Philadelphia celebrates local Grammy nominees across genres
With less than two weeks until the 2026 Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy's Philadelphia Chapter honored several nominees with hometown roots during a celebration Tuesday night at South Restaurant and Jazz Club.
The event served as a send-off for artists preparing to travel to Los Angeles for the Feb. 1 ceremony and as a reminder of Philadelphia's deep footprint in multiple Grammy categories, including jazz, classical, choral performance, rap and R&B.
This year's nominees hailing from Philadelphia include jazz bassist Christian McBride, nominated in three categories; jazz drummer Justin Faulkner, nominated for his work with the Branford Marsalis Quartet; R&B artist Bilal, nominated for his album Adjust Brightness; and rappers Fridayy and Meek Mill, nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, is also among the nominees, as are Donald Nally and choral ensemble The Crossing. Recording Academy officials say the total number of Philadelphia-affiliated contributors is difficult to tally, citing musicians, arrangers and producers credited across nominated projects.
"Even beyond the official name nominees, there are so many creators in our region who were contributors to some of those Grammy-nominated projects," said Ramón Miguel Jones, the executive director of the Recording Academy's Philadelphia Chapter. Jones added that Tuesday's event served as a "pep rally" to celebrate all artists involved.
For Bilal, a Germantown native, the nomination represents both personal pride and a connection to the city's music traditions.
"Black music has always kind of thrived here," he said. "It's a tradition for me."
The celebration also raised funds for GRAMMY Camp, an educational program that exposes high school students to careers in the music industry. Participants say the experience can shape their paths.
"I had considered music a side hobby, but after going to GRAMMY Camp, I realized I wanted it as a career," said Sarah Parmet, a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, who is an aspiring DJ and music producer.
The Grammy Awards will air on CBS and Paramount+ on Feb. 1.
Grammy nominees with connections to Philadelphia region
Here's a list of this year's Grammy nominees with links to the Philadelphia area:
Classical, Best Orchestral Performance
- Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra), for "Still & Bonds"
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
- Branford Marsalis Quartet for "Belonging"
- Drummer Justin Faulkner is a Philadelphian and educator at Temple University.
Best Melodic Rap Performance
- Fridayy featuring Meek Mill for "Proud Of Me"
- Fridayy and Meek Mill are from Philadelphia.
Best Jazz Performance
- Lakecia Benjamin featuring Immanuel Wilkins & Mark Whitfield for "Noble Rise"
- Saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins is a Philadelphian.
Best Progressive R&B Album
- Bilal for Adjust Brightness
- Bilal (Bilal Sayeed Oliver) hails from Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood.
Best Choral Performance
- Donald Nally, conductor (Steven Bradshaw, Michael Hawes, Lauren Kelly, Rebecca Siler & Elisa Sutherland; The Crossing) for "Lang: Poor Hymnal"
- The Crossing is based in Philadelphia.
Best Jazz Performance (for "Windows — Live", Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album (for "Without Further Ado, Vol 1"), Best Jazz Instrumental Album (for "Trilogy 3 — Live")
- Christian McBride, a jazz bassist, grew up in Philadelphia
Sabrina Carpenter nominated for several awards
- Quakertown, Pennsylvania, native Sabrina Carpenter is also nominated for several awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Manchild" and Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for "Man's Best Friend."
- Carpenter is also nominated for Non-Classical Songwriter of the Year for "Manchild" and "Tears."