Congratulations to all of the fantastic artists who were chosen as Grammy winners last night! Songlines is pleased to have played a small part in the success of the albums by these winners:

Arcade Fire, The Suburbs: Album of the Year
Cee Lo Green, “Fuck You”: Best Urban/Alternative Performance
Patty Griffin, Downtown Church: Best Traditional Gospel Album
Mavis Staples, You Are Not Alone: Best Americana Album
Ray LaMontagne, God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise: Best Contemporary Folk Album

And yes, we continue to delight in working in a radio format that allowed us to contribute to campaigns for both the year’s Best Traditional Gospel Album and an eminently catchy song called “Fuck You.”

Though we had little to nothing to do with the success of these winners, we were still thrilled for them because they’re great:
The Black Keys, “Tighten Up”: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
John Legend & the Roots, Wake Up!: Best R&B Album
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Grupo Fantasma, El Existential: Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album

We were also very happy for our good pal Lisa Sonkin, who got an acceptance-speech shout-out from Train!

Let’s all hope that this year’s Grammy performances, winners and nominees suggest a glimmer of hope for the future.

Here’s a year-end musical farewell to those lost in 2010 by one of our most literate musical bards, Robbie Fulks!

Mavis Staples and her band (with Jeff Tweedy in tow!) performed a graceful rendition of the title track from her new album, You Are Not Alone, last night on The Colbert Report.

Jeff Tweedy produced Mavis Staples‘ wonderful new record, You Are Not Alone (Anti-). The album features soulful reinterpretations of tracks by Allen Toussaint, Randy Newman, and others, as well as two new songs that Tweedy penned for Mavis. In this video, the two perform an acoustic version of the single, “Wrote a Song for Everyone“, which originally appeared on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Green River.

We’d like to extend our congratulations to many artists on the Songlines roster this year who have been nominated for Grammys (and the clients who represent them)!

Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King (RCA) — Album of the Year / Best Rock Album

Rosanne Cash and Bruce Springsteen, “Sea of Heartbreak” (Manhattan) — Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals

Booker T. Jones, Potato Hole (Anti-) — Best Pop Instrumental Album

Bob Dylan, “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” (Columbia) — Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance

Coldplay, “Life in Technicolor II” (Capitol) — Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals / Best Short Form Music Video

Booker T. Jones, “Warped Sister” (Anti-) — Best Pop Instrumental Performance

Pearl Jam, “The Fixer” (Monkeywrench) — Best Rock Song

Depeche Mode, Sounds of the Universe (Capitol) — Best Alternative Music Album

The Greencards, “The Crystal Merchant” (Sugar Hill) — Best Country Instrumental Performance

Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Willie and the Wheel (Bismeaux) — Best Americana Album

Bob Dylan, Together Through Life (Columbia) — Best Americana Album

Levon Helm, Electric Dirt (Vanguard) — Best Americana Album

Loudon Wainwright III, High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (2nd Story Sound) — Best Traditional Folk Album

Neko Case, Middle Cyclone (Anti-) — Best Contemporary Folk Album / Best Recording Package

Depech Mode, “Wrong” (Capitol) — Best Short Form Music Video

Our old friend, Jessie Scott, has collaborated with several former XM executives to create a wonderful (mostly) roots music blog where you’ll see and hear great new and established artists perform their craft in a perfectly engineered studio setting. She still has great ears. Check it out.

Jill Fusilli describes better than most the wide musical world of Americana in his Wall Street Journal review of this year’s Awards show.

Emmylou Harris, Justin Townes Earle, Jim Lauderdale, John Fogerty and Buddy Miller

Big winners: Buddy Miller and Justin Townes Earle

Economic woes got you down? Too many tasks dropped on your plate at the station? Here’s a well-deserved thank-you from Willie Nelson and Ray Benson to help you get through the day!