Following a year that saw a number of violent attacks at live music events, Sunday’s Grammy ceremony will feature a tribute to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting and other instances of gun violence and terrorism at concerts. The tribute will be performed by country music stars Brothers Osborne, Eric Church and Maren Morris, all of whom appeared at the Route 91 Harvest festival where the shooting happened on 1 October.
Following the incident, the country music world was widely criticised for failing to speak up about gun control – a silence 27-year-old Morris is keen to break. “I didn’t really know how to help, except stand up and encourage people to change legislation on gun rights,” she says, acknowledging that in the country community “there’s a lot of staying out of the conversation and sweeping it under the carpet so as not to polarise their audience”.
She points to the Dixie Chicks, whose careers never recovered after they expressed anti-Iraq war sentiments at a London gig in 2003, referring to a path “that country artists are not wanting to go down”. Yet Morris is determined to expand the narrow parameters for country artists and convince her fans that “you don’t have to think all these same ways to consider yourself country or consider yourself American. Our careers shouldn’t be on the chopping block for speaking up about tighter gun restrictions.”
The NRA – an organisation that promotes “gun rights” – has capitalised on its connection with the country music world by partnering with numerous artists. Writing in the New York Times, Rosanne Cash urged country musicians to speak out against the NRA, saying that it “funds domestic terrorism”, while Sheryl Crow expressed her disappointment at the lack of strong statements on the issue from the country community.
Morris, however, is cautiously optimistic. “I feel like in general over the last year or so, everything from the shootings to the Me Too movement means a lot of country artists aren’t feeling as scared to have an opinion publicly about things that are important to them,” she says. Indeed, there are plans to show solidarity with the Time’s Up initiative at this year’s Grammys ceremony, with attendees encouraged to wear white roses to signal their support.
Morris’s Grammys performance will also pay tribute to other victims of violence at music events, such as the Manchester Arena bombing, she says. The artists will perform a Grammy-winning song that is currently under wraps, but which Morris describes as “one of the most known songs in the world”. “It’s heartbreaking,” she says, “but also has a hopeful edge.”
This year’s Grammys are also notable for the number of non-white artists who have been nominated. Possibly a reaction to 2017’s #GrammysSoWhite protests, this also reflects a year that saw rap and R&B overtake rock as the most popular genres in the US. Jay-Z racked up the most nominations with eight, including one for 4:44 – his first ever album-of-the-year nomination – while fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar received seven. Ed Sheeran, meanwhile, whose record Divide was the second biggest selling album of 2017 in the US, was snubbed in the top three categories, for album, record and song of the year.
This year’s ceremony will take place on 28 January at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the first time the Grammys have been held outside Los Angeles for 15 years. James Corden will host the awards show for the second consecutive year, and performers on the night will include Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Rihanna.
