Nashville Talents Shine Bright At 65th Annual Grammy Awards

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Carly Pearce poses with her Grammy Award.

At the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 5), talented Nashville musicians made the most of their time on screen via a handful of performances.

Brandi Carlile earned a rousing standing ovation when she kicked the night off with “Broken Horses,” the tune that won her both Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song earlier in the evening.

Luke Combs made his debut as a performer on the Grammy stage with his newest, rising hit, “Going, Going, Gone.” Combs sounded great with an orchestra accompaniment. Combs was introduced by Justin Davis, his former boss from his time as a bouncer at a bar in Boone, North Carolina. Davis admitted that Combs wasn’t a great bouncer because he was too nice.

Another country music moment came when Chris Stapleton joined Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder on “Higher Ground.” The country star held his own with the legends in an epic moment of the night.

A standout moment for Nashville talent was Kacey Musgraves‘ gorgeous tribute to the late Loretta Lynn. With Lynn’s guitar in hand that the family loaned her, Musgraves sang “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Barefoot, sitting on a stool amongst a bed of flowers, Musgraves’ simple performance of the country standard started the official In Memoriam segment of the night. Among those remembered were Naomi Judd, Mickey Gilley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Olivia Newton-John, Dr. Paul Kwami, Peter Cooper, Jeff Cook and more.

Maverick City Music, who were big winners of the day, joined Quavo to honor Migos member Takeoff in another portion of the In Memoriam tribute before Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt and Mick Fleetwood joined together to finish it off.

The only televised country award went to Willie Nelson for his A Beautiful Time, which won Best Country Album. Shania Twain presented the award and accepted it on Nelson’s behalf, as he was not in attendance.

In the pre-televised portion of the Grammys, Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde made history as the first female pairing to win Best Country Duo/Group Performance. With “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” Pearce and McBryde won their first Grammys.

During their acceptance speech, Pearce shared, “We wrote this song together and it has just transcended so many of my wildest dreams. We won a Grammy!”

“‘Til You Can’t,” recorded by Cody Johnson, won Best Country Song in the pre-televised awards. Songwriter Ben Stennis accepted the award. His co-writer Matt Rogers couldn’t be there as his daughter was sick.

“Dear Lord, this is crazy,” Stennis shared before thanking his publisher, his family and the Recording Academy. He also asked for prayers for Rogers’ daughter.

Click here for a list of Nashville-related Grammy winners.

LB Cantrell
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