East Tennessee State University congratulates five individuals associated with its Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Studies and Department of Appalachian Studies who received 2020 Grammy Award nominations from The Recording Academy.
Alumna Amythyst Kiah is nominated for Best American Roots Song for “Black Myself,” a song she wrote and performed with the Americana group Our Native Daughters.
Other ETSU alumni and faculty participated in Grammy-nominated projects. Alumnus and former faculty member Barry Bales performed bass on Willie Nelson’s track “Ride Me Back Home,” which is nominated for Best Country Solo Performance. Alumnus Tyler Griffith played bass with Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper on the album “Tall Fiddler,” which is up for Bluegrass Album of the Year.
The album “Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout,” which is nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album, features songs written by ETSU Songwriter Scholarship donor Rick Lang and performed by a variety of top bluegrass musicians. Alumna Becky Buller co-wrote the song “Don’t Tune Him Out,” and faculty member Jon Weisberger co-wrote “They Were Fishermen” and “Henry Clayton Parker.”
Buller also participated on two other projects that were nominated for Bluegrass Album of the Year. She played fiddle on the song “Swept Away” on Missy Raines’ album “Royal Traveler” and co-wrote “Crave” with Frank Solivan for his album “If You Can’t Stand the Heat.”
To learn more about Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Studies at ETSU, visit www.etsu.edu/bluegrass.
