# Brandon Bell (recording engineer)

Brandon Bell is a Grammy Award winning recording engineer, mix engineer and producer based in Nashville. His credits include Brandi Carlile, Alan Jackson, Sarah Jarosz, Joni Mitchell, Steep Canyon Rangers, Zac Brown Band, Janis Ian, The Highwomen, Foo Fighters, Tanya Tucker, Parker McCollum, Earl Scruggs, Reba McEntire, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Brandy Clark, Billy Strings, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Allison Russell, and Blackberry Smoke.
Bell graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2004. In 2014, he was hired as the studio director and chief engineer at Southern Ground Nashville, owned by recording artist, Zac Brown from the Zac Brown Band. Since 2020, Bell has been working independently.
He has been featured as a special guest on music industry podcasts: Recording Studio Rock Stars and Surviving The Music Industry with Brandon Harrington.
Bell is a member of The Recording Academy and sits on a committee of the Audio Engineering Society.

## Education

Bell graduated from Heber Springs High School in Heber Springs, Arkansas. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Recording Industry degree at Middle Tennessee State University. MTSU honored Bell in 2023 for his achievements in the recording industry.

## Selected discography

| Year | Album | Artist | Credit |
| 2006 | Like Red on a Rose | Alan Jackson | Engineer |
| 2008 | The Ultimate Collection: Live at the Ryman | Earl Scruggs | Engineer |
| 2010 | Up On The Ridge | Dierks Bentley | Engineer, mixing assistant |
| 2011 | Daybreak | Sierra Hull | Engineer, mixing, editing |
| 2011 | Rare Bird Alert | Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers | Enginer |
| 2011 | Follow Me Down | Sarah Jarosz | Engineer |
| 2012 | Home | Dierks Bentley | Assistant, engineer |
| 2012 | Nobody Knows You | The Steep Canyon Rangers | Engineer, mixing |
| 2014 | Sonic Highways | Foo Fighters | Studio Assistant |
| 2017 | Welcome Home | Zac Brown / Zac Brown Band | Engineer, mixing |
| 2019 | Ridin' High....Again | Jack Ingram | Engineer, mixing |
| 2019 | The Highwomen | The Highwomen | Engineer |
| 2020 | Hollywood Gold | Parker McCollum | Engineer |
| 2020 | Now I Don't Know | Adam Chaffins | Engineer, producer |
| 2021 | The Marfa Tapes | Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall | Engineer |
| 2023 | In These Silent Days | Brandi Carlile | Engineer |

## Awards

Bell has received two nominations for Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical with Gary Paczosa. The first in 2006 for Alan Jackson's Like Red on a Rose (which is also Gold Certified by RIAA) and the second in 2011 for Sarah Jarosz's Follow Me Down.
He won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album in 2013 for his work on Steep Canyon Rangers’ album Nobody Knows You and again in 2025 for Live Vol. 1 by Billy Strings.
He engineered Brandi Carlile's lead single Right on Time, from the Album In These Silent Days. The single received Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance in 2022.
Bell was nominated for Audio Engineer of The Year for the 2022 ACM Awards. He also engineered The Marfa Tapes which was nominated for Best Country Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
In 2023, Bell won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album for his work as an engineer on Brandi Carlile's album In These Silent Days. The album also received the Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Carlile's single "Broken Horses" won Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. "You and Me on the Rock" was nominated for Record of the Year, Best Americana Performance, and Best American Roots Song.
In 2024, Bell won a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album for his work on Joni Mitchell's album At Newport. Allison Rusell's album The Returner and Brandy Clark's album Brandy Clark were each nominated for Best Americana Album. He contributed additional engineering to Billy Strings' album Me/And/Dad, which was nominated for Best Bluegrass Album.
| Year | Award | Recipient/Artist/Work | Award | Result |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Billy Strings - Live Vol. 1 | Best Bluegrass Album | Won |
| 2024 | JUNO Awards | Wiliam Prince - Stand in the Joy | Contemporary Roots Album of the Year | Won |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Joni Mitchell - At Newport | Best Folk Album | Won |
| 2024 | UK Americana Music Awards | Allison Russell - The Returner | International Album of the Year | Won |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Allison Russell - The Returner | Best Americana Album | Nomination |
| 2024 | Americana Music Awards | Brandy Clark - Brandy Clark | Album of the Year | Nomination |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Brandy Clark - Brandy Clark | Best Americana Album | Nomination |
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Janis Ian - The Light At The End Of The Line | Best Folk Album | Nomination |
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Brandi Carlile - “You And Me On The Rock” | Record of the Year | Nomination |
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Brandi Carlile “In These Silent Days” | Album of the Year | Nomination |
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Brandi Carlile - In These Silent Days | Best Americana Album | Won |
| 2022 | Americana Music Awards | Brandi Carlile - In These Silent Days | Album of the Year | Nomination |
| 2022 | Grammy Awards | Miranda Lambert - Marfa Tapes | Best Country Album | Nomination |
| 2022 | Grammy Awards | Brandi Carlile - "Right On Time" | Record of the Year | Nomination |
| 2021 | ACM Awards | Brandon Bell | Audio Engineer of the Year | Nomination |
| 2020 | UK Americana Music Awards | The Highwomen - "The Highwomen" | International Album of the Year | Won |
| 2020 | Americana Music Awards | The Highwomen - "The Highwomen" | Album of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | Grammy Awards | the Wood Brothers - One Drop of Truth | Best Americana Album | Nomination |
| 2019 | Grammy Awards | Mike Barnett - Portraits In Fiddles | Best Bluegrass Album | Nomination |
| 2014 | Grammy Awards | Sarah Jarosz - Build Me Up From Bones | Best Folk Album | Nomination |
| 2014 | Americana Music Awards | Sarah Jarosz - Build Me Up From Bones | Album of the Year | Nomination |
| 2013 | Grammy Awards | Steep Canyon Rangers - Nobody Knows You | Best Bluegrass Album | Won |
| 2012 | Grammy Awards | Steve Martin - Rare Bird Alert | Best Bluegrass Album | Nomination |
| 2011 | Grammy Awards | Sarah Jarosz - Follow Me Down | Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical | Nomination |
| 2011 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Dierks Bentley - Up On The Ridge | Album of the Year | Nomination |
| 2010 | Country Music Association Awards | Dierks Bentley - Up On The Ridge | Album of the Year | Nomination |
| 2010 | Grammy Awards | Dierks Bentley - Up On The Ridge | Best Country Album | Nomination |
| 2008 | Grammy Awards | Earl Scruggs - The Ultimate Collection: Live at the Ryman | Best Bluegrass Album | Nomination |
| 2007 | Grammy Awards | Alan Jackson - Like Red On A Rose | Best Country Album | Nomination |
| 2007 | Grammy Awards | Alan Jackson - Like Red on a Rose | Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical | Nomination |
Years reflect the year in which the Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year.