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Seven Austinites Up for Grammy Awards

Written by Dante Dominick

Grupo Fantasma, Marcia Ball, Redd Volkaert among Austin nominees.

Photo: La Pistola Photography

The nominations for the 51st annual Grammy Awards were announced December 3, and seven Austinites are up for a golden gramophone. The 10-piece Latin funk orchestra Grupo Fantasma earned their first nomination in the “Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album” category for Sonidos Gold, released in June (Aire Sol Records). If you still haven’t heard the bombastic Latin sound orgy of Grupo Fantasma, keep your eye on austin.com music listings, and take note the band just announced a New Year’s Eve gig at The Parish, where a new video (still image at right) will be unveiled.

Austin has contenders in the top two blues categories. Queen of the boogie, swamp blues, Marcia Ball earned another nomination in “Best Contemporary Blues Album” for Peace, Love & BBQ (Rounder). Ball has earned a number of blues music awards, but surprisingly not the Grammy yet. Meanwhile, nonagenarian Pinetop Perkins hopes to add another “Best Traditional Blues Album” trophy for Pinetop Perkins & Friends (Telarc), which featured duets with a slew of performers, including Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and Jimmie Vaughan. The Mississippi transplant shared the same award last year for Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live in Dallas with Robert Lockwood Jr., David Honeyboy Edwards, and Henry James Townsend.

Two Austin bands are up for “Best Tejano Album,” a category the state of Texas owns. Ruben Ramos & The Mexican Revolution are up for Viva la Revolucion and Tortilla Factory for All That Jazz. Ramos, a king on the Tejano circuit, is hoping to add another Grammy (he earned one with Los Super Seven) to his slew of awards and trophies.

Redd Volkaert

Monster guitarist Redd Volkaert could win a trophy in “Best Instrumental Performance” for his part on Braid Paisley’s “Cluster Puck” on Paisley’s recently-released Play (Arista). It’s the second time Volkaert has been nominated for instrumental work with Paisley.

Finally, Austin’s world-class choral ensemble, Conspirare, which earned two nominations last year, receive another nod in “Best Choral Performance” for their part on Tarik O’Reagan’s Threshold of Night (Harmonia Mundi). The award would go to choir's leader, Craig Hella Jonshon, as the conductor on the performance.

For more breaking Austin music news, read The Skinny on austin.com.

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