Country singer/songwriter Margo Price visited The Recording Academy's headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., to participate in an exclusive GRAMMY.com interview and performance. Price discussed why she wanted to be honest and relatable on her debut album, Midwest Farmer's Daughter, and why she considers her music "rooted" country. Following the interview, she performed a brief set featuring tracks from Midwest Farmer's Daughter, including "Hands Of Time" and "Since You Put Me Down."

"I just wanted to make something that was honest for me," said Price. "When we started recording, I had these songs that were around for a while. Because I wrote it for me, I think that a lot of people have gravitated towards my honesty and the hard things I've been through because everybody else goes through those types of things."

Illinois native Price got her start in music playing piano and singing in church. She majored in dance and theater in college, but dropped out early and moved to Nashville, Tenn., where she formed the band Buffalo Clover with her future husband, bassist Jeremy Ivey, and later Margo And The Pricetags. She made Rolling Stone's list of "10 New Artists You Need To Know" for fall 2014.

Price eventually signed with Jack White's Third Man Records and released Midwest Farmer's Daughter in March, which features 10 tracks, including "About To Find Out," "Hurtin' (On The Bottle)" and "Hands Of Time." The album reached No. 10 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.

Price is currently on tour, performing dates internationally through November.

If Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers landed in 2024, how would we define them? For fans of the beloved heartland rockers and their very missed leader, it's a compelling question.

"It's not active rock. It's not mainstream rock. It's not country. It would really fall in that Americana vein," says Scott Borchetta, the founder of Big Machine Label Group. "When you think about what his lyrics were and are about, it's really about the American condition."

To Borchetta, these extended to everything in Petty's universe — his principled public statements, his man-of-the-people crusades against the music industry. "He was an American rebel with a cause," Borchetta says. And when you fuse that attitude with big melodies, bigger choruses, and a grounded, earthy perspective — well, there's a lot for country fans to love.

That's what Coran Capshaw of Red Light Management bet on when he posited the idea of Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, a tribute album released June 21. Featuring leading lights like Dolly Parton ("Southern Accents"), Willie and Lukas Nelson ("Angel Dream (No. 2)," Luke Combs ("Runnin' Down a Dream"), Dierks Bentley ("American Girl,") Wynonna and Lainey Wilson ("Refugee"), and other country luminaries covering Tom Petty classics, Petty Country is a seamless union of musical worlds.

Which makes perfect sense: on a core level, Petty, and his band of brothers, were absolutely steeped in country — after all, they grew up in the South — Gainesville, Florida.

"Tom loved all country music. He went pretty deep into the Carter Family, and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" and the folk, Americana heart of it," says Petty's daughter, Adria, who helps run his estate. "Hank Williams, and even Ernest Tubb and Patsy Cline… as a songwriter, I think a lot of that real original music influenced him enormously." (The Flying Burrito Brothers, and the Byrds' Gram Parsons-hijacked country phase, were also foundational.)

A key architect of Petty Country was the man's longtime producer, George Drakoulias. "He's worked with Dad for a hundred years since [1994's] Wildflowers, and he has super exquisite taste," Adria says.

In reaching out to prospective contributors, he and fellow music supervisor Randall Poster started at the top: none other than Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. "Having Willie and Dolly made people stand up and pay attention," Dreakoulias told Rolling Stone, and the Nashville floodgates were opened: Thomas Rhett ("Wildflowers"), Brothers Osborne ("I Won't Back Down"), Lady A ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"), and so many others.

Each artist gave Petty's work a distinctive, personal spin. Luke Combs jets down the highway of "Runnin' Down the Dream" like he was born to ride. Along with Yo-Yo Ma and founding Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, Rhiannon Giddens scoops out the electronics and plumbs the droning, haunting essence of "Don't Come Around Here No More."

And where a lesser tribute album would have lacquered over the songs with homogenous Nashville production, Petty Country is the opposite.

"I'm not a fan of having a singular producer on records like this. I want each one of them to be their own little crown jewel," Borchetta says. "That's going to give us a better opportunity for them to make the record in their own image."

This could mean a take that hews to the original, or casts an entirely new light on it. "Dierks called up and said, 'Hey, do you think we would be all right doing a little bit more of a bluegrass feel to it?' I was like, 'Absolutely. If you hear it, go get it.'"

"It had the diversity that the Petty women like on the records," Adria says, elaborating that they wanted women and people of color on the roster. "We like to see those tributes to Tom reflect his values; he was always very pro-woman, which is why he has such outspoken women [laughs] in his wake."

Two of Petty Country's unquestionable highlights are by women. Margo Price chose "Ways to Be Wicked," a cut so deep that even the hardcore Petty faithful might not know it; the Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) outtake was buried on disc six of the 1995 boxed set Playback.

"Man, it's just one of those songs that gets in your veins," Price says. "He really knew how to twist the knife — that chorus, 'There's so many ways to be wicked, but you don't know one little thing about love.'" Founding Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell features on the dark, driving banger.

And all interviewed for this article are agog over Dolly Parton's commanding take on "Southern Accents" — the title track of the band's lumpy, complicated, vulnerable 1985 album of the same name. "It's just revelatory… it brings me to my knees," Adria says. "It's just a phenomenal version I know my dad would've absolutely loved."

"It's one of Dolly's best vocals ever, and it's hair-raising," Borchetta says. "You could tell she really felt that track, and what the song was about."

Adria is filled with profuse gratitude for the artists preserving and carrying her dad's legacy. 

"I'm really touched that these musicians showed up for my dad," she says. "A lot of people don't want to show up for anything that's not making money for them, or in service to their career, and we really appreciate it… I owe great debt to all of these artists and their managers for making the time to think about our old man like that."

Indeed, in Nashville and beyond, we've all been thinking about her old man, especially since his untimely passing in 2017. We'll never forget him — and will strum and sing these simple, heartfelt, and profound songs for years to come.

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As October unfolds, influential artists from across the globe continue to share new, dynamic sounds.

Friday, Oct. 13 is turning out to be anything but scary, with highly anticipated releases from megastars, newcomers and fan favorites. Among the day's biggest releases are Bad Bunny’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana, Offset's Set It Off,  a new EP from Ringo Starr, Troye Sivan's first album in five years, and a new EP rising K-pop stars IVE.

Elsewhere, K-pop group TXT explore the melodramatic moments of teenagehood on their new album, while pop singer/songwriter Holly Humberstone does some self-exploration on her debut album. 

This Friday, dive into seven new releases and consider adding these tracks into your monthly musical rotation.

TXT - The Name Chapter: FreeFall

K-pop group TOMORROW X TOGETHER, explore the depths of teen angst in their latest chapter LP, The Name Chapter: FreeFall. Following collaborations with Anitta and the Jonas Brothers, TXT have returned with a nine track album that navigates away from youthful optimism and dives into the harsh reality of adolescence.

One of TXT's Chapter series of releases, this latest release follows January's The Name Chapter: Temptation. "Our music contains this one story of growth and so we basically talk about the process of growth," member TAEHYUN told GRAMMY.com earlier this year. 

Tracks like "Growing Pain" and "Chasing That Feeling," guide listeners through the journey of growth, through melodic lyrics and punk-rock percussion. TXT member BEOMGYU showcases his own producing skills in the R&B, pop song, "Blue Spring." Through creative storytelling and embracing emotional vulnerability, this album isn’t one to miss. 

The Menzingers - Some Of It Was True

Four years after their last release, Pennsylvania punk outfit the Menzingers dropped their latest Some Of It Was True. The group's seventh album is a nostalgic journey about growing up and longing for a certain someone.

"I'm all alone in Dublin, searching for something / Wishing you were here with me," they sing in "Along in Dublin."

While tracks like "I Didn’t Miss You (Until You Were Gone)" stay true to the group's traditional indie punk feel, songs like "Ultraviolet" explore the Mezingers' calmer, Springsteen-esque sensibility. Some Of It Was True shows the band’s evolution and versatility, as they transition from self-reflective songs to addressing maturer, universal issues.

Holly Humberstone - Paint My Bedroom Black

After opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour tour and being awarded BRIT’s 2022 Rising Star, Holly Humberstone offers her debut record, Paint My Bedroom Black. The highly personal album explores themes of uncertainty and confusion, unpacking the array of emotions she experienced while on the road.

Each track is an odyssey of relatable Gen-Z experiences; songs like "Antichrist" and "Lauren" that talk about  experiencing conflicts in relationships, but with total honesty. Tracks such as "Room Service" employ folksy instrumentals and a mellow beats that pay homage to her family and friends. 

Humberstone's authenticity in lyrically discussing themes like love, friendship and identity make her debut  a relatable self-reflective anthem. 

REZZMAU5 - "Infraliminal" 

Spend your Friday night head-bopping to another powerful electronic collaboration from REZZ and deadmau5. Their latest song, "Infraliminal,"remixes deadmau5’s "Superliminal" by adding a deeper bass and creating new energetic arrangements.

"A lil fact - the original "superliminal" by deadmau5 is one of the songs which inspired me to create music. Fast forward to now, we have a project together & are releasing a version (technically two versions, you’ll see) of what I consider one of my favorite tracks by Joel ever," REZZ shared in an X post. 

The Libertines - "Run, Run, Run"

UK rock band the Libertines are back with their latest single, "Run, Run, Run," an energetic tale about running from the past and enjoying the present.

The quartet recently announced their new album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade, which will drop in March 2024. The album will feature 11 songs, produced by GRAMMY-nominated Dimitri Tikovoï. "Run, Run, Run" and the forthcoming album are the Libertines' first projects since their 2015 album Anthems for Doomed Youth. The group celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2022.

Margo Price - Strays II

Nashville singer/songwriter Margo Price continues unveiling authentic tracks in Strays II, which takes listeners through her tales of trauma, loss and self journeys in three acts: "Topanga Canyon," "Mind Travel" and "Burn Whatever’s Left." Strays II focuses on life’s everchanging tapestry, marking her a true artist in storytelling.

The album features "Malibu," a collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated artists Big Thief's Buck Meek and Jonathan Wilson. The song brings listeners to the scenic West Coast, as Price serenely sings about chasing a dream all to end up stranded in the titular. 

On the other hand, the title track has more of an upbeat tempo with catchy guitar riffs that seem to echo the sounds of the '90s. This song paints a story on her early moments with husband Jeremy Ivey. 

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Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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The adjective "vulnerable" is something of a music press cliché. Margo Price is capital-v. Because before she released her 2022 memoir, Maybe We'll Make It, she was in a state of abject terror over how her family would react to her confessions therein.

"I was having panic attacks, thinking about all of this being out there," Price told The Guardian. "I know what people do on the internet, and I was imagining the names they were gonna call me. They're gonna say I'm a horrible mother, that I'm a drunk."

But then, there's that word again: "I also [hope] that people are going to appreciate my vulnerability."

This attribute — married to sterling craft — has launched Price into the stratosphere; none other than Willie Nelson provided a blurb for Maybe We'll Make It's front cover. ("Margo's book hits you right in the gut — and the heart," he wrote. "Just like her songs.")

As she details in the book, the masterful Nashville singer/songwriter knocked around town for more than a decade in search of a record deal, and dealt with poverty, alcohol abuse and numberless other calamities. But Price was stubborn and persistent; her ascent began with her exceptional 2016 solo debut Midwest Farmer's Daughter, released on Third Man Records. 

She continued her winning streak in 2017 with All American Made; the following year, she was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best New Artist. That streak continued with 2020's That's How Rumors Get Started, produced by Sturgill Simpson. In 2023, she released another excellent album, the Jonathan Wilson-produced Strays, which she's promoting alongside Maybe We'll Make It.

At a recent edition of the GRAMMY Museum's "A New York Evening With…" interview and performance series at the Greene Space at WNYC and WQXR in New York City, Price sat down with moderator Craig Finn of the Hold Steady. Together, they discussed the counterbalances of Strays with Maybe We'll Make It, and her wild, tragic, joyful story that's contained in both; the result was a window into Price's psychology. 

Here are six takeaways about this GRAMMY-nominated master of words and melodies.

Her Album And Memoir Influenced Each Other

Early in the conversation, Finn inquired about the dynamic between a book and an album, as the publishing process typically takes much longer than the writing and recording process.

"They definitely ended up kind of influencing each other, because I was working on them in tandem," Price said. "I did kind of lose myself in it for a moment. My husband would say things like, 'You haven't written a song in months.' I was like, 'I'm an author now.'"

Price Finished Her Memoir Through Routine

In 2018 — upon getting pregnant and coming off the road — Price needed to keep her mind busy.

Despite not having a book deal, she and her husband, fellow musician Jeremy Ivey, would take their son to school, go to an East Nashville coffee shop and write from "about 8 in the morning until maybe noon or 1. And I just did that for maybe five or six months." By her telling, there were "many, many, many drafts" prior to the one we can hold in our hands today.

Observing Herself From The Outside Proved Beneficial

In reading about her experiences in the way a consumer of her memoir would, Price identified a seam of compassion for herself that she didn't realize she had.

"You can suddenly give yourself a break. I feel like I'm my own worst critic," she said. "There was always a breadcrumb to keep us going — and then there was something to knock us back down." However, "if there wasn't a struggle, I wouldn't be Margo Price."

Patti Smith's Memoir Influenced Her Own

Patti Smith's 2010 book Just Kids, a document of her relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe, is a go-to rock tell-all; Maybe We'll Make It shares some of its DNA.

"I had heard some of her songs and things before, but I think once I really devoured her written works, I started digging into her albums," Price said of Smith. "And I just thought it was incredible the way that she used poetry and just felt unafraid to throw it all in the pot and mix it all up."

On the literary front, one cue Price took from Smith was her use of descriptive detail for everyday scenes: "She talks about living off of tomato soup," she says, connecting that to the $2 frozen tilapia filets and bags of edamame she and Ivey used to subsist on.

"When you can taste what's going on, it puts you there in the kitchen with us," she said. "You can starve with the artist."

Price Is Becoming More Open To Collaborating — Judiciously

Price is skeptical of some of the team-ups she sees in the music industry. "Sometimes, I see a collaboration happening," she says, and I'm like, 'That looks forced. I don't know, man. I feel like they're just doing that for the Spotify plays.' So, I really try to only do it if it's meaningful."

Somebody in her camp presented a list of potential writing partners; she didn't bite. But when her manager suggested GRAMMY-winning guitar great Mike Campbell, she changed her tune.

"I'm like, 'Duh, of course. We're trying to write Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers songs over here anyway, so if we can get him in on it, then it legitimizes the whole thing… he sang on ["Light Me Up" on] my record, and it was just very natural."

She Might Join Your Band

"I'd love to play more drums," Price said during a brief audience Q&A before performing tunes like All American Made's "Pay Gap" and Strays' "Country Road" for the crowd. "Just drums in a band sometime, where I'd just be in the pack. It'd be so much less pressure.

"I need to find a gig," she added mirthfully. "If anybody knows something, let me know after the show."

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