Staples	"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean"	Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn – "And Am I Born to Die" Buddy Guy – "Born to Play Guitar" The Milk Carton Kids – "City of Our Lady" Punch Brothers – "Julep"	[3]
2017	Sarah Jarosz	"House of Mercy"	The Avett Brothers – "Ain't No Man" Blind Boys of Alabama – "Mother's Children Have a Hard Time" Rhiannon Giddens – "Factory Girl" Lori McKenna – "Wreck You"	[4]
2018	Alabama Shakes	"Killer Diller Blues"	Blind Boys of Alabama – "Let My Mother Live" Glen Campbell – "Arkansas Farmboy" Leonard Cohen – "Steer Your Way" Alison Krauss – "I Never Cared for You"	[5]
2019	Brandi Carlile	"The Joke"	Sean Ardoin – "Kick Rocks" Jon Batiste – "Saint James Infirmary Blues" Anderson East – "All on My Mind" Willie Nelson – "Last Man Standing"	[6]
2020	Sara Bareilles	"Saint Honesty"	Calexico and Iron & Wine – "Father Mountain" Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi – "I'm on My Way" I'm With Her – "Call My Name" Yola – "Faraway Look"	[7]
2021	John Prine	"I Remember Everything"	Black Pumas – "Colors" Bonny Light Horseman – "Deep in Love" Brittany Howard – "Short and Sweet" Norah Jones & Mavis Staples – "I'll Be Gone"	[8]
2022	Jon Batiste	"Cry"	Billy Strings – "Love and Regret" The Blind Boys of Alabama featuring Béla Fleck – "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free" Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile – "Same Devil" Allison Russell – "Nightflyer"	[9]
2023	Aaron Neville & The Dirty Dozen Brass Band	"Stompin' Ground"	Bill Anderson featuring Dolly Parton – "Someday It'll All Make Sense" Madison Cunningham – "Life According to Raechel" Fantastic Negrito – "Oh Betty" Aoife O'Donovan & Alison Russell – "Prodigal Daughter"	[10]
2024	Allison Russell	"Eve Was Black"	Jon Batiste - "Butterfly" The Blind Boys of Alabama - "Heaven Help Us All" Madison Cunningham - "Inventing the Wheel" Rhiannon Giddens - "You Louisiana Man"	[11]
2025	Sierra Ferrell	"Lighthouse"	Shemekia Copeland - "Blame It On Eve" The Fabulous Thunderbirds Featuring Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal & Mick Fleetwood - "Nothing In Rambling" Rhiannon Giddens - "The Ballad Of Sally Anne"	[12]

Artists with multiple nominations

4 nominations Blind Boys of Alabama Rhiannon Giddens 3 nominations Jon Batiste Brandi Carlile Allison Russell

2 nominations Madison Cunningham Sarah Jarosz Alison Krauss Mavis Staples Keb Mo Taj Mahal (musician)