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A visual history · Grammys

The winners who defined Americana Album.

16 ceremonies, 2010–2025. 13 different winners.

Who won most recently?
Sierra Ferrell in 2025 for Trail of Flowers.
Who has won the most?
Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and Levon Helm, tied on 2 wins each.
  1. Trail of FlowersSierra Ferrell
  2. WeathervanesJason Isbell and the 400 Unit
  3. In These Silent DaysBrandi Carlile
  4. Native SonsLos Lobos
  5. World on the GroundSarah Jarosz
  6. OklahomaKeb' Mo'
Years explored
2010–2025
Different winners
13
Category leader
Brandi Carlile · 2
About this record

Best Americana Album was first awarded in 2010, so it does not run the full 1959–2025 window.

It was split off from Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album, which kept running as Best Contemporary Folk Album.

2010–2025

16 ceremonies

20102025

01 / The reigns

13 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2010–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited label.

  1. 01
    Brandi Carlile2 wins
  2. 02
    Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit2 wins
  3. 03
    Levon Helm2 wins
One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by label; scroll sideways for the full run.
Levon Helm'10
Mavis Staples'11
Levon Helm'12
Bonnie Raitt'13
Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell'14
Rosanne Cash'15
Jason Isbell'16
William Bell'17
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit'18
Brandi Carlile'19
Keb' Mo''20
Sarah Jarosz'21
Los Lobos'22
Brandi Carlile'23
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit'24
Sierra Ferrell'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Independent leads the recorded label credits with 4 wins, 2010–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Independent4 wins
Southeastern3 wins
Low Country Sound2 wins
Anti-1 win
Dirt Farmer1 win
New West1 win
Wins by label
  1. Independent425%
  2. Southeastern319%
  3. Low Country Sound213%
  4. Anti-16%
  5. Dirt Farmer16%
  6. New West16%
  7. Other425%

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2010–2025.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Lucinda Williams
    3 noms
  2. 02
    Allison Russell
    2 noms
  3. 03
    The Avett Brothers
    2 noms
  4. 04
    The Mavericks
    2 noms
  5. 05
    Yola
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Lucinda Williams
    3L · 0W
  2. 02
    Allison Russell
    2L · 0W
  3. 03
    Keb' Mo'
    2L · 1W
  4. 04
    The Avett Brothers
    2L · 0W
  5. 05
    The Mavericks
    2L · 0W
  6. 06
    Yola
    2L · 0W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2010–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerLabel
2025Sierra Ferrell (Trail of Flowers)
beat 5 others
  • Maggie Rose (No One Gets Out Alive)
  • T Bone Burnett (The Other Side)
  • Sarah Jarosz (Polaroid Lovers)
  • Charley Crockett ($10 Cowboy)
  • Waxahatchee (Tigers Blood)
Rounder
2024Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Weathervanes)
beat 4 others
  • Brandy Clark (Brandy Clark)
  • Rodney Crowell (The Chicago Sessions)
  • Allison Russell (The Returner)
  • Rhiannon Giddens (You're the One)
Southeastern
2023Brandi Carlile (In These Silent Days)
beat 4 others
  • Keb' Mo' (Good to Be...)
  • Bonnie Raitt (Just Like That...)
  • Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (Raise the Roof)
  • Dr. John (Things Happen That Way)
Low Country Sound/Elektra
2022Los Lobos (Native Sons)
beat 4 others
  • Jackson Browne (Downhill From Everywhere)
  • John Hiatt and the Jerry Douglas Band (Leftover Feelings)
  • Allison Russell (Outside Child)
  • Yola (Stand for Myself)
New West
2021Sarah Jarosz (World on the Ground)
beat 4 others
  • Marcus King (El Dorado)
  • Lucinda Williams (Good Souls Better Angels)
  • Courtney Marie Andrews (Old Flowers)
  • Hiss Golden Messenger (Terms of Surrender)
Rounder
2020Keb' Mo' (Oklahoma)
beat 4 others
  • J.S. Ondara (Tales of America)
  • Yola (Walk Through Fire)
  • Madison Cunningham (Who Are You Now)
  • Calexico and Iron & Wine (Years to Burn)
Concord
2019Brandi Carlile (By the Way, I Forgive You)
beat 4 others
  • Lee Ann Womack (The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone)
  • The Wood Brothers (One Drop of Truth)
  • Bettye LaVette (Things Have Changed)
  • John Prine (The Tree of Forgiveness)
Low Country Sound/Elektra
2018Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (The Nashville Sound)
beat 4 others
  • Iron & Wine (Beast Epic)
  • The Mavericks (Brand New Day)
  • Brent Cobb (Shine on Rainy Day)
  • Gregg Allman (Southern Blood)
Southeastern
2017William Bell (This Is Where I Live)
beat 4 others
  • Lori McKenna (The Bird and the Rifle)
  • Kris Kristofferson (The Cedar Creek Sessions)
  • The Time Jumpers (Kid Sister)
  • The Avett Brothers (True Sadness)
Stax
2016Jason Isbell (Something More Than Free)
beat 4 others
  • Brandi Carlile (The Firewatcher's Daughter)
  • The Mavericks (Mono)
  • Punch Brothers (The Phosphorescent Blues)
  • Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell (The Traveling Kind)
Southeastern
2015Rosanne Cash (The River & the Thread)
beat 4 others
  • Keb' Mo' (BLUESAmericana)
  • Nickel Creek (A Dotted Line)
  • Sturgill Simpson (Metamodern Sounds in Country Music)
  • John Hiatt (Terms of My Surrender)
Blue Note
2014Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell (Old Yellow Moon)
beat 4 others
  • Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale (Buddy and Jim)
  • Steve Martin and Edie Brickell (Love Has Come for You)
  • Mavis Staples (One True Vine)
  • Allen Toussaint (Songbook)
Nonesuch
2013Bonnie Raitt (Slipstream)
beat 4 others
  • Mumford & Sons (Babel)
  • The Avett Brothers (The Carpenter)
  • John Fullbright (From the Ground Up)
  • The Lumineers (The Lumineers)
Redwing
2012Levon Helm (Ramble at the Ryman)
beat 4 others
  • Lucinda Williams (Blessed)
  • Linda Chorney (Emotional Jukebox)
  • Emmylou Harris (Hard Bargain)
  • Ry Cooder (Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down)
Vanguard
2011Mavis Staples (You Are Not Alone)
beat 4 others
  • Robert Plant (Band of Joy)
  • Willie Nelson (Country Music)
  • Rosanne Cash (The List)
  • Los Lobos (Tin Can Trust)
Anti-
2010Levon Helm (Electric Dirt)
beat 4 others
  • Lucinda Williams (Little Honey)
  • Bob Dylan (Together Through Life)
  • Wilco (Wilco (The Album))
  • Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel (Willie and the Wheel)
Dirt Farmer/Vanguard