Grammy Awards: Ashley McBryde, Bob Mehr among Mid-South winners

Arkansas native Ashley McBryde and The Commercial Appeal's Bob Mehr took home Grammy gold Sunday.

McBryde won for Best Country/Duo Performance for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” with Carly Pearce, while Mehr won for Best Album Notes for Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” box set.

The two were honored during the 65th Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony in Los Angeles.

They were among a handful of Memphis and Mid-South artists earning Grammy nominations this year, including GloRilla, Eric Gales and Charlie Musselwhite.

Feb 5, 2023; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Ashley McBryde at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023.. Mandatory Credit: Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY
Feb 5, 2023; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Ashley McBryde at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023.. Mandatory Credit: Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY

McBryde was also up for Best Country Album, for her LP, “Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville." That award was presented to “A Beautiful Time” by Willie Nelson during Sunday night's televised ceremony on CBS.

Elsewhere in Tennessee, the Tennessee State University marching band won its first-ever Grammy Award on Sunday. "The Urban Hymnal" won the award for Best Roots Gospel Album during the pre-telecast ceremony. With it, TSU's "Aristocrat of Bands" becomes the first marching band to win in the category.

Here is a look at the categories in which Memphis and Mid-South artists were nominated.

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Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

Baz Luhrmann's hit biopic “Elvis” was up for the award in the Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media category.

The nominees:

  • “ELVIS”; (Various Artists)

  • “Encanto”; (Various Artists)

  • “Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 4 (Vol 2)”; (Various Artists)

  • “Top Gun: Maverick”; Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, Hans Zimmer & Lorne Balfe

  • “West Side Story”; (Various Artists)

Best Rap Performance

Memphis rapper GloRilla and producer Hitkidd’s 2022 anthem, “F.N.F (Let’s Go)," was nominated for the year’s Best Rap Performance.

The nominees:

  • “GOD DID”; DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy

  • “Vegas”; Doja Cat

  • “pushin P”; Gunna & Future Featuring Young Thug

  • “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”; Hitkidd & GloRilla

  • “The Heart Part 5”; Kendrick Lamar

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Best Album Notes

Bob Mehr
Bob Mehr

The Commercial Appeal’s music writer Bob Mehr — who won a Grammy for Best Album Notes in 2021 — received his second nomination in the same category. Mehr was up for his notes on Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” box set.

The nominees:

  • “The American Clavé Recordings”; Fernando González, album notes writer (Astor Piazzolla)

  • “Andy Irvine & Paul Brady”; Gareth Murphy, album notes writer (Andy Irvine & Paul Brady)

  • “Harry Partch, 1942”; John Schneider, album notes writer (Harry Partch)

  • “Life’s Work: A Retrospective”; Ted Olson, album notes writer (Doc Watson)

  • “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)”; Bob Mehr, album notes writer (Wilco)

Best Country/Duo Performance

Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, native Ashley McBryde was up for a pair of awards, including Best Country/Duo Performance for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” with Carly Pearce.

The nominees:

  • “Wishful Drinking”; Ingrid Andress & Sam Hunt

  • “Midnight Rider’s Prayer”; Brothers Osborne

  • “Outrunnin’ Your Memory”; Luke Combs & Miranda Lambert

  • “Does He Love You – Revisited”; Reba McEntire & Dolly Parton

  • “Never Wanted To Be That Girl”; Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde

  • “Going Where The Lonely Go”; Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Best Traditional Blues Album

Mississippi-born, Memphis-bred blues great Charlie Musselwhite was nominated in the Best Traditional Blues Album category. Musselwhite’s “Mississippi Son” was up for the honor, competing against other legends of the genre, including Buddy Guy, John Mayall and Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder.

  • “Heavy Load Blues”; Gov’t Mule

  • “The Blues Don’t Lie”; Buddy Guy

  • “Get On Board”; Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder

  • “The Sun Is Shining Down”; John Mayall

  • “Mississippi Son”; Charlie Musselwhite

Best Contemporary Blues Album

Eric Gales
Eric Gales

Eric Gales — the Memphis-born guitar prodigy who rose to major label stardom in '90s — earned his first Grammy nomination for his 2022 album “The Crown,” which was up for the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. Also, competing in the category with Gales was Mid-South group and five-time nominees the North Mississippi Allstars, led by brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson. The Allstars sought their first win for "Set Sail."

The nominees:

  • “Done Come Too Far”; Shemekia Copeland

  • “Crown”; Eric Gales

  • “Bloodline Maintenance”; Ben Harper

  • “Set Sail”; North Mississippi Allstars

  • “Brother Johnny”; Edgar Winter

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Best Regional Roots Music Album

Sean Ardoin — the Louisiana native who serves as president of the Memphis Grammy chapter, which also represents Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi and other areas — was nominated in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category for “Full Circle,” his project with Kreole Rock and Soul featuring LSU Golden Band From Tigerland. Memphian Gebre Waddell engineered "Full Circle."

The nominees:

  • “Full Circle”; Sean Ardoin And Kreole Rock And Soul Featuring LSU Golden Band From Tigerland

  • “Natalie Noelani”; Natalie Ai Kamauu

  • “Halau Hula Keali’i O Nalani – Live At The Getty Center”; Halau Hula Keali’i O Nalani

  • “Lucky Man”; Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas

  • “Live At The 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival”; Ranky Tanky

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

Memphis rap and hip-hop also turned up in an unexpected spot, as acclaimed Bluff City MC Marco Pavé was recognized for his work in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category. Pavé provided the text for Carlos Simon’s “Requiem For The Enslaved,” commemorating the stories of 272 enslaved men, women and children sold in 1838 by Georgetown University.

The nominees:

  • “Akiho: Ligneous Suite”; Andy Akiho, composer (Ian Rosenbaum & Dover Quartet)

  • “Bermel: Intonations”; Derek Bermel, composer (Jack Quartet)

  • “Gubaidulina: The Wrath Of God”; Sofia Gubaidulina, composer (Andris Nelsons & Gewandhausorchester)

  • “Puts: Contact”; Kevin Puts, composer (Xian Zhang, Time for Three & The Philadelphia Orchestra)

  • “Simon: Requiem For The Enslaved”; Carlos Simon, composer (Carlos Simon, MK Zulu, Marco Pavé & Hub New Music)

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Best Country Album

Ashley McBryde is also nominated for Best Country Album, for her LP, “Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville."

The nominees:

  • “Growin’ Up”; Luke Combs

  • “Palomino”; Miranda Lambert

  • “Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville”; Ashley McBryde

  • “Humble Quest”; Maren Morris

  • “A Beautiful Time”; Willie Nelson

Album of the Year

Moneybagg Yo performs during his "A Gangsta's Pain"  Birthday Edition concert at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021.
Moneybagg Yo performs during his "A Gangsta's Pain" Birthday Edition concert at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021.

Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo and local engineer Ari Morris were part of the Album of the Year nomination for R&B singer Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous.” Moneybagg Yo appears on the track “Tough Love,” which Morris helped engineer.

The nominees:

  • “Voyage”; ABBA

  • “30”; Adele

  • “Un Verano Sin Ti”; Bad Bunny

  • “RENAISSANCE”; Beyoncé

  • “Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)”; Mary J. Blige

  • “In These Silent Days”; Brandi Carlile

  • “Music Of The Spheres”; Coldplay

  • “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers”; Kendrick Lamar

  • “Special”; Lizzo

  • “Harry’s House”; Harry Styles

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Grammy winners list: How Memphis nominees fared