Michigan-bred heroes are making a splash yet again, with Billy Strings nominated for three awards, The War and Treaty for two, and Greta Van Fleet for best rock album.
Grammy Nominee Once Again: More honors for Michigan’s Billy Strings. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
The names of much-beloved, Michigan-bred artists Billy Strings, Greta Van Fleet and The War and Treaty appear alongside superstars such as Taylor Swift, SZA, Miley Cyrus, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Jason Isbell and Victoria Monét.
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
When the latest Grammy Award nominations were announced today, Michigan continued to demonstrate its impact on the music world.
Ionia County bluegrass guitar powerhouse Billy Strings — who won his first Grammy for best bluegrass album in 2021 — racked up three nominations: for best bluegrass album (“Me/And/Dad”), best American roots song (“California,” featuring Willie Nelson) and best country duo/group performance (“High Note” with Dierks Bentley).
Billy Strings, aka William Apostol, who just wowed a capacity crowd for a Halloween homecoming show at Van Andel Arena, is currently on tour in Europe.
The nominated album features his stepfather, Terry Barber, and Billy Strings posted on social media that he got to call his dad to tell him about the nomination.
“How cool is that!? He absolutely deserves it because he’s the best musician I’ve ever heard,” the guitarist who grew up in Muir wrote. “Making our album was a goal of mine for a long, long time and I’m so glad we made it happen.”
Best New Artist Nominee: The War and Treaty in Grand Rapids earlier this year. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
He’ll compete for best American roots song with Albion-bred The War and Treaty, which is not only nominated for the duo’s song “Blank Page,” but also for the prestigious best new artist Grammy whose nominees include Coco Jones, Gracie Abrams, Fred Again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Noah Kahan and Monét. (That “new artist” nomination comes despite the fact that The War and Treaty earlier this year released its fourth studio album, “Lover’s Game.”)
“We were in the airport this morning when we heard the news that we have been nominated for best new artist and best American roots song at the 2024 Grammys,” The War and Treaty remarked on social media.
“Thank you to Recording Academy for this immense honor. Thank you to our fans for taking this beautiful journey with us. We are so blessed beyond words y’all. This is how love is made.”
The War and Treaty play Kalamazoo on Dec. 1 for a special “World Peace” concert at Miller Auditorium with the Kalamazoo Concert Band. Admission is free, but reserved tickets are required by calling Miller Auditorium at 269-387-2300 or filling out a form online here.
Frankenmuth rockers Greta Van Fleet, meanwhile, are looking to repeat their 2019 Grammy win with a nomination for best rock album for “Starcatcher,” which faces stiff competition from the likes of the Foo Fighters, Metallica, Paramore and Queens of the Stone Age.
Like Billy Strings, Greta Van Fleet currently is touring Europe, racking up a string of sold-out shows from Amsterdam to Barcelona.
View the full list of Grammy Award nominations at grammy.com.
Greta Van Fleet: On stage at Wings Event Center in 2022. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Copyright 2023, Spins on Music LLC
