A diverse selection of Bay Area acts are being recognized by music industry insiders for their talents in making albums.
The Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 59th Grammy Awards Tuesday, a list of 83 categories that included independent local contenders as well as veterans.
Tycho, an electronic producer from San Francisco who is currently on a world tour, has been named a contender in the Best Dance/Electronic Album, vying with acclaimed international artists like Flume, Jean-Michel Jarre, Underworld and Louie Vega.
Fantastic Negrito's self-described "blues with a punk attitude" has been honored with a nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album for "The Last Days of Oakland," while Los Rakas, a Panamanian hip-hop duo of cousins who are also from Oakland, have been nominated in the Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album category.
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony are among those chosen to compete for Best Orchestral Field for "Bates: Works for Orchestra," an experimental work with composer Mason Bates that includes elements of electronic dance music genres like drum & bass and techno.
Primus could win the Grammy for Best Surround Sound Album with "Primus & The Chocolate Factory." And let's not forget Metallica; the Bay Area behemoth is in the running for Best Rock Song (and not metal) for "Hardwired." A win here would make it the band's ninth statue.
The Bay Area is even represented in non-musical categories, as in SF native Margaret Cho's Best Comedy Album nomination for "American Myth."
Local
The Grammys airs on February 12, 2017.
