GNO, Inc. Sunday Night Highlight – AUDIO EDITION – 20 Louisiana Artists Nominated for GRAMMYs

Earlier this week, the Recording Academy announced nominees for the 2025 GRAMMY Awards, and over 20 Louisiana artists were among the list of notable musicians.

🎶 To ease your drive as you navigate Super Bowl construction, here is a playlist that samples the diverse Louisiana nominees. (click to listen on Spotify).

• Jon Batiste, a New Orleans Center for Creative Arts-trained multi-instrumentalist with five Grammys to his credit, continues to make waves. This year, he’s nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media with “It Never Went Away” from the documentary American Symphony, which also earned a nod for Best Music Film. The documentary chronicles Batiste’s journey alongside his wife Suleika Jaouad during her battle with leukemia.
• Country singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson, hailing from Baskin, Louisiana, is a contender for Best Country Album with her latest release, Whirlwind.
• New Orleans artists shine in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category, with nominees including Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and his grandson J’wan Boudreaux for their live performance captured at this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The New Breed Brass Band also earned a nomination for their Jazz Fest recording, featuring a special appearance by Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews.
• Funk band The Rumble, which includes Monk Boudreaux’s son Second Chief Joseph Boudreaux, received recognition last year for their debut live album, Live at the Maple Leaf. This year, they return with a nomination for their studio release, Stories from the Battlefield.
• Zydeco legend Sean Ardoin, from Lake Charles, represents Louisiana with a nod for his album 25 Back to My Roots.
• Tank and the Bangas, familiar faces at the Grammys since their 2020 Best New Artist nomination, are competing this year in the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album category for their introspective release, The Heart, The Mind, The Soul.
• Afro-Cuban funk sensation Cimafunk, now a New Orleans resident, celebrates his third Grammy nomination for Pa’ Tu Cuerpa, which is up for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album.
• French-born jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimée, who has made New Orleans her home, is recognized for her latest release à Fleur de Peau, earning a nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, her second Grammy nod.
• Master drummer Herlin Riley contributed to trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire’s Owl Song, which is nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Meanwhile, New Orleans pianist Sullivan Fortner is nominated in three jazz categories: Best Jazz Instrumental Album (Solo Game), Best Jazz Vocal Album (with Kurt Elling for Wildflowers Vol. 1), and Best Jazz Performance (with Samara Joy for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Me”).
• The iconic cornetist King Oliver’s 1923 recordings with his Creole Jazz Band, featuring Louis Armstrong, are honored on their centennial. The restored collection, Centennial, is nominated for Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album.
• Lucky Daye, an Atlanta-based artist from New Orleans, continues his Grammy streak with nominations for Best R&B Album (Candydrip), Best Traditional R&B Performance, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. He previously won for his 2021 EP Table for Two.
• Producer Malik Ninety Five, a New Orleans native now on the West Coast, shares a Best R&B Album nomination for his work on Chris Brown’s 11:11. He also contributed to Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal, which is up for Best Rap Album.
• Opera singer Greer Grimsley, born in New Orleans and a graduate of Loyola University and Juilliard, is recognized in the Best Opera Recording category for the Metropolitan Opera’s performance of Florencia en el Amazonas.
• Loyola University alumni also share in Grammy glory: producer and guitarist Carter Lang co-wrote SZA’s Saturn, nominated for Best R&B Song, while vocalist Johnaye Kendrick is up for two arrangement categories for her work with Säje.
• Other Louisiana-born nominees include pianist John Beasley, recognized for Best Latin Jazz Album and Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, and gospel singer DOE, honored in Best Gospel Performance/Song and Best Contemporary Christian Music Album. Both hail from Shreveport.

The 2025 Grammy Awards ceremony will be held Feb. 2. For the full list of nominees, go to grammy.com.