# Grammy Award for Best Folk Album

The Grammy Award for Best Folk Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the folk genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
According to the 54th Grammy Awards guideline the Best Folk Album category includes authentic folk material in both traditional vocal and instrumental styles, as well as contemporary material by artists who use traditional folk elements, sounds and instrumental techniques as the basis for their recordings. Folk music is primarily but not exclusively acoustic, often using contemporary arrangements with production and sensibilities distinctly different from a pop approach.
This award combines the previous categories for Best Contemporary Folk Album and Traditional Folk Album. The Recording Academy decided to create this new category for 2012 upon stating there were "challenges in distinguishing between... Contemporary and Traditional Folk".
Like most album categories, the performing artist (of greater than 50% of playing time on the album) receives a nomination. The actual Grammy is awarded to the performing artist, the producer and the engineer/mixer.
The inaugural recipients of the award were The Civil Wars, who won in 2012 for their album Barton Hollow. To date, Chris Thile, Gillian Welch, and David Rawlings have won this award twice each; the latter two act as the current recipients of the award for Woodland at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.

## Recipients

| Year | Winners | Work | Nominees |
| 2012 | The Civil Wars Charlie Peacock (producer) Richie Biggs (engineer/mixer) | Barton Hollow | Steve Earle — I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive Fleet Foxes — Helplessness Blues Eddie Vedder — Ukulele Songs Gillian Welch — The Harrow & the Harvest |
| 2013 | Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile Steven Epstein (producer) Richard King (engineer/mixer) | The Goat Rodeo Sessions | Carolina Chocolate Drops — Leaving Eden Ry Cooder — Election Special Luther Dickinson — Hambone's Meditations Shawn Camp & Tamara Saviano (album producers) — This One's To Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark, performed by various artists |
| 2014 | Guy Clark Shawn Camp, Guy Clark & Chris Latham (producers) Chris Latham (engineer/mixer) | My Favorite Picture of You | The Greencards — Sweetheart of the Sun Sarah Jarosz — Build Me Up From Bones The Milk Carton Kids — The Ash & Clay Various Artists/Chris Strachwitz (producer) — They All Played For Us: Arhoolie Records 50th Anniversary Celebration |
| 2015 | Old Crow Medicine Show Ted Hutt (producer) Ted Hutt & Ryan Mall (engineers/mixers) | Remedy | Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas & Rob Ickes — Three Bells Alice Gerrard — Follow the Music Eliza Gilkyson — The Nocturne Diaries Jesse Winchester — A Reasonable Amount of Trouble |
| 2016 | Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn (producers) Richard Battaglia & Béla Fleck (engineers/mixers) | Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn | Norman Blake — Wood, Wire & Words Rhiannon Giddens — Tomorrow Is My Turn Patty Griffin — Servant of Love Glen Hansard — Didn't He Ramble |
| 2017 | Sarah Jarosz Sarah Jarosz & Gary Paczosa (producers) Shani Gandhi & Gary Paczosa (engineers/mixers) | Undercurrent | Judy Collins & Ari Hest — Silver Skies Blue Robbie Fulks — Upland Stories Rhiannon Giddens — Factory Girl Sierra Hull — Weighted Mind |
| 2018 | Aimee Mann Paul Bryan (producer) Paul Bryan & Ryan Freeland (engineers/mixers) | Mental Illness | Laura Marling — Semper Femina Offa Rex — The Queen of Hearts The Secret Sisters — You Don't Own Me Anymore Yusuf / Cat Stevens — The Laughing Apple |
| 2019 | Punch Brothers Punch Brothers (producers) Jason Wormer (engineer/mixer) | All Ashore | Joan Baez – Whistle Down The Wind Dom Flemons – Black Cowboys Mary Gauthier – Rifles & Rosary Beads Iron & Wine – Weed Garden |
| 2020 | Patty Griffin Patty Griffin & Craig Ross (producers) Mike Pool & Craig Ross (engineers/mixers) | Patty Griffin | Gregory Alan Isakov — Evening Machines Joy Williams — Front Porch Andrew Bird — My Finest Work Yet Che Apalache — Rearrange My Heart |
| 2021 | Gillian Welch & David Rawlings David Rawlings (producer) Matt Andrews & David Rawlings (engineers/mixers) | All the Good Times | Bonny Light Horseman — Bonny Light Horseman Leonard Cohen — Thanks for the Dance Laura Marling — Song For Our Daughter The Secret Sisters — Saturn Return |
| 2022 | Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi Rhiannon Giddens & Turrisi Francesco (producers) Ben Rawlins (engineer/mixer) | They're Calling Me Home | Mary Chapin Carpenter — One Night Lonely (Live) Tyler Childers — Long Violent History Madison Cunningham — Wednesday (Extended Version) Sarah Jarosz — Blue Heron Suite |
| 2023 | Madison Cunningham | Revealer | Judy Collins — Spellbound Janis Ian — The Light at the End of the Line Aoife O'Donovan — Age of Apathy The Punch Brothers — Hell on Church Street |
| 2024 | Joni Mitchell Joni Mitchell & Brandi Carlile (producers) Brandon Bell & Sean Quackenbush (engineers/mixers) | At Newport (Live) | Dom Flemons - Traveling Wildfire The Milk Carton Kids - I Only See the Moon Nickel Creek - Celebrants Old Crow Medicine Show - Jubilee Paul Simon - Seven Psalms Rufus Wainwright - Folkocracy |
| 2025 | Gillian Welch & David Rawlings (producers and engineers/mixers tbd) | Woodland | American Patchwork Quartet - American Patchwork Quartet Madi Diaz - Weird Faith Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future Aoife O'Donovan - All My Friends |
Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.

## Artists with multiple wins
### 2 wins

   * Chris Thile (one as a member of the Punch Brothers)
   * Gillian Welch
   * David Rawlings

## Artists with multiple nominations
### 4 nominations

   * Rhiannon Giddens (one as a member The Carolina Chocolate Drops)
3 nominations
* Sarah Jarosz
* Chris Thile (one as a member of the Punch Brothers)
* Gillian Welch

### 2 nominations

* Judy Collins
* Madison Cunningham
* Dom Flemons (one as a member of The Carolina Chocolate Drops)
* Patty Griffin
* Laura Marling
* Aoife O'Donovan
* Punch Brothers
* Joy Williams (one as a member of The Civil Wars)