A handful of names with strong Arizona connections have been nominated for Grammy Awards in 2021. 

The Recording Academy will present the Grammy Awards from 6-9:30 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 31, on CBS with “The Daily Show’s” Emmy-winning Trevor Noah hosting.

Top nominees include Beyoncé, who leads the pack with nine nominations, and Dua Lipa, Roddy Ricch and Taylor Swift with six apiece.

THE GRAMMYS:Complete list of 2021 nominees

But what’s most interesting to us here are nominees with Arizona ties, from a heartfelt documentary on the life of Tucson native Linda Ronstadt to a great new album by Phoenix native Courtney Marie Andrews.

And although she isn’t listed in the nominations, it’s worth noting that Phoenix native Upsahl earned a co-writing credit on one song on “Future Nostalgia,” a Dua Lipa effort up for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.

Courtney Marie Andrews’ Americana

Phoenix native Courtney Marie Andrews earned a Best Americana Album nomination for “Old Flowers,” a gem of an album that’s already turned up on two early year-end lists out of the U.K. at Uncut and Rough Trade. 

In a recent interview with the Arizona Republic, Andrews said a lot of the songs on “Old Flowers” were written “in very inspired moments,” adding, “It wasn’t me sitting down to write a song and get to work. A lot of it was like, ‘I need to write this song right now.’ It was very cathartic.”

“Old Flowers” follows “May Your Kindness Remain,” which Rolling Stone named to its list of Best Country and Americana Albums of 2018, proclaiming her “one of the most prolific young singer-songwriters in Americana.”

DIVE IN:Grammys have made progress on diversity goals, but not enough

She also won International Artist of the Year at 2018’s UK Americana Awards.

This is the singer’s first Grammy nomination.

‘Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice’

“Linda Rondstadt: The Sound of My Voice,” a documentary from Oscar-winning Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, earned a Best Music Film nomination. 

It faces stiff competition from Beyonce’s “Black is King” and a Beastie Boys documentary, but the Tucson native is a longtime Grammy favorite with 11 Grammys to her credit, including a lifetime achievement award. 

And this film is a joyous celebration of that lifetime of achievement.

REVIEW:‘Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice’ will most likely reduce you to tears

Phoenix New Times writer Bob Mehr

Former Phoenix New Times music editor Bob Mehr is up for Best Album Notes “Dead Man’s Pop,” a box set focused on “Don’t Tell a Soul,” a 1989 release by the Replacements.

Prior to penning those liner notes, Mehr wrote the New York Times Best Seller “Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements.”

INTERVIEW: Replacements biographer Bob Mehr on the most beloved underdogs their generation had to offer

It’s the definitive tale of the rock ‘n’ roll underdogs most likely to self-sabotage when not providing fans the most cathartic moments of transcendence you could hope to witness at a rock show. 

Billboard magazine included “Trouble Boys” on its list of 100 Greatest Music Books of All Time, praising the way it “careens from snotty comedy to poignant moments of introspection,” which they felt made it “an apt elegy for one of rock’s most incorrigible band.”

Canyon Records’ 33rd nomination

This is the 33rd time Canyon Records has earning a Grammy nomination, including a win for Primeaux & Mike’s “Bless the People.”

Ray and Mary Boley launched the label at the 1951 Arizona State Fair, selling a recording the couple had made in a ballet studio (for the echo) of Navajo vocalist Ed Lee Natay at their booth.

CHECK OUT: How Canyon Records of Phoenix became the top indie label devoted to Native American music

Now the largest independent label devoted to Native American music, Canyon Records earned its latest nomination for “My Relatives-Nikso’Kowaiks” by the Black Lodge Singers, a Native American drum group led by Kenny Scabby Robe of the Blackfeet Nation in White Swan, Washington.

It’s up for Best Regional Roots Music Album.

This is the sixth nomination for the Black Lodge Singers, all on Canyon Records.

Their first nomination was in 2001 for “Tribute to the Elders.” Their other nominated albums were 2002’s “Weasel Tail’s Dreams,” 2006’s “MORE Kids’ Pow-Wow Songs,” 2008’s “Watch This Dancer” and 2009′ “Spo’Mo’Kin’Nan”-(CR-6435)

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

Support local journalism.Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/11/24/arizona-grammy-awards-linda-ronstadt/6412371002/