The Recording Academy—known as the host of The Grammys—has introduced their first-ever celebration of the craft of music, aptly named the Celebration of Craft. The ceremony was held yesterday (January 31), and honored producers, songwriters, engineers, and more who are involved in the behind-the-scenes creation of music.
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There were also performances, with the ceremony kicking off with a showcase by Brandy Clark. Additionally, The War and Treaty performed in honor of producer, engineer, and seven-time Grammy winner Leslie Ann Jones. The celebration was also in honor of all those involved with the Producers & Engineers and Songwriters & Composers Wings of The Recording Academy.
Leslie Ann Jones is currently the Director of Music Recording and Scoring at Skywalker Sound, the Lucasfilm Ltd. company which famously did the sound for the Star Wars films. Previously, Jones was the first woman Chair of The Recording Academy’s Board of Trustees, and is an inductee of the TEC Awards Hall of Fame. She has done sound for films like Apocalypse Now and Requiem for a Dream, as well as for artists like Alice in Chains, Rosemary Clooney, Miles Davis, and Quincy Jones, among many others.
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The Recording Academy Highlights Behind-the-Scenes Creators Ahead of The Grammys, Honoring Producer/Engineer Leslie Ann Jones
Those who spoke at the ceremony include The Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., Producers & Engineers Wing Executive Director Maureen Droney, and current Board of Trustees Chair Tammy Hurt.
In attendance were some of the Songwriter of the Year Grammy nominees. These include Shane McAnally, who recently produced music for Sam Hunt, Old Dominion, and Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton; Justin Tranter, who recently wrote for Brittany Campbell, Kesha, Chappell Roan, and John Legend; Theron Thomas, who has written for Beyoncé, Charli XCX, Saweetie, and Lizzo; and Edgar Barrera, who has written and produced for Selena Gomez, Peso Pluma, Shakira, and Ariana Grande.
The Recording Academy posted red carpet moments from the event on Twitter/X, and shared more information on the first-of-its-kind celebration. This year, the Songwriter of the Year and Producer of the Year categories were added to the Grammys’ award field.
“Songwriting and producing are some of the fundamental building blocks of our industry — in addition to, of course, performing and recording,” said CEO Harvey Mason Jr. in a statement. “Again, these are such important parts of our Awards process. But bigger than that, they’re an important part of the music ecosystem. Since these categories are not genre-specific, and they are across many different genres, we felt it was responsible to put them in the General Field so everyone could vote for these important awards.”
Featured Image by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
