PHOTO CREDITS | ABC The Bachelor Disney/John Fleenor
THE BACHELOR S28. E4. | TRAVELING FOR LOVE I
PHOTO CREDIT | ABC The Bachelor/Gizelle Hernandez
We’ll get 2 episodes this week of the The Bachelor as we continue along with Joey Graziadei. The Maria Syndey drama continues as you just can’t have both of them in the same house.
Jesse Palmer lets them know that Joey has moved on to their next destination which will be in Malta. So they will pack their bags to get to him in an hour.
Once the women settle into the hotel, there is a date card and we learn that Lexi will have a 1-on-1 date with Joey.
With their date underway, we can see how their chemistry will be with one another. They explore the streets with looking at jewelry, eating from the street carts, just strolling through the city, playing bocce, and then just dancing.
Back at the hotel, Maria and her new bestie Allison are chatting about what’s going on and then Jess and Sydney are doing the same thing. We see that this drama is not ending anytime soon.
Back on the date, they are in a church which brings up her emotions thinking about her grandfather who was a painter as well as the fact that she hasn’t revealed her health situation that could make having children difficult. She feels that she needs to disclose this tonight so that Joey is in the loop. They also talk with a priest whose there to get his insights on relationships and marriage.
The next date card arrives Jen, Daisy, Edwina, Catelyn, Allison, Rachel, Autumn, Kelsey T, Jess, Madina, Lea, and Kelsey A find out that they are on a date together.
They realize that Maria and Sydney’s names weren’t called so they all deduce that they will be on a 2-on-1 date.
Back on the 1-on-1 date, Joesy says he enjoys that Lexi seems like she is really letting him know more about her. She lets him know that she has something else to share in terms of her endo journey. She explains she didn’t know what her issues were, but after having a surgery, she realized that she has stage 5 Endometriosis and she was told that she may not be able to have her own children. Lexi says that this is devastating as she felt that it was her calling to be a mother. She had only told one other person, her ex and he decided that he didn’t want to go further into their relationship. Joey appreciated her sharing that information and understood how difficult it was for her to share it. He lets her know that this doesn’t scare him and there are other options that can be looked at in terms of creating a family.
He gives Lexi the date rose.
The group date begins and we get an interesting factoid that certain scenes from HBO’s Game of Thrones were filmed there. At Fort Manuel, they see two people fighting one another with a complementary outfit to boot. The ladies will be trained to be knights and they’re able to create their fighting outfits with accessories. They all spar with one another and then do a series of challenges such as engaging in eye contact with one another - some even get kisses from them. They then have to grab sashes off of each other. There is also a sausage grab that has to be done with their mouths only - no hands. The winner of the series of challenges was Autumn. She gets to have more time with Joey to chat with him away from the women at the Fort (although they can see her).
The cocktail party after the group date begins and the women realize that there are a number of people on the date and they need to get their time so that they can further their connections. He finds a way to connect with each of them whether it’s wearing glasses with Rachel because she was wearing them or asking Kelsey T what she needs to feel loved.
Back at the hotel, the next date card arrives and Lexi lets Sydney and Maria know that they are on the 2-on-1 date. We all know that in this scenario, only one person will remain.
Back at the after party of the group date, Jess gets her time with Joey so that she can let him know what she’s feeling. She tells him that she can see that she is falling for him and she can’t wait to see where it goes. They share a kiss. Joey gives the group date rose to Kelsey T. and he lets them know that he’s heading out.
The 2-on-1 date is something that we have looked forward to since last week when we saw it in the teaser. To see the drama culminate in this way, we can only hope that he selects someone today as it seems like we have an entire hour dedicated to this. Sydney feels that being on this date with Maria is like being with the devil which is a harsh thing to see. Joey wants to get clarity and figure out what is going on with them. As they head to their destination on a yacht, Joey is on a boat approaching them. When he sees them, he acknowledges that this date may seem a bit awkward, but he has a fun date planned for them at The Blue Grotto. They navigate through the natural structure and then they find themselves sitting together near the boats so that the air can be cleared. He asks Sydney to come with him so that he can understand what is going on. She continues to drum up more instances that didn’t happen. When he talks with Maria, she is so frustrated that she starts to shut down. Joey still doesn’t know the truth of what happened and he eants to have clarity even more.
Both women make their way to the dinner and Joey says, he’s not focused on the truth because he can see that that’s not going to go anywhere, so it will be about the connection. He asks if Sydney sees herself with him and why. He asks the same of Maria as well. He said based on the date earlier, that wasn’t a question he was able to ask and he’s glad that he was able to see where they felt on that topic. He walks Sydney out and Maria receives the rose!
We can only hope that all of the drama will now be greatly reduced! We see the women getting ready for the cocktail party. Upon arrival, Maria says that she’s not there to ruffle feathers and she’s just going to tuck in and she wants the other women to have time. Joey arrives and says that they all look so nice and he’s happy to be in Malta with them and he gives nice compliments to all of the women as a group. He lets them know that Sydney is not there because he didn’t feel the connection and that is the purpose of being there.
Jenn continues to connect with him by bringing him back to the water, Edwina lets her interest in him to be plainly known and other women take the time to reach out. Madina shares that she has had some trauma that her parents were involved in and it made her closed off. He lets her know that he doesn’t want her to share things that she’s not ready too, but that she should do it in her own time. They even do a trust fall exercise. Lea decides to continue the Sydney drama by pulling Madina out and telling her that the way that she is navigating everything isn’t sitting right with her. Madina lets her know that she doesn’t need to understand how she approaches things.
JOEY GAVE ROSES TO | Kelsey T, Lexi, Maria
JOEY DID NOT GIVE A ROSE TO | Sydney
Each night during this season, we will tweet about The Golden Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!
Each week we will let you know who our faves were from the last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.
We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!
WHO WE THINK IS GOING TO HOMETOWNS
PHOTO CREDIT | The Bachelor Contestants/Richard Middlesworth
THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS
Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
Featured TV Show
9DRIP | ICONA POP
THE 9LIST
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see THE 9LIST in mag.
Featured
9PLAYLIST | RAWAYANA
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST | RAWAYANA in mag.
Featured
9PLAYLIST | NO DOUBT
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST | No Doubt in mag.
Featured
9LOOKS | TODD SNYDER
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see 9LOOKS | Todd Snyder in mag.
Featured
IN OUR BAG | FOR ENJOYING VDAY YOUR WAY
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see IN OUR BAG | For Enjoying VDay Your Way in mag.
Featured
HOW TO DRESS | FOR YOUR KOSELIG ERA
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see HOW TO DRESS | For Your Koselig Era in mag.
Featured
PHOTO CREDITS | ABC The Bachelor Disney/John Fleenor
THE BACHELOR S28. E3. | FOR THE LOVE OF LOVE
PHOTO CREDIT | ABC The Bachelor/Gizelle Hernandez
We enjoy kicking off the week with, The Bachelor’s Joey Graziadei. This season, they always give us a bit of a teaser on something taking place and we know that Joey is addressing issues with the women.
We start off with hearing the women in the house talking about them being excited about how things are progressing. Jesse Palmer lets them know that there are 18 women in the house, 2 group dates, and a 1-on-1 date. He leaves them with a group date card where Edwina, Kelsey A, Lexi, Allison, Madina, Chrissa, Lea, Sydney, and Maria will be on a date together. This date is about Mrs. Right and he hopes to find her. He invited a group of women on the date from The Golden Bachelor. April, Susan, Kathy, and Nancy came along. This date will be a pageant and the first one that the show has had. They first sported their loungewear looks, then it was time for them to answer questions asked by The Golden Bachelor women. The third round allows them to show their talents. The winner of the Bachelor Nation Mrs. Right Pageant is Lexi.
At the after party for the group date, the women all muse over Lexi getting the rose for her non-talent being chosen.
At the after-party, Joey gets to know them better and wants to know more about them and to dig into what happened with Madina who feels that she was bullied. He addresses it with the women, but then gives the rose to Kelsey A. He tells them that they need to step up and tell him about this and then he leaves them to all talk with one another. Sydney, Maria, and Madina all talk about the interaction that took place a few nights back.
The next date card arrives with Jenn getting the 1-on-1 date leaving the remainder of the women on the 2nd group date.
Once again we see Madina and Maria talking and establishing that they’re good. But they also recognize that Sydney is stirring things up for no reason.
Jenn’s date with Joey is going surfing! They pick out boards, wetsuits, and it’s a cute and active date. They continue to dinner and she discloses her family dynamic which is a pretty rough situation with the unease between her parents and then also not having her father in her life. He gives her the rose - which is a no-brainer.
The second group date card arrives and Katelyn, Autumn, Rachel, Daisy, Evalin, Kelsey T, Starr, and Jess are on a date together. Since he is done playing tennis, it seems like this will be a tennis date.
We catch up with Joey on his turf, the tennis court which is passion as well as what he does as a career. James Blake and Pam Shriver are also on this date! The first Bachelor Open has a bit of a crowd, costumes of the athletes, and more. They play doubles with one another and ultimately team Lobster and Butter - Kelsey T and Evalin win. At the cocktail party after this group date, he gets to know more about the women through their anecdotes. Katelyn shares that her family is cursed because all the women are single in her family. He connects with each of them and then he gives the date night rose to Katelyn.
The girls debrief about the tennis date and how it went. It seems like all the women are having good vibes ahead of the cocktail party. Jesse arrives and lets them know that there will not be a cocktail party and that there will be a pool party. They end up having a KFC lunch. As people start enjoying the party and being with Joey, of course Sydney gets messy again and tells Joey that Maria is the problem and how she verbally accosted her. Joey pulls Maria aside to find out what’s going on as he is surprised to hear this, but wants to get the facts. Maria tells him that she is not a bully and that she has had that happen to her. She also tells him that there is no way that you can like both Maria and Sydney because they are two different people. Joey cuts the pool party short (has there ever been a pool party that wasn’t cut off early?).
They head straight into the rose ceremony. He thanks them for being there and acknowledges that this process i leading him to where he wanted to be. He gives roses to Lexi, Lea, Kelsey T, Rachel, Madina, Daisy, Jess, Edwina, Autumn, Allison, Maria, and Sydney.
JOEY GAVE ROSES TO | Allison, Autumn, Daisy, Edwina, Jenn, Jess, Katelyn, Kelsey A, Kelsey T, Lea, Lexi, Madina, Maria, Rachel, and Sydney
JOEY DID NOT GIVE A ROSE TO | Chrissa, Evalin, and Starr
Each night during this season, we will tweet about The Golden Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!
Each week we will let you know who our faves were from the last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.
We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!
WHO WE THINK IS GOING TO HOMETOWNS
PHOTO CREDIT | The Bachelor Contestants/Richard Middlesworth
THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS
Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
Featured TV Show
ATHLEISURE BEAUTY
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see ATHLEISURE BEAUTY in mag.
AWARDS SEASON | GRAMMYS 2024 WINNERS
We continue through Awards Season with the 66th GRAMMYs which took place tonight on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs).
Our predictions are in bold, the ones we correctly identified as winners are in bold italics and winners that we didn’t predict are in italics.
1. Record Of The Year
Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.
Worship
Jon Batiste
Jon Batiste, Jon Bellion, Pete Nappi & Tenroc, producers; Serban Ghenea & Pete Nappi, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
Not Strong Enough
boygenius
boygenius & Catherine Marks, producers; Owen Lantz, Catherine Marks, Mike Mogis, Bobby Mota, Kaushlesh "Garry" Purohit & Sarah Tudzin, engineers/mixers; Pat Sullivan, mastering engineer
Flowers
Miley Cyrus
Kid Harpoon & Tyler Johnson, producers; Michael Pollack, Brian Rajaratnam & Mark "Spike" Stent, engineers/mixers; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer
What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture "Barbie"]
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish & FINNEAS, producers; Billie Eilish, Rob Kinelski & FINNEAS, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
On My Mama
Victoria Monét
Deputy, Dernst Emile II & Jeff Gitelman, producers; Patrizio Pigliapoco & Todd Robinson, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
Vampire
Olivia Rodrigo
Dan Nigro, producer; Serban Ghenea, Michael Harris, Chris Kasych, Daniel Nigro & Dan Viafore, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Anti-Hero
Taylor Swift
Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Serban Ghenea, Laura Sisk & Lorenzo Wolff, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Kill Bill
SZA
Rob Bisel & Carter Lang, producers; Rob Bisel, engineer/mixer; Dale Becker, mastering engineer
2. Album Of The Year
Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with 20% or more playing time of the album.
World Music Radio
Jon Batiste
Jon Batiste, Jon Bellion, Nick Cooper, Pete Nappi & Tenroc, producers; Jon Batiste, Pete Nappi, Kaleb Rollins, Laura Sisk & Marc Whitmore, engineers/mixers; Jon Batiste, Jon Bellion, Jason Cornet & Pete Nappi, songwriters; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
the record
boygenius
boygenius & Catherine Marks, producers; Owen Lantz, Will Maclellan, Catherine Marks, Mike Mogis, Bobby Mota, Kaushlesh "Garry" Purohit & Sarah Tudzin, engineers/mixers; Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers & Lucy Dacus, songwriters; Pat Sullivan, mastering engineer
Endless Summer Vacation
Miley Cyrus
Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson & Mike Will Made-It, producers; Pièce Eatah, Craig Frank, Paul David Hager, Stacy Jones, Brian Rajaratnam & Mark "Spike" Stent, engineers/mixers; Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein, Thomas Hull, Tyler Johnson, Michael Len Williams II & Michael Pollack, songwriters; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer
Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Lana Del Rey
Jack Antonoff, Zach Dawes, Lana Del Rey & Drew Erickson, producers; Jack Antonoff, Michael Harris, Dean Reid & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Mike Hermosa, songwriters; Ruairi O'Flaherty, mastering engineer
The Age Of Pleasure
Janelle Monáe
Sensei Bueno, Nate "Rocket" Wonder & Nana Kwabena, producers; Mick Guzauski, Nate "Rocket" Wonder, Jayda Love, Janelle Monáe & Yáng Tan, engineers/mixers; Jarrett Goodly, Nathaniel Irvin III, Janelle Monáe Robinson & Nana Kwabena Tuffuor, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
GUTS
Olivia Rodrigo
Daniel Nigro, producer; Serban Ghenea, Sterling Laws, Mitch McCarthy, Daniel Nigro, Dave Schiffman, Mark "Spike" Stent, Sam Stewart & Dan Viafore, engineers/mixers; Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Midnights
Taylor Swift
Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Zem Audu, Serban Ghenea, David Hart, Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Ken Lewis, Michael Riddleberger, Laura Sisk & Evan Smith, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
SOS
SZA
Rob Bisel, ThankGod4Cody & Carter Lang, producers; Rob Bisel, engineer/mixer; Rob Bisel, Cody Fayne, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters; Dale Becker, mastering engineer
3. Song Of The Year
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
A&W
Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Sam Dew, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
Anti-Hero
Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
Butterfly
Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)
Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
Flowers
Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Miley Cyrus)
Kill Bill
Rob Bisel, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters (SZA)
Vampire
Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)
What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture "Barbie"]
Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
4. Best New Artist
This category recognizes an artist whose eligibility-year release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.
Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War And Treaty
5. Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
A Producer's Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)
Jack Antonoff
• Being Funny In A Foreign Language (The 1975) (A)
• Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Lana Del Rey) (A)
• Midnights (Taylor Swift) (A)
Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II
• JAGUAR II (Victoria Monét) (A)
Hit-Boy
• Bus Stop (Don Toliver Featuring Brent Faiyaz) (T)
• Just Face It (Dreamville With Blxst) (T)
• Kings Disease III (Nas) (A)
• Magic 3 (Nas) (A)
• Magic 2 (Nas) (A)
• Slipping Into Darkness (Hit-Boy & The Alchemist) (S)
• Surf Or Drown Vol. 1 (Hit-Boy) (A)
• Surf Or Drown Vol. 2 (Hit-Boy) (A)
• Victims & Villains (Musiq Soulchild & Hit-Boy) (A)
• Metro Boomin
• Am I Dreaming (Metro Boomin Featuring Roisee & A$AP Rocky) (S)
• Calling (Metro Boomin Featuring NAV, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie & Swae Lee) (S)
• Creepin' (Metro Boomin Featuring 21 Savage & The Weeknd) (S)
• More M's (Drake & 21 Savage) (S)
• Oh U Went (Young Thug Featuring Drake) (S)
• Superhero (Heroes & Villains) (Metro Boomin, Future & Chris Brown) (S)
• Til Further Notice (Travis Scott Featuring James Blake & 21 Savage) (S)
• Trance (Metro Boomin Featuring Travis Scott & Young Thug) (S)
• War Bout It (Lil Durk Featuring 21 Savage) (S)
• Daniel Nigro
• Casual (Chappell Roan) (S)
• Divide (Dermot Kennedy) (S)
• Guts (Olivia Rodrigo) (A)
• Hot To Go! (Chappell Roan) (S)
• Kaleidoscope (Chappell Roan) (S)
• Red Wine Supernova (Chappell Roan) (S)
• Welcome To My Island (Caroline Polachek) (S)
6. Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical
A Songwriter's Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)
Edgar Barrera
• Cuestion De Tiempo (Don Omar) (T)
• Falsa Alarma (En Vivo) (Grupo Firme) (T)
• Gucci Los Paños (Karol G) (T)
• La Despedida (Christian Nodal) (T)
• Mi Ex Tenía Razón (Karol G) (T)
• Que Vuelvas (Various Artists) (T)
• Un Cumbión Dolido (Christian Nodal) (T)
• un x100to (Grupo Frontera & Bad Bunny) (T)
• Yo Pr1mero (Rels B) (S)
Jessie Jo Dillon
• Buried (Brandy Clark) (T)
• Girl In The Mirror (Megan Moroney) (T)
• Halfway To Hell (Jelly Roll) (T)
• I Just Killed A Man (Catie Offerman) (S)
• Memory Lane (Old Dominion) (S)
• Neon Cowgirl (Dan + Shay) (T)
• screen (HARDY) (T)
• The Town In Your Heart (Lori McKenna) (T)
• Up Above The Clouds (Cecilia's Song) (Brandy Clark) (T)
Shane McAnally
• Come Back To Me (Brandy Clark) (S)
• Good With Me (Walker Hayes) (S)
• He's Never Gunna Change (Lauren Daigle) (S)
• I Should Have Married You (Old Dominion) (S)
• Independently Owned (Alex Newell & Original Broadway Cast of Shucked) (S)
• Never Grow Up (Niall Horan) (S)
• Start Nowhere (Sam Hunt) (S)
• Walmart (Sam Hunt) (S)
• We Don't Fight Anymore (Carly Pearce & Chris Stapleton) (S)
Theron Thomas
• All My Life (Lil Durk Featuring J. Cole) (S)
• Been Thinking (Tyla) (S)
• Cheatback (Chlöe & Future) (T)
• How We Roll (Ciara & Chris Brown) (S)
• Make Up Your Mind (Cordae) (S)
• Pretty Girls Walk (Big Boss Vette) (S)
• Seven (Jung Kook & Latto) (S)
• Told Ya (Chlöe & Missy Elliot) (T)
• You And I (Sekou) (T)
Justin Tranter
• Gemini Moon (Reneé Rapp) (T)
• Honey! (Are U Coming?) (Måneskin) (S)
• I Want More (Marisa Davila & Cast Of Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies) (S)
• Jersey (Baby Tate) (S)
• A Little Bit Happy (TALK) (S)
• Pretty Girls (Reneé Rapp) (S)
• River (Miley Cyrus) (S)
Field 1: Pop & Dance/Electronic Music
7. Best Pop Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.
Flowers
Miley Cyrus
Paint The Town Red
Doja Cat
What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture "Barbie"]
Billie Eilish
Vampire
Olivia Rodrigo
Anti-Hero
Taylor Swift
8. Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.
Thousand Miles
Miley Cyrus Featuring Brandi Carlile
Candy Necklace
Lana Del Rey Featuring Jon Batiste
Never Felt So Alone
Labrinth Featuring Billie Eilish
Karma
Taylor Swift Featuring Ice Spice
Ghost In The Machine
SZA Featuring Phoebe Bridgers
9. Best Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new pop vocal recordings.
Chemistry
Kelly Clarkson
Endless Summer Vacation
Miley Cyrus
GUTS
Olivia Rodrigo
- (Subtract)
Ed Sheeran
Midnights
Taylor Swift
10. Best Dance/Electronic Recording
For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.
Blackbox Life Recorder 21F
Aphex Twin
Richard D James, producer; Richard D James, mixer
Loading
James Blake
James Blake & Dom Maker, producers; James Blake, mixer
Higher Than Ever Before
Disclosure
Cirkut, Guy Lawrence & Howard Lawrence, producers; Guy Lawrence, mixer
Strong
Romy & Fred again..
Fred again.., Stuart Price & Romy, producers; Fred again.. & Stuart Price, mixers
Rumble
Skrillex, Fred again.. & Flowdan
Fred again.. & Skrillex, producers; Skrillex, mixer
11. Best Pop Dance Recording
For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.
Baby Don't Hurt Me
David Guetta, Anne-Marie & Coi Leray
Johnny Goldstein, Toby Green, David Guetta & Mike Hawkins, producers; Serban Ghenea, mixer
Miracle
Calvin Harris Featuring Ellie Goulding
Burns & Calvin Harris, producers; Calvin Harris, mixer
Padam Padam
Kylie Minogue
Lostboy, producer; Guy Massey, mixer
One In A Million
Bebe Rexha & David Guetta
Burns & David Guetta, producers; Serban Ghenea, mixer
Rush
Troye Sivan
Styalz Fuego, Novodor & Zhone, producers; Alex Ghenea, mixer
12. Best Dance/Electronic Music Album
For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.
Playing Robots Into Heaven
James Blake
For That Beautiful Feeling
The Chemical Brothers
Actual Life 3 (January 1 - September 9 2022)
Fred again..
Kx5
Kx5
Quest For Fire
Skrillex
Field 2: Rock, Metal & Alternative Music
13. Best Rock Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.
Sculptures Of Anything Goes
Arctic Monkeys
More Than A Love Song
Black Pumas
Not Strong Enough
Boygenius
Rescued
Foo Fighters
Lux Æterna
Metallica
14. Best Metal Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative metal recordings.
Bad Man
Disturbed
Phantom Of The Opera
Ghost
72 Seasons
Metallica
Hive Mind
Slipknot
Jaded
Spiritbox
15. Best Rock Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Angry
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Andrew Watt, songwriters (The Rolling Stones)
Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl
Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)
Emotion Sickness
Dean Fertita, Joshua Homme, Michael Shuman, Jon Theodore & Troy Van Leeuwen, songwriters (Queens Of The Stone Age)
Not Strong Enough
Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers & Lucy Dacus, songwriters (boygenius)
Rescued
Dave Grohl, Rami Jaffee, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett & Pat Smear, songwriters (Foo Fighters)
16. Best Rock Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new rock, hard rock or metal recordings.
But Here We Are
Foo Fighters
Starcatcher
Greta Van Fleet
72 Seasons
Metallica
This Is Why
Paramore
In Times New Roman...
Queens Of The Stone Age
17. Best Alternative Music Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative Alternative music recordings.
Belinda Says
Alvvays
Body Paint
Arctic Monkeys
Cool About It
boygenius
A&W
Lana Del Rey
This Is Why
Paramore
18. Best Alternative Music Album
Vocal or Instrumental.
The Car
Arctic Monkeys
The Record
boygenius
Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Lana Del Rey
Cracker Island
Gorillaz
I Inside The Old Year Dying
PJ Harvey
Field 3: R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry
19. Best R&B Performance
For new vocal or instrumental R&B recordings.
Summer Too Hot
Chris Brown
Back To Love
Robert Glasper Featuring SiR & Alex Isley
ICU
Coco Jones
How Does It Make You Feel
Victoria Monét
Kill Bill
SZA
20. Best Traditional R&B Performance
For new vocal or instrumental traditional R&B recordings.
Simple
Babyface Featuring Coco Jones
Lucky
Kenyon Dixon
Hollywood
Victoria Monét Featuring Earth, Wind & Fire & Hazel Monét
Good Morning
PJ Morton Featuring Susan Carol
Love Language
SZA
21. Best R&B Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Angel
Halle Bailey, Theron Feemster & Coleridge Tillman, songwriters (Halle)
Back To Love
Darryl Andrew Farris, Robert Glasper & Alexandra Isley, songwriters (Robert Glasper Featuring SiR & Alex Isley)
ICU
Darhyl Camper Jr., Courtney Jones, Raymond Komba & Roy Keisha Rockette, songwriters (Coco Jones)
On My Mama
Dernst Emile II, Jeff Gitelman, Victoria Monét, Kyla Moscovich, Jamil Pierre & Charles Williams, songwriters (Victoria Monét)
Snooze
Kenny B. Edmonds, Blair Ferguson, Khris Riddick-Tynes, Solána Rowe & Leon Thomas, songwriters (SZA)
22. Best Progressive R&B Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded progressive vocal tracks derivative of R&B.
Since I Have A Lover
6LACK
The Love Album: Off The Grid
Diddy
Nova
Terrace Martin And James Fauntleroy
The Age Of Pleasure
Janelle Monáe
SOS
SZA
23. Best R&B Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new R&B recordings.
Girls Night Out
Babyface
What I Didn't Tell You (Deluxe)
Coco Jones
Special Occasion
Emily King
JAGUAR II
Victoria Monét
CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP
Summer Walker
24. Best Rap Performance
For a Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.
The Hillbillies
Baby Keem Featuring Kendrick Lamar
Love Letter
Black Thought
Rich Flex
Drake & 21 Savage
SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS
Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane
Players
Coi Leray
25. Best Melodic Rap Performance
For a solo or collaborative performance containing both elements of R&B melodies and Rap.
Sittin' On Top Of The World
Burna Boy Featuring 21 Savage
Attention
Doja Cat
Spin Bout U
Drake & 21 Savage
All My Life
Lil Durk Featuring J. Cole
Low
SZA
26. Best Rap Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Attention
Rogét Chahayed, Amala Zandile Dlamini & Ari Starace, songwriters (Doja Cat)
Barbie World [From Barbie The Album]
Isis Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Featuring Aqua)
Just Wanna Rock
Mohamad Camara, Symere Woods & Javier Mercado, songwriters (Lil Uzi Vert)
Rich Flex
Brytavious Chambers, Isaac "Zac" De Boni, Aubrey Graham, J. Gwin, Anderson Hernandez, Michael "Finatik" Mule & Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, songwriters (Drake & 21 Savage)
SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS
Andre Benjamin, Paul Beauregard, James Blake, Michael Render, Tim Moore & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane)
27. Best Rap Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new rap recordings.
Her Loss
Drake & 21 Savage
MICHAEL
Killer Mike
HEROES & VILLIANS
Metro Boomin
King's Disease III
Nas
UTOPIA
Travis Scott
28. Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new spoken word poetry recordings.
A-You're Not Wrong B-They're Not Either: The Fukc-It Pill Revisited
Queen Sheba
For Your Consideration'24 -The Album
Prentice Powell and Shawn William
Grocery Shopping With My Mother
Kevin Powell
The Light Inside
J. Ivy
When The Poems Do What They Do
Aja Monet
Field 4: Jazz, Traditional Pop, Contemporary Instrumental & Musical Theater
29. Best Jazz Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative jazz recordings.
Movement 18' (Heroes)
Jon Batiste
Basquiat
Lakecia Benjamin
Vulnerable (Live)
Adam Blackstone Featuring The Baylor Project & Russell Ferranté
But Not For Me
Fred Hersch & Esperanza Spalding
Tight
Samara Joy
30. Best Jazz Vocal Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal jazz recordings.
For Ella 2
Patti Austin Featuring Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
Alive At The Village Vanguard
Fred Hersch & Esperanza Spalding
Lean In
Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke
Mélusine
Cécile McLorin Salvant
How Love Begins
Nicole Zuraitis
31. Best Jazz Instrumental Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new instrumental jazz recordings.
The Source
Kenny Barron
Phoenix
Lakecia Benjamin
Legacy: The Instrumental Jawn
Adam Blackstone
The Winds Of Change
Billy Childs
Dream Box
Pat Metheny
32. Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new ensemble jazz recordings.
The Chick Corea Symphony Tribute - Ritmo
ADDA Simfònica, Josep Vicent, Emilio Solla
Dynamic Maximum Tension
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
Basie Swings The Blues
The Count Basie Orchestra Directed By Scotty Barnhart
Olympians
Vince Mendoza & Metropole Orkest
The Charles Mingus Centennial Sessions
Mingus Big Band
33. Best Latin Jazz Album
For vocal or instrumental albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded material. The intent of this category is to recognize recordings that represent the blending of jazz with Latin, Iberian-American, Brazilian, and Argentinian tango music.
Quietude
Eliane Elias
My Heart Speaks
Ivan Lins With The Tblisi Symphony Orchestra
Vox Humana
Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band
Cometa
Luciana Souza & Trio Corrente
El Arte Del Bolero Vol. 2
Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo
34. Best Alternative Jazz Album
For vocal or instrumental albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Alternative jazz recordings.
Love In Exile
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily
Quality Over Opinion
Louis Cole
SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree
Kurt Elling, Charlie Hunter, SuperBlue
Live At The Piano
Cory Henry
The Omnichord Real Book
Meshell Ndegeocello
35. Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new traditional pop recordings.
To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim
Liz Callaway
Pieces Of Treasure
Rickie Lee Jones
Bewitched
Laufey
Holidays Around The World
Pentatonix
Only The Strong Survive
Bruce Springsteen
Sondheim Unplugged (The NYC Sessions), Vol. 3
(Various Artists)
36. Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new contemporary instrumental recordings.
As We Speak
Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia
On Becoming
House Of Waters
Jazz Hands
Bob James
The Layers
Julian Lage
All One
Ben Wendel
37. Best Musical Theater Album
For albums containing greater than 51% playing time of new recordings. Award to the principal vocalist(s), and the album producer(s) of 50% or more playing time of the album. The lyricist(s) and composer(s) of 50 % or more of a score of a new recording are eligible for an Award if any previous recording of said score has not been nominated in this category.
Kimberly Akimbo
John Clancy, David Stone & Jeanine Tesori, producers; Jeanine Tesori, composer; David Lindsay-Abaire, lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)
Parade
Micaela Diamond, Alex Joseph Grayson, Jake Pedersen & Ben Platt, principal vocalists; Jason Robert Brown & Jeffrey Lesser, producers; Jason Robert Brown, composer & lyricist (2023 Broadway Cast)
Shucked
Brandy Clark, Jason Howland, Shane McAnally & Billy Jay Stein, producers; Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)
Some Like It Hot
Christian Borle, J. Harrison Ghee, Adrianna Hicks & NaTasha Yvette Williams, principal vocalists; Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Bryan Carter, Scott M. Riesett, Charlie Rosen & Marc Shaiman, producers; Scott Wittman, lyricist; Marc Shaiman, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Annaleigh Ashford & Josh Groban, principal vocalists; Thomas Kail & Alex Lacamoire, producers (Stephen Sondheim, composer & lyricist) (2023 Broadway Cast)
Field 5: Country & American Roots Music
38. Best Country Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo country recordings.
In Your Love
Tyler Childers
Buried
Brandy Clark
Fast Car
Luke Combs
The Last Thing On My Mind
Dolly Parton
White Horse
Chris Stapleton
39. Best Country Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative country recordings.
High Note
Dierks Bentley Featuring Billy Strings
Nobody's Nobody
Brothers Osborne
I Remember Everything
Zach Bryan Featuring Kacey Musgraves
Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)
Vince Gill & Paul Franklin
Save Me
Jelly Roll With Lainey Wilson
We Don't Fight Anymore
Carly Pearce Featuring Chris Stapleton
40. Best Country Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Buried
Brandy Clark & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters (Brandy Clark)
I Remember Everything
Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Zach Bryan Featuring Kacey Musgraves)
In Your Love
Tyler Childers & Geno Seale, songwriters (Tyler Childers)
Last Night
John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak, songwriters (Morgan Wallen)
White Horse
Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Chris Stapleton)
41. Best Country Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new country recordings.
Rolling Up The Welcome Mat
Kelsea Ballerini
Brothers Osborne
Brothers Osborne
Zach Bryan
Zach Bryan
Rustin' In The Rain
Tyler Childers
Bell Bottom Country
Lainey Wilson
42. Best American Roots Performance
For new vocal or instrumental American Roots recordings. This is for performances in the style of any of the subgenres encompassed in the American Roots Music field including bluegrass, blues, folk or regional roots. Award to the artist(s).
Butterfly
Jon Batiste
Heaven Help Us All
The Blind Boys Of Alabama
Inventing The Wheel
Madison Cunningham
You Louisiana Man
Rhiannon Giddens
Eve Was Black
Allison Russell
43. Best Americana Performance
For new vocal or instrumental Americana performance. Award to the artist(s).
Friendship
The Blind Boys Of Alabama
Help Me Make It Through The Night
Tyler Childers
Dear Insecurity
Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile
King Of Oklahoma
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
The Returner
Allison Russell
44. Best American Roots Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Americana, bluegrass, traditional blues, contemporary blues, folk or regional roots songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Blank Page
Michael Trotter Jr. & Tanya Trotter, songwriters (The War And Treaty)
California Sober
Aaron Allen, William Apostol & Jon Weisberger, songwriters (Billy Strings Featuring Willie Nelson)
Cast Iron Skillet
Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit)
Dear Insecurity
Brandy Clark & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile)
The Returner
Drew Lindsay, JT Nero & Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)
45. Best Americana Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Americana recordings.
Brandy Clark
Brandy Clark
The Chicago Sessions
Rodney Crowell
You're The One
Rhiannon Giddens
Weathervanes
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
The Returner
Allison Russell
46. Best Bluegrass Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental bluegrass recordings.
Radio John: Songs of John Hartford
Sam Bush
Lovin' Of The Game
Michael Cleveland
Mighty Poplar
Mighty Poplar
Bluegrass
Willie Nelson
Me/And/Dad
Billy Strings
City Of Gold
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
47. Best Traditional Blues Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental traditional blues recordings.
Ridin'
Eric Bibb
The Soul Side Of Sipp
Mr. Sipp
Life Don't Miss Nobody
Tracy Nelson
Teardrops For Magic Slim Live At Rosa's Lounge
John Primer
All My Love For You
Bobby Rush
48. Best Contemporary Blues Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental contemporary blues recordings.
Death Wish Blues
Samantha Fish And Jesse Dayton
Healing Time
Ruthie Foster
Live In London
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
Blood Harmony
Larkin Poe
LaVette!
Bettye LaVette
49. Best Folk Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental folk recordings.
Traveling Wildfire
Dom Flemons
I Only See The Moon
The Milk Carton Kids
Joni Mitchell At Newport [Live]
Joni Mitchell
Celebrants
Nickel Creek
Jubilee
Old Crow Medicine Show
Seven Psalms
Paul Simon
Folkocracy
Rufus Wainwright
50. Best Regional Roots Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental regional roots music recordings.
New Beginnings
Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band
Live At The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers
Live: Orpheum Theater Nola
Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
Made In New Orleans
New Breed Brass Band
Too Much To Hold
New Orleans Nightcrawlers
Live At The Maple Leaf
The Rumble Featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.
Field 6: Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music
51. Best Gospel Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best traditional Christian, roots gospel or contemporary gospel single or track.
God Is Good
Stanley Brown Featuring Hezekiah Walker, Kierra Sheard & Karen Clark Sheard; Stanley Brown, Karen V Clark Sheard, Kaylah Jiavanni Harvey, Rodney Jerkins, Elyse Victoria Johnson, J Drew Sheard II, Kierra Valencia Sheard & Hezekiah Walker, songwriters
Feel Alright (Blessed)
Erica Campbell; Erica Campbell, Warryn Campbell, William Weatherspoon, Juan Winans & Marvin L. Winans, songwriters
Lord Do It For Me (Live)
Zacardi Cortez; Marcus Calyen, Zacardi Cortez & Kerry Douglas, songwriters
God Is
Melvin Crispell III
All Things
Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, songwriter
52. Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best contemporary Christian music single or track, (including pop, rap/hip-hop, Latin, or rock.)
Believe
Blessing Offor; Hank Bentley & Blessing Offor, songwriters
Firm Foundation (He Won't) [Live]
Cody Carnes
Thank God I Do
Lauren Daigle; Lauren Daigle & Jason Ingram, songwriters
Love Me Like I Am
for KING & COUNTRY Featuring Jordin Sparks
Your Power
Lecrae & Tasha Cobbs Leonard
God Problems
Maverick City Music, Chandler Moore & Naomi Raine; Daniel Bashta, Chris Davenport, Ryan Ellis & Naomi Raine, songwriters
53. Best Gospel Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings.
I Love You
Erica Campbell
Hymns (Live)
Tasha Cobbs Leonard
The Maverick Way
Maverick City Music
My Truth
Jonathan McReynolds
All Things New: Live In Orlando
Tye Tribbett
54. Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, contemporary Christian music, including pop, rap/hip hop, Latin, or rock recordings.
My Tribe
Blessing Offor
Emanuel
Da' T.R.U.T.H.
Lauren Daigle
Lauren Daigle
Church Clothes 4
Lecrae
I Believe
Phil Wickham
55. Best Roots Gospel Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional/roots gospel music, including country, Southern gospel, bluegrass, and Americana recordings.
Tribute To The King
The Blackwood Brothers Quartet
Echoes Of The South
Blind Boys Of Alabama
Songs That Pulled Me Through The Tough Times
Becky Isaacs Bowman
Meet Me At The Cross
Brian Free & Assurance
Shine: The Darker The Night The Brighter The Light
Gaither Vocal Band
Field 7: Latin, Global, Reggae & New Age, Ambient, or Chant
56. Best Latin Pop Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Latin pop recordings.
La Cuarta Hoja
Pablo Alborán
Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1
AleMor
A Ciegas
Paula Arenas
La Neta
Pedro Capó
Don Juan
Maluma
X Mí (Vol. 1)
Gaby Moreno
57. Best Música Urbana Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Música Urbana recordings.
SATURNO
Rauw Alejandro
MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO
Karol G
DATA
Tainy
58. Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Latin rock or alternative recordings.
MARTÍNEZ
Cabra
Leche De Tigre
Diamante Eléctrico
Vida Cotidiana
Juanes
De Todas Las Flores
Natalia Lafourcade
EADDA9223
Fito Paez
59. Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano)
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new regional Mexican (banda, norteño, corridos, gruperos, mariachi, ranchera and Tejano) recordings.
Bordado A Mano
Ana Bárbara
La Sánchez
Lila Downs
Motherflower
Flor De Toloache
Amor Como En Las Películas De Antes
Lupita Infante
GÉNESIS
Peso Pluma
60. Best Tropical Latin Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new tropical Latin recordings.
Siembra: 45º Aniversario (En Vivo en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico, 14 de Mayo 2022)
Rubén Blades Con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Voy A Ti
Luis Figueroa
Niche Sinfónico
Grupo Niche Y Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia
VIDA
Omara Portuondo
MIMY & TONY
Tony Succar, Mimy Succar
Escalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así
Carlos Vives
61. Best Global Music Performance
For new vocal or instrumental Global music recordings.
Shadow Forces
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily
Alone
Burna Boy
FEEL
Davido
Milagro Y Disastre
Silvana Estrada
Abundance In Millets
Falu & Gaurav Shah (Featuring PM Narendra Modi)
Pashto
Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia
Todo Colores
Ibrahim Maalouf Featuring Cimafunk & Tank And The Bangas
62. Best African Music Performance
Amapiano
ASAKE & Olamide
City Boys
Burna Boy
UNAVAILABLE
Davido Featuring Musa Keys
Rush
Ayra Starr
Water
Tyla
63. Best Global Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Global Music recordings.
Epifanías
Susana Baca
History
Bokanté
I Told Them...
Burna Boy
Timeless
Davido
This Moment
Shakti
64. Best Reggae Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new reggae recordings.
Born For Greatness
Buju Banton
Simma
Beenie Man
Cali Roots Riddim 2023
Collie Buddz
No Destroyer
Burning Spear
Colors Of Royal
Julian Marley & Antaeus
65. Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental new age recordings.
Aquamarine
Kirsten Agresta-Copely
Moments Of Beauty
Omar Akram
Some Kind Of Peace (Piano Reworks)
Ólafur Arnalds
Ocean Dreaming Ocean
David Darling & Hans Christian
So She Howls
Carla Patullo Featuring Tonality And The Scorchio Quartet
Field 8: Children's, Comedy, Audio Books, Visual Media & Music Video/Film
66. Best Children's Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new musical or spoken word recordings that are created and intended specifically for children.
Ahhhhh!
Andrew & Polly
Ancestars
Pierce Freelon & Nnenna Freelon
Hip Hope For Kids!
DJ Willy Wow!
Taste The Sky
Uncle Jumbo
We Grow Together Preschool Songs
123 Andrés
67. Best Comedy Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new recordings.
I Wish You Would
Trevor Noah
I'm An Entertainer
Wanda Sykes
Selective Outrage
Chris Rock
Someone You Love
Sarah Silverman
What's In A Name?
Dave Chappelle
68. Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording
Big Tree
Meryl Streep
Boldly Go: Reflections On A Life Of Awe And Wonder
William Shatner
The Creative Act: A Way Of Being
Rick Rubin
It's Ok To Be Angry About Capitalism
Senator Bernie Sanders
The Light We Carry: Overcoming In Uncertain Times
Michelle Obama
69. Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
Award to the principal artist(s) and/or 'in studio' producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album. In the absence of both, award to the one or two individuals proactively responsible for the concept and musical direction of the album and for the selection of artists, songs and producers, as applicable. Award also goes to appropriately credited music supervisor(s).
AURORA
(Daisy Jones & The Six)
Barbie The Album
(Various Artists)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Music From And Inspired By
(Various Artists)
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3: Awesome Mix, Vol. 3
(Various Artists)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Weird Al Yankovic
70. Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television)
Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, a current legitimate motion picture, television show or series, or other visual media.
Barbie
Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, composers
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Ludwig Göransson, composer
The Fabelmans
John Williams, composer
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
John Williams, composer
Oppenheimer
Ludwig Göransson, composer
71. Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media
Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, video games and other interactive media.
Call Of Duty®: Modern Warfare II
Sarah Schachner, composer
God Of War Ragnarök
Bear McCreary, composer
Hogwarts Legacy
Peter Murray, J Scott Rakozy & Chuck E. Myers "Sea", composers
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Stephen Barton & Gordy Haab, composers
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical
Jess Serro, Tripod & Austin Wintory, composers
72. Best Song Written For Visual Media
A Songwriter(s) award. For a song (melody & lyrics) written specifically for a motion picture, television, video games or other visual media, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
Barbie World [From "Barbie The Album"]
Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Featuring Aqua)
Dance The Night [From "Barbie The Album"]
Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
I'm Just Ken [From "Barbie The Album"]
Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Ryan Gosling)
Lift Me Up [From "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Music From And Inspired By"]
Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Robyn Fenty & Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Rihanna)
What Was I Made For? [From "Barbie The Album"]
Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
73. Best Music Video
Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.
I'm Only Sleeping
(The Beatles)
Em Cooper, video director; Jonathan Clyde, Sophie Hilton, Sue Loughlin & Laura Thomas, video producers
In Your Love
Tyler Childers
Bryan Schlam, video director; Kacie Barton, Silas House, Nicholas Robespierre, Ian Thornton & Whitney Wolanin, video producers
What Was I Made For
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish, video director; Michelle An, Chelsea Dodson & David Moore, video producers
Count Me Out
Kendrick Lamar
Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar, video directors; Jason Baum & Jamie Rabineau, video producers
Rush
Troye Sivan
Gordon Von Steiner, video director; Kelly McGee, video producer
74. Best Music Film
For concert/performance films or music documentaries. Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.
Moonage Daydream
(David Bowie)
Brett Morgen, video director; Brett Morgen, video producer
How I'm Feeling Now
Lewis Capaldi
Joe Pearlman, video director; Sam Bridger, Isabel Davis & Alice Rhodes, video producers
Live From Paris, The Big Steppers Tour
Kendrick Lamar
Mike Carson, Dave Free & Mark Ritchie, video directors; Cornell Brown, Debra Davis, Jared Heinke & Jamie Rabineau, video producers
I Am Everything
(Little Richard)
Lisa Cortés, video director; Caryn Capotosto, Lisa Cortés, Robert Friedman & Liz Yale Marsh, video producers
Dear Mama
(Tupac Shakur)
Allen Hughes, video director; Joshua Garcia, Loren Gomez, James Jenkins & Stef Smith, video producers
Field 9: Package, Notes & Historical
75. Best Recording Package
The Art Of Forgetting
Caroline Rose, art director (Caroline Rose)
Cadenza 21'
Hsing-Hui Cheng, art director (Ensemble Cadenza 21')
Electrophonic Chronic
Perry Shall, art director (The Arcs)
Gravity Falls
Iam8bit, art director (Brad Breeck)
Migration
Yu Wei, art director (Leaf Yeh)
Stumpwork
Luke Brooks & James Theseus Buck, art directors (Dry Cleaning)
76. Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package
The Collected Works Of Neutral Milk Hotel
Jeff Mangum, Daniel Murphy & Mark Ohe, art directors (Neutral Milk Hotel)
For The Birds: The Birdsong Project
Jeri Heiden & John Heiden, art directors (Various Artists)
Gieo
Duy Dao, art director (Ngot)
Inside: Deluxe Box Set
Bo Burnham & Daniel Calderwood, art directors (Bo Burnham)
Words & Music, May 1965 - Deluxe Edition
Masaki Koike, art director (Lou Reed)
77. Best Album Notes
Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy (Live)
Ashley Kahn, album notes writer (John Coltrane & Eric Dolphy)
I Can Almost See Houston: The Complete Howdy Glenn
Scott B. Bomar, album notes writer (Howdy Glenn)
Mogadishu's Finest: The Al Uruba Sessions
Vik Sohonie, album notes writer (Iftin Band)
Playing For The Man At The Door: Field Recordings From The Collection Of Mack McCormick, 1958–1971
Jeff Place & John Troutman, album notes writers (Various Artists)
Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos
Robert Gordon & Deanie Parker, album notes writers (Various Artists)
78. Best Historical Album
Fragments – Time Out Of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series, Vol. 17
Steve Berkowitz & Jeff Rosen, compilation producers; Steve Addabbo, Greg Calbi, Steve Fallone, Chris Shaw & Mark Wilder, mastering engineers (Bob Dylan)
The Moaninest Moan Of Them All: The Jazz Saxophone of Loren McMurray, 1920-1922 Colin Hancock, Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Richard Martin, mastering engineer; Richard Martin, restoration engineer (Various Artists)
Playing For The Man At The Door: Field Recordings From The Collection Of Mack McCormick, 1958–1971
Jeff Place & John Troutman, compilation producers; Randy LeRoy & Charlie Pilzer, mastering engineers; Mike Petillo & Charlie Pilzer, restoration engineers (Various Artists)
Words & Music, May 1965 - Deluxe Edition
Laurie Anderson, Don Fleming, Jason Stern, Matt Sulllivan & Hal Willner, compilation producers; John Baldwin, mastering engineer; John Baldwin, restoration engineer (Lou Reed)
Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos
Robert Gordon, Deanie Parker, Cheryl Pawelski, Michele Smith & Mason Williams, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer; Michael Graves, restoration engineer (Various Artists)
Field 10: Production, Engineering, Composition & Arrangement
79. Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
An Engineer's Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)
Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Macks Faulkron, Daniel Harle, Caroline Polachek & Geoff Swan, engineers; Mike Bozzi & Chris Gehringer, mastering engineers (Caroline Polachek)
History
Nic Hard, engineer; Dave McNair, mastering engineer (Bokanté)
JAGUAR II
John Kercy, Kyle Mann, Victoria Monét, Patrizio "Teezio" Pigliapoco, Neal H Pogue & Todd Robinson, engineers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer (Victoria Monét)
Multitudes
Michael Harris, Robbie Lackritz, Joseph Lorge & Blake Mills, engineers (Feist)
The Record
Owen Lantz, Will Maclellan, Catherine Marks, Mike Mogis, Bobby Mota, Kaushlesh "Garry" Purohit & Sarah Tudzin, engineers; Pat Sullivan, mastering engineer (boygenius)
80. Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer's Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
The Blue Hour
Patrick Dillett, Mitchell Graham, Jesse Lewis, Kyle Pyke, Andrew Scheps & John Weston, engineers; Helge Sten, mastering engineer (Shara Nova & A Far Cry)
Contemporary American Composers
David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Fandango
Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel, Anne Akiko Meyers, Gustavo Castillo & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Sanlikol: A Gentleman Of Istanbul - Symphony For Strings, Percussion, Piano, Oud, Ney & Tenor
Christopher Moretti & John Weston, engineers; Shauna Barravecchio & Jesse Lewis, mastering engineers (Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, George Lernis & A Far Cry)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Schulhoff: Five Pieces
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Field 10: Production, Engineering, Composition & Arrangement
81. Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer's Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
David Frost
The American Project (Yuja Wang, Teddy Abrams, Louisville Orchestra) (A)
Arc II - Ravel, Brahms, Shostakovich (Orion Weiss) (A)
Blanchard: Champion (Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Latonia Moore, Ryan Speedo Green, Eric Owens, Stephanie Blythe, Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra) (A)
Contemporary American Composers (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra) (A)
The Guitar Player (Mattias Schulstad) (A)
Mysterium (Anne Akiko Meyers, Grant Gershon & Los Angeles Master Chorale) (A)
Verdi: Rigoletto (Daniele Rustioni, Piotr Beczala, Quinn Kelsey, Rosa Feola, Varduhi Abrahamyan, Andrea Mastroni, The Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra) (A)
Morten Lindberg
An Old Hall Ladymass (Catalina Vicens & Trio Mediæval) (A)
Thoresen: Lyden Av Arktis - La Terra Meravigliosa (Christian Kluxen & Arktisk Filharmoni) (A)
The Trondheim Concertos (Sigurd Imsen & Baroque Ensemble Of The Trondheim Symphony Orchestra) (A)
Yggdrasil (Tove Ramlo-Ystad & Cantus) (A)
Dmitriy Lipay
Adès: Dante (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic) (A) Fandango (Gustavo Dudamel, Anne Akiko Meyers & Los Angeles Philharmonic) (A)
Price: Symphony No. 4; Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony (Yannick Nézet-Séguin & Philadelphia Orchestra) (A)
Rachmaninoff: The Piano Concertos & Paganini Rhapsody (Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic) (A)
Walker: Lyric For Strings; Folksongs For Orchestra; Lilacs For Voice & Orchestra; Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony (Asher Fisch & Seattle Symphony) (A)
Elaine Martone
Ascenso (Santiago Cañón-Valencia) (A)
Berg: Three Pieces From Lyric Suite; Strauss: Suite From Der Rosenkavalier (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
Between Breaths (Third Coast Percussion) (A)
Difficult Grace (Seth Parker Woods) (A)
Man Up / Man Down (Constellation Men's Ensemble) (A)
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
Rachmaninoff & Gershwin: Transcriptions By Earl Wild (John Wilson) (A)
Sirventés - Music From The Iranian Female Composers Association (Brian Thornton, Katherine Bormann, Alicia Koelz, Eleisha Nelson, Amahl Arulanadam & Nathan Petipas) (A)
Walker: Antifonys; Lilacs; Sinfonias Nos. 4 & 5 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
Brian Pidgeon
Fuchs: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (John Wilson & Sinfonia Of London) (A)
Music For Strings (John Wilson & Sinfonia Of London) (A)
Nielsen: Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 4 (James Ehnes, Edward Gardner & Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra) (A)
Pierre Sancan - A Musical Tribute (Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Yan Pascal Tortelier & BBC Philharmonic) (A)
Poulenc: Orchestral Works (Bramwell Tovey & BBC Concert Orchestra) (A)
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3; Voclaise; The Isle Of The Dead (John Wilson & Sinfonia Of London) (A)
Schubert: Symphonies, Vol. 3 (Edward Gardner & City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) (A)
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 12 & 15 (John Storgårds & BBC Philharmonic) (A)
Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Works (Alpesh Chauhan & BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra) (A)
82. Best Remixed Recording
(A Remixer's Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses for identification.) Singles or Tracks only.)
Alien Love Call
BADBADNOTGOOD, remixers (Turnstile & BADBADNOTGOOD Featuring Blood Orange)
New Gold (Dom Dolla Remix)
Dom Dolla, remixer (Gorillaz Featuring Tame Impala & Bootie Brown)
Reviver (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, remixer (Lane 8)
Wagging Tongue (Wet Leg Remix)
Wet Leg, remixers (Depeche Mode)
Workin' Hard (Terry Hunter Remix)
Terry Hunter, remixer (Mariah Carey)
83. Best Immersive Audio Album
For vocal or instrumental albums in any genre. Must be commercially released for physical sale or on an eligible streaming or download service and must provide a new immersive mix of four or more channels. Award to the immersive mix engineer, immersive producer (if any) and immersive mastering engineer (if any).
Act 3 (Immersive Edition)
Ryan Ulyate, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Ryan Ulyate, immersive producer (Ryan Ulyate)
Blue Clear Sky
Chuck Ainlay, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Chuck Ainlay, immersive producer (George Strait)
The Diary Of Alicia Keys
George Massenburg & Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineers; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Alicia Keys & Ann Mincieli, immersive producers (Alicia Keys)
God Of War Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack)
Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Kellogg Boynton, Peter Scaturro & Herbert Waltl, immersive producers (Bear McCreary)
Silence Between Songs
Aaron Short, immersive mastering engineer (Madison Beer)
84. Best Instrumental Composition
A Composer's Award for an original composition (not an adaptation) first released during the Eligibility Year. Singles or Tracks only.
Amerikkan Skin
Lakecia Benjamin, composer (Lakecia Benjamin Featuring Angela Davis)
Can You Hear The Music
Ludwig Göransson, composer (Ludwig Göransson)
Cutey And The Dragon
Gordon Goodwin & Raymond Scott, composers (Quartet San Francisco Featuring Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band)
Helena's Theme
John Williams, composer (John Williams)
Motion
Edgar Meyer, composer (Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia)
85. Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
An Arranger's Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Angels We Have Heard On High
Nkosilathi Emmanuel Sibanda, arranger (Just 6)
Can You Hear The Music
Ludwig Göransson, arranger (Ludwig Göransson)
Folsom Prison Blues
John Carter Cash, Tommy Emmanuel, Markus Illko, Janet Robin & Roberto Luis Rodriguez, arrangers (The String Revolution Featuring Tommy Emmanuel)
I Remember Mingus
Hilario Duran, arranger (Hilario Duran And His Latin Jazz Big Band Featuring Paquito D'Rivera)
Paint It Black
Esin Aydingoz, Chris Bacon & Alana Da Fonseca, arrangers (Wednesday Addams)
86. Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
An Arranger's Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
April In Paris
Gordon Goodwin, arranger (Patti Austin Featuring Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band)
Com Que Voz (Live)
John Beasley & Maria Mendes, arrangers (Maria Mendes Featuring John Beasley & Metropole Orkest)
Fenestra
Godwin Louis, arranger (Cécile McLorin Salvant)
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
Erin Bentlage, Jacob Collier, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick & Amanda Taylor, arrangers (säje Featuring Jacob Collier)
Lush Life
Kendric McCallister, arranger (Samara Joy)
Field 11: Classical
87. Best Orchestral Performance
Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.
Adès: Dante
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Bartók: Concerto For Orchestra; Four Pieces
Karina Canellakis, conductor (Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra)
Price: Symphony No. 4; Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)
Scriabin: Symphony No. 2; The Poem Of Ecstasy
JoAnn Falletta, conductor (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra)
Stravinsky: The Rite Of Spring
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
88. Best Opera Recording
Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists, and to the Composer and Librettist (if applicable) of a world premiere Opera recording only.
Blanchard: Champion
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Ryan Speedo Green, Latonia Moore & Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
Corigliano: The Lord Of Cries
Gil Rose, conductor; Anthony Roth Costanzo, Kathryn Henry, Jarrett Ott & David Portillo; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project & Odyssey Opera Chorus)
Little: Black Lodge
Timur; Andrew McKenna Lee & David T. Little, producers (The Dime Museum; Isaura String Quartet)
89. Best Choral Performance
Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
Carols After A Plague
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
The House Of Belonging
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Miró Quartet; Conspirare)
Ligeti: Lux Aeterna
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (San Francisco Symphony Chorus)
Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil
Steven Fox, conductor (The Clarion Choir)
Saariaho: Reconnaissance
Nils Schweckendiek, conductor (Uusinta Ensemble; Helsinki Chamber Choir)
90. Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
American Stories
Anthony McGill & Pacifica Quartet
Beethoven For Three: Symphony No. 6, 'Pastorale' And Op. 1, No. 3
Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax & Leonidas Kavakos
Between Breaths
Third Coast Percussion
Rough Magic
Roomful Of Teeth
Uncovered, Vol. 3: Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, William Grant Still & George Walker
Catalyst Quartet
Field 11: Classical
91. Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
Adams, John Luther: Darkness And Scattered Light
Robert Black
Akiho: Cylinders
Andy Akiho
The American Project
Yuja Wang; Teddy Abrams, conductor (Louisville Orchestra)
Difficult Grace
Seth Parker Woods
Of Love
Curtis Stewart
92. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with greater than 50% playing time of new material.
Because
Reginald Mobley, soloist; Baptiste Trotignon, pianist
Broken Branches
Karim Sulayman, soloist; Sean Shibe, accompanist
40@40
Laura Strickling, soloist; Daniel Schlosberg, pianist
Rising
Lawrence Brownlee, soloist; Kevin J. Miller, pianist
Walking In The Dark
Julia Bullock, soloist; Christian Reif, conductor (Philharmonia Orchestra)
93. Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 50% playing time of the album, and to the Composer and Librettist (if applicable) with over 50% playing time of a world premiere recording only.
Fandango
Anne Akiko Meyers; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Dmitriy Lipay, producer
Julius Eastman, Vol. 3: If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?
Christopher Rountree, conductor; Lewis Pesacov, producer
Mazzoli: Dark With Excessive Bright
Peter Herresthal; Tim Weiss, conductor; Hans Kipfer, producer
Passion For Bach And Coltrane
Alex Brown, Harlem Quartet, Imani Winds, Edward Perez, Neal Smith & A.B. Spellman; Silas Brown & Mark Dover, producers
Sardinia
Chick Corea; Chick Corea & Bernie Kirsh, producers
Sculptures
Andy Akiho; Andy Akiho & Sean Dixon, producers
Zodiac Suite
Aaron Diehl Trio & The Knights; Eric Jacobsen, conductor; Aaron Diehl & Eric Jacobsen, producers
94. Best Contemporary Classical Composition
A Composer's Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
Adès: Dante
Thomas Adès, composer (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Akiho: In That Space, At That Time
Andy Akiho, composer (Andy Akiho, Ankush Kumar Bahl & Omaha Symphony)
Brittelle: Psychedelics
William Brittelle, composer (Roomful Of Teeth)
Mazzoli: Dark With Excessive Bright
Missy Mazzoli, composer (Peter Herresthal, James Gaffigan & Bergen Philharmonic)
Montgomery: Rounds
Jessie Montgomery, composer (Awadagin Pratt, A Far Cry & Roomful Of Teeth)
Featured
ROCK THIS WHEN HEADING OUT TO SNOWBOARD WITH FRIENDS
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see ROCK THIS WHEN HEADING OUT TO SHOWBOARD WITH FRIENDS in mag.
Featured
THE PICK ME UP
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see THE PICK ME UP in mag.
Featured
VITAMIN C BEAUTY
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see Vitamin C Beauty in mag.
Featured
#TRIBEGOALS
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see #TRIBEGOALS in mag.
Featured
ATHLEISURE MAG ISSUE #97 | MARIA STEN
In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with actor and writer, Maria Sten! We talk about about how being a model, dancer, Miss Denmark 2008 winner and competing for her country for Miss Universe were part of her journey to writing for ABC's Big Sky, voice work in QCODE's Narcissa, and starring as Frances Neagley on Prime Video's Reacher which is streaming it's second season now on the platform and is currently in production for its 3rd season. We talk about how she maintains her creativity, what stories speak to her and more. We had a great time hanging out with Maria on set where we shot her photoshoot at il Pellicano and Bijoux Lounge. We have a great interview about both of these locations so that you can plan your next night out when you're heading to NoLita.
This month, we caught up with STARZ's Hightown which is in its final season. We talked with Creater, Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer Rebecca Cutter as well as castmates Dohn Norwood and Atkins Estimond. We talk about how they approached the series, what they hope fans walk away with, and upcoming projects.
We also talked with Beto Montenegro, lead singer of RAWAYANA to talk about the group, how they stay inspired, their tour, and more.
We've been in the flow of Awards Season since the beginning of the year and took some time to talk with Charles Joly, DIAGEO Reserve World Class Award Winning Mixologist who poured Johnnie Walker Blue Label as the Official Spirits Partner of the 75th Emmy Awards. He talked about how he got into the industry, how he approaches his craft, and how he prepared for this mega red carpet moment.
We also talked with Isabelle Carramaschi, SVP Kiehl's and Andrew Way Marketing VP of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to talk about both of these brands, their heritage, why they are partnering with one another and more.
It's that time of year when you may be thinking of purchasing statement jewelry for yourself whether it's part of your everyday, a gift for yourself, or even if you're thinking about engagement rings. With that in mine, we talked with Jerry Taylor of Taylor Custom Rings to find out how he got into the jewelry industry, his passion for diamonds, learning the business, and why he focuses on lab created diamonds. If you've ever been interested in learning more about this category and what you should look for, we cover it all!
This month's The Art of the Snack comes from Chef Guo which is located here in NY at Randolph House. We find out more about this 10 tasting dinner, the menu and how Chef Guo brought his training and love for Chinese cuisine together for this epic experience. This month's Athleisure List comes from Nobu Hotel London Portman Square for an amazing experience that allows guests to enjoy the intersection of food, wellness, and fitness in a Japanese concept known as Shiawase! We also have Pasta that has a noted location in Lima Peru and an upcoming location in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood. We introduce you to the Peruvian husband and wife chef team who are passionate about Italian cuisine!
This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from No Doubt and RAWAYANA. Our 9DRIP comes from pop synth duo, Icona Pop. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from our cover star, Maria Sten. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from our DEC ISSUE #96 cover, WWE HOF, AEW Wrestler, and star of Disney+'s Percy Jackson and The Olympians, Adam Copeland. We also have Japanese rapper, singer/songwriter, producer and entrepreneur Jesse McFaddin who shares his 9LIST STORIES as well. This month's THE 9LIST 9CH3FS and THE 9LIST 9B-L-D comes from Chef Sean Piccaretto of VENTANAS, Chef Yuu Shimano of Restaurant Yuu, and Ashley Schoenith, cookbook author of The Heirloomed Kitchen. Our NEW YEAR, N3W YOU feature has insights from Team USA Soccer Olympic Medalist, Angel City FC, USWNT athlete Christen Press; this month's cover star Maria Sten; RAWAYANA Lead Singer, Beto Montenegro; Cookbook Author, Private Chef, and Entrepreneur, Gaby Dalkin; and BEIS SVP Creative and Brand Liz Money.
Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag here.
Featured
PHOTO CREDITS | ABC The Bachelor Disney/John Fleenor
THE BACHELOR S28. E2. | THE JOURNEY REALLY BEGINS
PHOTO CREDIT | ABC The Bachelor/Gizelle Hernandez
In this 2nd episode of this season, The Bachelor Joey Graziadei is seen playing tennis with Jesse Palmer so we know that he is actually a pro. We also got a cold open that seems a bit intense!
They recap night one to see what everyone thought about their experience with Jesse. He lets them know that it’s all starting now.
Rachel, Taylor, Evalin, Erika, Maria, Lauren, Kelsey T., and Jess are on a group date together that involves the wedding date. They pick out their own dresses and head out to meet Joey. The wedding date is imagining that they are at their own reception and one woman will be able to have a dance with them! Lauren is having a hard time with this date as she is so sad with the passing of her father. Joey picks Rachel as the winner as she did all the activities with him. Michael Bolton sang for their first song and they had a great kiss as well! The group date continues with the after-party
The women get to know him more after their wedding date and they share their feelings so that he can get to know them more.
The ladies at the house hear about the next date which is a 1-on-1 date with Daisy.
Back at the group date, Jess gets the group date rose.
Daisy arrives at the date which includes a helicopter and then a fun music festival where they get to know one another more with food, beverages getting cute shirts. They dance on stage at the festival and Daisy realizes she needs to finally loop him in. She lets him know about her health issues at their dinner. He takes it in and feels that she is impressive with everything that she has been through and he gives her the rose as well.
The remaining women Allison, Chrissa, Edwina, Jenn, Katelyn, Kelsey A, Madina, Starr, are on the group date with him. Jubilee and Demi are The Bachelor alumni who are going to train them emotionally and physically for what’s ahead. The boot camp puts them through the paces as they break a sweat. After their warm-up, they learn that they will do paint balling. Although the blue team wins, only one person gets time with him. He selects Edwina to enjoy the evening date with him. They talk about her upbringing and what drives her and he gives her the date rose.
Maria and Medina have an odd conversation about age and it feels like it’s nonsencial. Lauren eliminated herself out of the house and said maybe she’d see him at Hometowns with her sister!
JOEY GAVE ROSES TO | Alison, Autumn, Chrissa, Daisy, Edwina, Evalin, Jenn, Katelyn, Kelsey A, Kelsey T, Leah, Lexi, Madina, Maria, Rachel, Starr, and Sydney.
JOEY DID NOT GIVE ROSES TO | Erica, Lauren, Marlena, and Taylor
Each night during this season, we will tweet about The Golden Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!
Each week we will let you know who our faves were from the last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.
We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!
WHO WE THINK IS GOING TO HOMETOWNS
PHOTO CREDIT | The Bachelor Contestants/Richard Middlesworth
THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS
Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
Featured TV Show
MAKING HIS MARK | ADAM COPELAND
As we look to close 2023, we're excited to have actor and legendary wrestler Adam Copeland! Many know him as a WWE Hall of Famer who wrestled under the name Edge for a total of 31 championships there and he held the World Heavyweight Championship between 2002 and 2013 7 times as well as the WWE Championship 4 times and a number of accolades while there! This year, he transitioned from WWE to the AEW showing that he continues to be dedicated to his passion and crafstmanship of this sport and doing it in his own name.
His love for wrestling is also shared by acting which is another way to fuel his creativity and dedication. Fans of his have enjoyed him over a number of seasons/episodes of Syfy's Haven, History Channel's Vikings, and a number of movies! Now, you can see him in his latest series Percy Jackson and The Olympians where he portarys Ares, streaming now on Disney+. We wanted to know more about how he got into acting, some of his roles that he has been in, being in the Disney+ series, as well as his phenomenal wrestling career. We caught up with him at home to find out more and you can read his thoughts on 2023 and 2024 in our feature NEW YEAR, N3W YOU!
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you enjoyed wrestling?
ADAM COPELAND: Honestly, it was the first time that I saw it. I distinctly remember that it was Roddy Piper and this was the old black and white TV where you had to turn it with pliers, 3 channels, and one of the channels was CKVR TV from Barrie, Ontario. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was Pacific Northwest Wrestling out of Portland, Oregon. It was Roddy Piper and I still remember the trunks that he was wearing were like a creamy yellow and green tartan design and he smashed a beer bottle over his head. I just remember – my brain couldn’t process what this thing was, like this guy is a maniac, but I can’t take my eyes off of him. It just kind of blew my mind, because I was young and very impressionable, it just struck some kind of strange chord with me. I think it was because it was just this big larger than life kind of thing. I loved comic books – I voraciously read comic books. I love KISS because they were super heroes but you could go see them in concert. They played characters and so wrestling was that! I could go down to Maple Leaf Gardens and I found out where they came into the building so that I could accost them back there and bug them. So it really was from the first time that I saw it.
Then it was diving into it deeper and discovering Hulk Hogan and going, “woah, what is this guy doing?” His eyes and his energy! And then from there, it was the deep dives and discovering why I gravitated towards certain people’s matches. Like why did I always enjoy wrestling? Watching Bret Hart wrestle and then I guess as I got smarter, more educated to what the industry is, that’s when it dawned on me. I was like, “oh, it’s because he’s really great!” Got it!
Savage I mean, you’re looking at the Macho Man – he’s awesome, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, Bob Orton – man, the flood gates were open!
AM: I grew up in Indianapolis and went to school at Indiana University, and we’d have our friends in our dorm watching the matches before we went out or after studying and I remember when I first saw you in the ring and it was explosive!
AC: That was the guy liner phase!
AM: Obviously you’ve dominated in your career as wrestler without a doubt.
My mom was a huge Highlander fan and I am as well. Seeing you in Endgame was great to see. When did you realize that you wanted to pursue acting?
AC: It was never on my radar honestly. It really wasn’t. The Highlander thing was just that WWF at the time said, “hey, there’s a small role in the next Highlander movie. It films in Bucharest. Do you want to go?” I said, yeah sure. It sounded like fun, it seemed like an experience and I had never been to Bucharest. That’s really all that was, but my entire goal as early as I can remember wanting to have a career, I wanted my career to be wrestling.
The acting thing was always like if something popped up, sure cool. It wasn’t until I was forced to retire in 2011 and then it serendipitously landed in my lap again and it was the Executive Producers of a show called Haven saw my retirement speech and they said that they were in tears. So they said that they wanted a tie into wrestling and a tie in to SmackDown and they said, “can we get that guy, he just retired?” A week later, I was up in Halifax filming and 1 episode became 41.
And in that process I realized, ok this still taps into that creative vein. And that’s the way that I am wired. I like to create. I like to tell stories. So whether that's writing or whatever it is. So I really really enjoyed the process. I really started diving into that because wrestling was off the table. So it was like, if my first love is off the table, all of these things come off of the same tree. It’s just different branches on where you go to on this or over on this one. So once I understood that I enjoyed this process and wrapped my mind around the differences too. With wrestling, I equate it to maybe standup or a band with a setlist that they change all of the time. You play off of and read off of your audience. It’s a really, really amazing thing. What I had to get used to in terms of acting was thinking that a take I did which was really, really good – and then they may not use that one.
AM: That’s true.
AC: Then a year and a half later, you see what takes they use and you look at it and say it’s interesting. I had to wrap my mind around that.
AM: Especially since you can work with one director and they think that that was amazing, but the next director or producer wants and looks for something that’s completely different.
AC: Entirely different! I pretty quickly learned too that if a director has an idea, my job is to try and bring that vision. It’s not really my vision because I can have a certain way that I think that I am going to do things, but on the day, it can be entirely different from the set up, the angles, and all of those things. The director is going to get the shot that he or she wants so you mght as well try and dive in with them to get it!
AM: I really enjoyed Vikings! What drew you to that show?
AC: It was my favorite television show. I loved Vikings. I’d sit down, I’d watch Vikings. I was on Haven for gosh, the first 4 seasons and Vikings was in production then. So once I wrapped with Haven and the show ended, I said to my manager that we needed to keep an eye out for Vikings because if something came along there, I wanted to try to pounce on that. An audition came along for it and again, it was kind of like Haven where the character was only supposed to be in 4 episodes and then before I knew it, Michael Hirst (Elizabeth, The Tudors, Vikings: Valhalla) who is the creator and the writer who wrote all of the episodes, he said we need to write more for Kjetill and I said, I’m in.
AM: I love that show and my sister and I watched a number of episodes together.
AC: I loved it too! I can’t show the girls that one, but I really loved that show. I loved the challenge of a period piece, accents, drama, and those were all things that I hadn’t delved into before. So that was super exciting, the challenge aspect of it, because I love a challenge. I would get my scripts and phonetically write everything out. Ok, there’s a hard ‘s’ here, it’s not ‘is’ it’s ‘sss’ and then I would run my lines. So it became second nature and by the end, I didn’t even think about it and I would end up talking like that in between takes.
AM: Percy Jackson and The Olympians is streaming now on Disney+. What drew you to this 8 episode series? How did you get attached to the project?
AC: So, when the books first came out, I was on the grind. 220 shows a year which means you’re generally on the road 250 days a year. So from the years of 1999 – 2011, I didn’t catch a lot of what was happening in terms of social media and mass media. It all kind of flew by me. So I didn’t fully grasp how huge the books were and I’m kind of glad that I didn’t. Because the audition came through and I was like, “oh Percy Jackson – that could be interesting, ok.” I thought that they had made a couple of movies and that was the extent of my knowledge. So I read for the part and I sort of went, “oh, ok this guy, I think that I know this guy.” I found the comedic beats in it. So I wore one of my Edge/Adam Copeland vests and I wore my Andre the Giant T-Shirts cut off. I have never dressed up for an audition in my life, but I thought, what the heck? I shaved my own head, I had my own little mohawk and I read for it and had a lot of fun with it. It was really funny but Beth said, you had a lot of fun with that and I feel like you found that guy. I agreed, but then you have to throw it away because once an audition is done, you have to stop thinking about it. You can’t dwell. About a month and a half, maybe 2 months later, my manager said, the Executive Producers of Percy Jackson want to do a Zoom. I was like, ok and I was trying to remember when I had read for that. I forgot. Then, sure enough, they were like, “when you get out to Vancouver, -“ that’s when I realized that I had got the part! I told them that I was still wrestling for WWE and they said it didn’t matter and that they would figure it out.
AM: Wait, what?
AC: Yeah, that’s unheard of! I guess they had seen my audition and thought, "he's the Ares that I pictured when I wrote him.” That was a huge boost of confidence too.
I hadn’t read the books yet, but I had found the voice of this character in just reading the sides. That was super fun and then I read the books. I was like, “oh man, these are awesome!” Then learning that over 180 million copies worldwide were sold and it made me really glad that I didn’t fully dive into that knowledge before I read it. I mean I think it would have felt like a different kind of pressure I guess!
AM: Of course! It would be like stepping into Harry Potter without having the awareness of the weight of that franchise and then finding out after being in it.
AC: Oh yeah! Even when I got out to set and realized just the scope and the magnitude of this world, it was really really kind of jaw dropping. But it was such a blast and having seen – as I have only seen the first 2 episodes as well, but I watched them with my little girls who are 7 and 10, they have now watched it 3 times. They absolutely love it and watching it with them and seeing how they react and how much of a smile it has brought to their faces already, I am so proud to be a small cog in this giant machine to bring this thing to screen because seeing the kids reactions have been so massive and so much fun for me especially at this stage in my life, 50 years old, 2 kids and this is something that they can watch. I’m so proud to be part of it. The quality of it, it’s such a good show.
AM: How much can you say about the show as some people who are not reading this may not have seen this yet. What can you say in terms of the backstory? Also, we know who Ares is, but how are we seeing him as it is portrayed in this series?
AC: This adaptation of Percy is very true to the books. I think that that is something that movies weren’t. I don’t think that Ares was in the movie, but he is essentially the antagonist in the 1st season of this series. So there is a lot of big holes there with him being so heavily involved in this. I think that for the fanbase, they can take some comfort in the knowledge that Rick Riordan (author of the Percy Jackson series). So from a fanbase perspective, that’s huge!
If you’ve never read the books, you can watch it and get it. It explains itself really well, just like the books do. Within the first 3 or 4 pages, you get what’s going on here. It really brought the character traits together. Walker Scobell (The Adam Project, Secret Headquarters, Blood Knot) is so good as Percy. He has just the right amount of charm and sarcasm. The kid is on his way. He is just so good and at his age, he’s 14 now, but when we filmed this, he was still 12 – ridiculous for him to pull off what he was able to pull off. Just ridiculous to watch all 3 of them Leah Jeffries (Empire, Beast, Something From Tiffany’s) and Aryan Simhadri (The Main Event, Spin, Cheaper by the Dozen) and in between takes, they would go to school. Then they’d come back and they would do another take. Or they would do my coverage and then they would go do a lesson. How are they computing all of this? I don’t remember what I had for breakfast and they’re pulling all of this off. I really can’t say enough about all 3 of them and their work ethic and really just the entire crew! It was a really good place to work even in the time that I was there.
In terms of Ares, he’s – I love him, I really do! He’s just acerbic, a little caustic, he’s angry and a little over his head while being all powerful in a way too. It’s fun to play those beats. Because if he was just a god, this omnipotent thing, how much fun is that? Even when I was in Vikings, ok, this guy goes insane. But you can’t just go insane, there needs to be a reason for that. If I can bite into that, Adam Copeland can bite into that, then hopefully, I can pull out some truths for the character.
With Ares, it’s the classic, he’s the child that feels like he should have gotten more attention and now he’s acting out. He just happens to be in a 6’4” 240lb frame and he’s a god and he has a giant sword. It made for a lot of really fun scenes – and scenes that weren’t in the book and that added more depth into the character. My favorite scene that I was involved in takes place in a diner with Grover Underwood (Aryn) and it wasn’t in the books at all, but it was a really, really fun scene to play off of each other with.
AM: The cast as a whole has incredible actors that are in this alongside with you. What did you take away from this whole experience?
AC: I think that more than anything, it was just, I don’t know – to be 50 years old and go, “right, I’m still wrestling – I’m wrestling again and I’m also working for Disney.” What? When I first started this and started training for wrestling at 17 years old, if you had told me that at 50, A – I’d still be wrestling and B – I’d be working for Disney at the same time, I’d have asked you what are you smoking and can you give me some because that sounds amazing.
Sometimes I just sit back. We did the red carpet for the premier last week and I brought the girls and Beth up with me. Just to see the excitement that they had to be involved in this thing and I think that I actually became a cool dad for about a week!
AM: You know, just walking the red carpet with my dad!
AC: I’ll take it, I’ll take it!
AM: I mean I think back to a lot of the things that I did physically when I was younger and being 44 now, there’s no way that I could do the flips and turns that I could do before! The fact that you’re still doing that, I couldn’t imagine it for myself, so I tip my hat to you sir!
AC: Well, a lot less flips for me now ha!
AM: There’s that, but still! But you’re still out there doing it!
AC: I am!
AM: Are there any upcoming projects in terms of acting that we should keep our eye out for?
AC: With the strike, everything just got put on hold. Then, within that strike, I had transitioned from WWE already and went into AEW, so there has been a lot of change, but all for good! My creative spark has really – not that it wasn’t lit before, but now it’s like woah! I have a blank canvas that I can paint all kinds of different palettes and things that I can use now. There’s a whole roster that I never even touched or told stories with. So that’s very exciting for me.
With acting, I’ve pretty much said since day 1 to my managers and agents, I say no a lot! I don’t even read a lot of stuff. It really has to hit because why do it otherwise? If it’s something that’s meh ok, and maybe it isn’t right or the method that you should use, but a lot of time it’s about who is involved. I would love to work with Kelsey Grammer (Frasier, Boss, Dr. Death) – yes, my mom’s favorite actor. She passes away 6 months later I get offered to play in Money Plane with Kelsey Grammer. I didn’t even need to read the script, I was in. Really more than anything, it’s about what is going to be fun. At this stage, from the time I was 22 on, I don’t feel like I have worked. That’s a gift and I didn’t realize how rare that is, so I don’t ever look past it and that means that I also want to continue that streak. It needs to be fun, not need to feel like work, and it needs to be creative and I’m happy.
AM: We touched on this a bit earlier, but you now wrestle under AEW. What's it like wrestling under your own name?
AC: I think that more than anything, I said this for years and years that I wish that I could have just wrestled under the name Adam Copeland. I mean I don't know, what is Edge? I didn’t even know what Edge was, I just pulled it out of the air, said it, and everyone agreed and that was that! There wasn’t a whole lot of thought put into it. Even as stupid as it sounds, the cadence of chanting – Har-dy, Au-stin, Ro-cky, Ho-gan, E-d-g-e – I was just happy to be there.
So to get the opportunity, I have always used Adam Copeland throughout whether it’s the television that I have done, writing a book, whatever it is. I have always introduced myself as Adam Copeland, never introduced myself as Edge as that was a character that I played on TV. That would be like going up to someone and saying, “Hi, I’m Ares, nice to meet ya.” It doesn’t work that way right?
AM: But an easier chanting name though!
AC: Yes! It is but also Adam Copeland ha! Then also too, in terms of the acting. It’s going to be my name there as well and so if you’re looking at it from a branding perspective it makes a lot of sense in that regard.
AM: Well I think that when you recently did the match with Sting and Darby, those leather jackets! That leather work was stunning. When Beth told me that you are the fashion mastermind behind your looks, how much were you involved in creating that iconic look for the 3 of you?
AC: I came up with the whole thing! I have been drawing my wrestling outfits since I can remember – from 9 and 10 years old. A lot of them from that time saw the light of day. Even drawings from when I was 10, I’ve worn tights that I drew from when I was 10. So, when I knew that we would be teaming, I said, “how do we make this really, really special for this occasion?” Because to me, it is. You have 3 generations. You have Darby, you have me, and you have Sting. To me, you have the future, the present, and this iconic character. So I wanted to be able to have some fun with that. So I said, hey guys, I have an idea for coats are you in and they said, “yeah, sure.” So I got their measurements, I sent them off to Sylvia Jensen who is the mastermind behind Wornstar, she does all of trench coats, my demon wings that I wore at WrestleMania. She and I just sit down and think about the ideas, here’s the shirts – we need Sting’s lapels, we need Darby’s hood, and we need to add elements in. On my tights, I had a skull, but it had the Sting makeup. And then I had the other half of Darby’s skull face and Sting in the middle with his full paint which is a cool visual. So you have half, half, full in the middle.
Those were all the things that ran through my mind because as a fan, I would sit there and notice those things. That made me think, these guys care. They really put thought into what they were doing and what they were presenting. In my mind, my kid mind, it goes to, “oh, that’s an awesome action figure.”
“I think that more than anything, - to be 50 years old and go, “right, I’m still wrestling - I’m wrestling again and I’m also working for Disney.” What? When I first started this and started training for wrestling at 17 years old, if you had told me that at 50, A - I’d still be wrestling and B - I’d be working for Disney at the same time, I’d have asked you what are you smoking and can you give me some because that sounds amazing.”
AM: So to see you guys in the look from Wornstar, the visual texture, the detailing, that futuristic element, I spent quite a bit looking at them from your IG.
AC: What I really wanted to try to convey is that we’re all tipping our hats to each other. We had my coat design, but it still had Stings flavor and Darby’s flavor, but then the face paint is the tip of the hat to Darby the Sting face paint on the tights is the tip of the hat to him and were all paying homage to each other and we all came out with the bats which is Sting and I was like, if we get a single spotlight and the bats come into frame and then it flows and off we go! That’s the stuff that I just love being part of and being really hands on to the point that it becomes fairly annoying to people or that they think, oh great, you took that off my plate – you’ve got it? Cool!
AM: Well I loved it, it was well thought out, and it had quite the production effect!
What are you looking forward to in this portion of your career as it pertains to AEW?
AC: Again, the blank canvas! The massive amount of talent that I have never ever had my hands on! I look at that company and I see Swerve Strickland, I see Darby now that I have gotten to team with as well as Sting! Getting to work with Christian Cage again which we both thought was off the table as he was retired for 7 years and I was retired for 9. Both of us thought that our careers were done and now we’re getting to do this and to tell the story at AEW. There’s Moxley, there’s Bryan Danielson, Claudio, Miro, Hobbs – I’ve never wrestled any of those people and have never performed with any of them. That’s super exciting and gives me a new lease on life. Right? I have 2 years here and there’s a bunch of stories that I’m trying to go down the checklist. In the meantime, I can pass along the vast amounts of knowledge in my 32 years that I have been doing it.
AM: I’m sure you can pass around a lot of knowledge!
AC: Well I figured that that’s part of the job! If I sign anywhere now, I bring all of those years from when I wrestled in Teneessee when 5 people were sitting on barrels of hay all the way to WrestleMania to battle The Undertaker and everywhere in between. With that, if you’re paying attending, you can learn a lot.
AM: With the span of your entire career, what do you want your legacy to be known as?
AC: I have always said that I don’t believe in legacies and I feel that legacies are solidified by the people that are putting together video packages and they’re usually more political than anything else. So I have always said that my legacy is my little girls. Am I raising good human beings – that’s the legacy. I truly feel that my girls are awesome and they are great little human beings. That to me is the legacy.
Did I always work hard? Yes!
IG @ratedrcope
PHOTO CREDITS | FRONT/BACK COVER, 19 - 29 + 34 - 39 Paul Farkas | PG 16 Disney/David Bukach | PG 30 - 33 AEW |
Read the DEC ISSUE #96 of Athleisure Mag and see MAKING HIS MARK | Adam Copeland in mag.
Featured
POWER OF THE SIP | LYNNETTE MARRERO
We always like talking about culinary history as we have shared over the course of our 96 issues, and cocktail/nightlife history is also interesting as the two go hand in hand! We sat down with Lynette Marrero, a mixologist and educator who shares more about the industry with us, and sets the scene for craft cocktails and what it was like in the early 2000's when we were just getting to know some of the city's favorite bartenders and restaurants. In addition, we talk about where she worked as well as being a Partner/Chief Mixologist at Delola, Jennifer Lopez's ready to drink brand. We talk about creating it during the pandemic along with launching the brand to an array of markets as well as how we can truly enjoy it. We also talk about her background as an educator and how she is using her knowledge and passion in order to create a community of bartenders.
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you wanted to be a mixologist?
LYNETTE MARRERO: Well, I mean that started, I think during that transitional period for everyone. I was very reluctant to even get into hospitality initially. Mostly, because I didn’t want to be the cliché actor/waiter, because I was pursuing Broadway and all of that and I just thought, I can’t do that. I can’t be that person. It was definitely at the beginning of the cocktail boom where this wasn’t realized as a real industry yet! People were like, “what else do you do?” That was always the question. I was very reluctant to get in. I had been working at offices, I had been temping with everyone that I had went to college with and things like that.
Then, 9/11 happened and I thought, “well, I’m never going to go into an office again.” So I realized that I should figure out what this hospitality thing is. I was actually away doing a pre-Broadway show in California, and I came back to NY and I went to this wine bar on Clinton St. I talked my way in with just some basic answers I said, “I think that I can figure this out,” fudged my resume, got my job, and luckily in that space, I met some really incredible people who now would ultimately be big hospitality folks!
Michael Chernow of Seamore’s Group, he was one of the bartenders there, my friend Noel Cruz who was part of the Maharlika and Jeepney as well as Ichicoro Ramen. These are all of the people that I met and these were just the people that were doing our thing and Wylie Dufresne was opening the first WD-50 on the block and him and his dad Dewey would come in all of the time. So I started meeting all of these incredible people who were doing interesting things.
Then I switched into doing classic cocktails. There was a cocktail bar across town that was like a cigar lounge and so still, all the drinks that we were making were like Lime Key Lime Pie Martinis and the Godiva Chocolate, Black Chocolate Martinis or the White Chocolate Martini like 50/50. So it was such a moment and a time, but again, what I loved about it was, it was a predominantly women staff and there was a lot of camaraderie with the women that I was working with. We had really great regulars. It was about building community which is what I was really attracted to. So my friend Amber who was there, who was one of the bartenders, she started teaching me every so often, because I was a cocktail server, she would say, “let’s learn some drinks.” She started teaching me all of the classic dive bar drinks. Alabama Slammer and all of those different ones and I thought, “ok I will learn all of these things.” We would close Thursday nights and we went across town and there was a new bar that opened and that was the Flatiron Lounge and I remember walking in and at that time, it was Julie Reiner, herself bartending, her wife Susan Federoff who is still her business partner, and another woman, Michelle Connolly. I was like, “who are these women that are owning this space and owning this bar?” Walking into that bar that was very much of that time, that was a very 1920’s art deco space and then getting cocktails that were really made with fresh juice. And if they were a special color, it was because it was a fresh passion fruit juice and I was really intrigued by that and it really brought me to this place where I knew that there was a quality shift in the change. So I stalked them for about a year for a job, I went off and did a show, did a couple more shows, got married, and then a year later, I came back and I finally got a job there working for Julia. I started again as a cocktail server and this was another place where I started working with people who would be the super stars of today.
Phil Ward was working behind the bar. Katie Stipe creator of The Siesta, Toby Maloney – these were the people that I was able to work with and I could see that everyone has such a beautiful pride for what they were making. I started learning the drinks because we would have a flight of the day and it would all be based on classic cocktails in a theme. So, every day, I had to learn something new. I would ask questions. I knew I wanted to sell this and I needed to know all of the answers, I wanted to know what was going on, why they're were built that way, and so after some time, Toby and Phil thought that I would be a good bartender and that they should start training me. I finally got behind the bar and I loved it. I never turned back and I really loved how I felt that it was a show behind the bar. You were able to have this wonderful moment of connecting with people and giving them something that they’re asking for, a dealer’s choice and just talking through the menu and offering them a new experience. It was so much about really foraging a path where we would say all the time that, we’d tell them that if they didn’t like it, they can have something else. That was a really wonderful way of being able to create that trust in folks.
From there, I started working in restaurant bars so I worked at Freeman’s an iconic gastropub bar. Toby was also working there and he suggested that I should come there too! It was high volume, but it was cocktails. I started working there and I loved it! For me, it was an interesting place of finding where cocktails and food meet. It was really about understanding that dynamic which was what would propel me to where most of my career would be at. After that, I did some brand ambassador jobs for 2 years, I went back to consulting, but I was doing cocktail bars, and then I really found my footing around restaurant bar scene which was really where I felt that I had the most impact because we have a lot of new people coming in that go into restaurants, for different reasons. So it was a different recruitment of folks to the craft cocktail scene. But it was also about thinking about how the food it and I learned a lot from chefs on how to develop flavors, to extract flavors, different combinations – so I think that that whole path really brought me to where I was going to be going and have this crazy career that is fun, dynamic, and interesting.
AM: I remember when Freeman’s first opened! I want to say that I was there the second or the third week. The merge of food and beverage was really the first place that I truly learned about this dance that happens between the interplay of the two! Even though in the beginning it was incredibly difficult to get in there, I was there at least once a month. Just the play on the flavors.
So in prep for this interview and hearing about your background, the brands that you have worked with, which have been amazing, as a mixologist, you have also held the role as an educator, can you tell us what this is in the world of mixology?
LM: Absolutely! I think that what’s great to your point, is that we were all kind of figuring this out together. We were finding all of the old dusty books and people like Dave Wondrich were decoding it for us and Gary "Gaz" Regan (1001 Mixed Drinks and Everything You Need to Know, The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys, The Joy of Mixology) and Dale would be showing us these techniques. There was a lot of nuance that you had to think about. So not just where these cocktails started, where they began, and the interpretation with the ingredients that we have now. Like Claret wine is not something that we typically use, so if you’re going to do a NY Sour, you’re going to have to think about what that wine style is and that education started by going down to Tales of the Cocktail and doing a lot of classes that were based on technique or history of drinks. So I think it can really run the range from that. I think that that was the ground – how do we get everyone to want to adapt and care about these little ingredients, mixers, and fresh juice and why? So a lot of that education then was technique driven.
As the years have evolved, I get into specific categories of spirits and the ranges. So I spend a lot of time with Rum education and doing a lot of that and training with Lorena Vásquez from Zacapa Rum who is the Master Blender. Getting those details, asking questions, learning about the fermentation and all of that. That process is so important when you’re talking about ingredients, beverages, and knowing where they come from as well as knowing why they are the way they are.
And you know, leaning into where Speed Rack grew, it was more so about getting into conversations about really the culture of hospitality. Educating on DEI and how to make an inclusive environment and if you are someone out there who is trying to recruit more women in your space, why are they not coming to you? Here are the key markers, here’s how you support and sustain diversity, and not just tokenism. That’s where a lot of the conversations are right now, I think.
Of course, I love doing classes on pairing drinks with food as there is so much indepth conversation on that! I read books like Zero: A New Approach To Non-Alcoholic Drinks from Chef Grant Achatz and it really changes my framing and mind when I’m doing cocktails with spirit, low-proof, or no-proof, there’s just this thought process about how flavors and beverages pair. I really enjoy getting more deeply involved with that.
AM: Tell me about your brand, Drinks at 6.
LM: So Drinks at 6 is the company that I call my consulting company. I don’t know if you ever saw Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
AM: Of course!
LM: So, the card that she sends the gentleman caller says, “Drinks at 6.” So to me, it’s like that wild party in that house is like the ultimate house party. It’s wacky and crazy and everyone is having martinis. For me, it was the epitome of what having fun is. Taking the seriousness out of craft cocktails and making it more approachable and fun. Initially, I started that company to elevate things like catering at different weddings and things that now are way more common. I was really thinking about how do we change what this thing is. We don’t want it to be stodgy, it doesn’t have to be an old 1880’s replica bar, but it’s something like being able to invite your friends so that they can come over. So I think that that turned me into this person. I love entertaining. That’s why when I look at something like developing Delola, it’s another way of being able to democratize cocktails. It’s about putting it in that bottle and making it delicious and there’s a way to do that right. We don’t have to be all pretentious about it, like how dare we? But there is a way to bring people in with a beautiful package and a great thought process that I think is where we want to be and it’s about that simplicity of having that, a great party, entertainment and making it hospitable for everybody.
AM: Who have been some of the brands that you have worked with under that umbrella?
LM: I mean, I did a ton of work under Diageo for a long period of time, working with Zacapa Rum, but also brands would bring me on to develop some strategy for them. But I really took it on with my restaurant bar consulting so you know, the Mama Group I was there for about 6.5 years working with Chef Eric – it’s run the list of folks that I’ve worked with. I think that a lot of that exposure and access led to things like being recruited for MasterClass.com. Having that opportunity to again be let into people’s houses and rooms via an online medium. It's great to teach people how to break down and demystify building cocktails and building drinks and making it approachable even if you’re making them super fancy – there’s a way to talk about them.
AM: Tell me about Delola and how this came about. I had heard about it for about a year or so and I had actually seen it in person and the Food Network NYC Wine Food Festival that happened a few weeks ago here in NY.
LM: Yup!
AM: We didn’t have a chance to get over there because we were in the thick of interviews. But you are a partner of this company, you’re the Chief Mixologist along with Jennifer Lopez. Tell us more about it.
LM: Yeah I mean, it’s pretty wild and it’s so great! I was just reflecting upon this with our team and to have an opportunity to be recognized and to have someone of such a caliber who says, “you’re an expert in your field and I want to recruit you to work with me on something and to actually give you credit for it!” I think that that’s what I love about it! It’s a building up of talent and a true respect for what I do and what my job and role is.
I had been doing some work with Ken Austin and Jenna Fagnan they do Teremana and have The Rock and during the pandemic, I had been doing some work with them to basically do Zoom Happy Hours and I was all over that!
They had been talking to Jennifer for quite some time about what kind of a product that she wanted to do and she told them that she wasn’t going to make a tequila, she wasn’t going to make a rum, she’s not a high proof spirits person and it’s not the style of the way that she likes to drink. She likes for everything to be balanced, she likes colorful, delicious, and fresh drinks. It’s the kinds of things that she sees when she's in Capri during the summer. She really wanted to create something that when she tells her trainer that she had it, it wouldn’t be an issue! So, there was nothing really in the market that satisfied that right? I mean, there's things in the market like hard seltzers that don’t have a ton of calories, but then they don’t have a full flavor right? It was about accomplishing a few tasks. I want to have the diet cake, but it still needs to taste like cake.
AM: True!
LM: Yeah, so that was kind of the idea and they kind of briefed me on the project. I made up a few prototypes at first. So it was about what the style of the drink was, the flavors that she wanted, and then they were sent so this was all during the pandemic, they went to Jennifer. She was really great. So it was like, here are 5 ideas and she’d come back saying what she liked, what she didn’t resonate with – she let me know that they were all delicious, but it didn’t fit with her. So that was great, the ultimate dealer’s choice. So I’d edit it back and refine it, she let me know what she liked, that she wanted to incorporate elderflower and I thought that was great and would be perfect for the Paloma. It was that great back and forth of that perfect moment of the best dealer’s choice. She’s so good at communicating what that vision is – which is incredible. The last thing that you want is for someone to come up to your bar and to tell you that they want something like this but not too sweet – but there’s zero direction. I mean it’s like please give me a direction that you want to go into. I mean there’s a whole range! With some people you have to ask 20,000 questions.
I love that her direction is always very clear and when I would her things and she landed on what she liked, it was about going to the process of taking that and working with our team to find the right botanicals and to replicate it. It’s very hard because you’re batching a drink in a bottle. It’s something that I do all the time in bars and restaurants, but it’s a lot more complicated when you want it to be on a shelf, in a store. Because we had such strict personal goals that were set by our founder, having those organic botanicals, making sure that we can get into places where wellness is really respected like Whole Foods – we knew we were not going to use artificial coloring and all of those different things. So it makes it a lot harder to make it stabilized. That was a really wonderful process to go through and to learn so much about building a beverage like this. Then of course, seeing it born into the world.
AM: The packaging is beautiful. I love the fact that it’s a beautiful bottle and I also love the ease of opening it with a twist off cap, but that it is presented in an elegant way. There has been a lot of care that has been brought together with something that is a ready to drink product, but it’s the confluence of those nice elements that come together. Just that alone must have been something that everyone on that team went back and forth on many times.
LM: I mean, listen, you can see that Jennifer has done some really beautiful entertainment things. She has a beautiful spread, she loves spending time with family, she has these beautiful tablescapes and it was really important that that was a bottle that sits on a table that looks presentational and that you can give it as a gift to somebody. To me, that is that democratization of craft cocktails. You can bring this bottle and it still has an elevated look that you can feel. It’s not a can that you open and that you have to finish. When you screw the top back on, it will stay bubbly for a few days and you can enjoy it that way. I find that all of those details are so important and Jennifer really wanted to put so much of her personal life into it. The colors are obviously inspired by Capri, but with our designers she made an homage to The Bronx Crest which is at the top of the bottle to always remember where her roots are. A lion and a lioness on the bottle because she's a Leo and so is Ben.
She wanted to have these little things so that when she held the bottle, she knew it was her and not anyone else. I think that that’s really great about standing up and putting your stamp on something.
There’s a real and true passion for what we’re doing as well as the company with those pillars and what we’re here to do. It’s about that presentational piece and it’s why we’re in glass and not in a can. We have the 375ml and the 750ml – it would be a lot easier with a can as there would be different shelving needs. I love that she is behind the vision and she is going to make it work and we will get everyone to understand what we are doing. I think that with her integrity and the way that she pushes through, you go boldly and you do what you feel. We’re making a strong statement on what Delola is and what we want it to be. We’re not backing down from that and it’s really great to have that kind of support and mission. It makes it a lot more clear.
AM: As a fashion stylist, I’m always about the aesthetics and my big thing is accessories, so when I’m looking at this bottle. A beauty product that has vanity appeal, this product has bar cart appeal. You don’t want to have an amazing beverage, but then have to hide the bottle because you know it looks janky.
LM: Yup!
AM: This one has a nice heft to it and so hearing all of the elements from it, I can see that there was a lot of care that was brought to what we have now. Then the fact that you can just pop it over ice and be done with it, that’s nice. I do love a nice cocktail and making one, but sometimes you just want to pour and sit after a long day.
LM: Absolutely! That’s why when you go to someone’s house to get together for a party, it’s just easy to bring the easy thing. We should have other choices as opposed to reverting to a wine. We should be able to have cocktails at any time.
I also love where the proof lies with the first range that we have. I think that’s a very comfortable range for bringing a lot of people in. It’s very mindful and it’s lower than a lot of wines, full flavored, that’s nice because of the occasions that you’re having it – with a full meal, an aperitivo hour, brunch – it really fits into a lot of different lifestyle moments.
AM: I enjoyed the L’Orange the other night while having Truffle Popcorn.
LM: Oh yeah! We’ve been doing a ton of charcuterie with it too. So it’s really great when you have all of those cheeses. I love moving into Paloma when you have seafood. It’s fresh and then having guacamole which is really beautiful. We have a really great recipe that Chef Grace Ramirez made for us which she actually put in some sliced apples and pomegranate seeds – really yummy! I think that with Bella Berry, she’s sort of a surprise. She’s the little punch. It doesn’t have a proxy cocktail. It’s its own cocktail. It has hibiscus, there’s berry, but a lot of it can lean towards – if you put fruit in it, a berry punch. Add cinnamon sticks and some of those flavors pop and it leans more to a sangria style cocktail or a full flavor punch cocktail. So I love playing with each one and I love that they are all so unique. The range stands as something where people are going to have their favorites, but we are going to have something for a range of folks.
AM: It’s great that it is in that better for you category. Can we delve into that a little bit more as our readers will want to know more about that. We enjoy covering hard seltzers and it sits where it sits. We know that as great as many of them tastes, some do have significant sugars which also sits where it sits. Where does Delola sit?
LM: So we’re very low sugar. A traditional cocktail of this style can have up to 16g of sugar per pour. We are under 5g. That’s huge right? That alone, you can feel it. You take a sip of it you’re not feeling your mouth –
AM: Granulated!
LM: Exactly it’s not coated with sugar and it’s very clean and very fresh. Even the ones that are fruity like Bella Berry, you smell it and you get that really fruity scent where you expect to have this very sweet taste and it’s dry because of the hibiscus. So that was super important to us to work on that and that’s who we’re able with proof and with sugar to be able to keep those calories down too. How many cocktails have derailed and ruined all the hard work you’ve done? So it’s nice that you can say you know where you can fit this in my planning for what you’re doing. It’s great during the holidays because it’s so hard with all the parties that you’re going to here and there. You want to enjoy everything, but there are so many calories and you try not to obsess. So, it’s something that you don’t have to think about.
AM: Couldn’t agree more!
Because it is the holiday season, let’s get into some food pairings with these drinks! What would you pair with each one of them?
LM: So, I love that I’m thinking of starting with that beautiful cheese board and tablescape. Everyone loves having a beautiful cheese plate and right now, using apples instead of sliced bread. So L’Orange and Bella Berry slot right into that space. There’s so many kinds of cheeses where I think they work so if you’re going to go with Blue Cheese and something rich that usually has a fruited jam, then I would probably have Bella Berry with that one. A Gorgonzola and a Bella Berry would be a beautiful contrast between the two. L’Orange I like with things like a Monchengo, a really good cheddar too. Orange goes well with that with that rind and that juiciness. I would also go with some maybe gouda and things like that that are sharp and really clean. Brie can maybe go with a couple of them either Berry or Orange depending on which way you want to go. A baked Brie is awesome with this.
After moving from the cheese and charcuterie plate, I’d like to go into a shrimp cocktail and simple little foods that you’re going to have like stuffed mushrooms and things like that that are going to go around a party. I would have that with Orange or Paloma. It really goes into that vibrant zestiness. There’s a bunch of delicious recipes that I saw that really looks at this time of year. The pomegranate seeds show up, Brussel Sprouts and sauteed bacon – that’s awesome with Berry because that will amplify that flavor. There’s so many ways and of course Bella Berry with roasted meats. If you’re having a gorgeous steak, beautiful lamb roast, these are classic pairings. Berries and those things go together. You can have lingonberries which also goes really well.
Then at the end, I would have some delicious truffles and things like that because chocolate and orange are a natural combination. Then, if you want to go with the super dark chocolate, you can then do grapefruit and Bella Berry with that so you have a lot of different ways.
We did a great event in Nashville that was a full on pairing that had this beautiful fried chicken that came out and we had that paired with the Orange. We had the seafood tower paired with the Paloma and then we had the cheese and the charcuterie to start with the Bella Berry.
AM: Amazing!
Which one is your favorite?
LM: Ugh, always the hardest question. I love them all for different reasons right? The Orange for me is that perfect one that I love best at brunch. It’s the lightest in flavor right? My palette is still waking up so having that first is nice. I also enjoy it during the Aperitivo hour right? I’m not quite ready so I want to pique my appetite and that's a perfect time.
For me, Paloma – it has that hint of sea salt in there. On a hot day, I just want to crush a Paloma. It’s refreshing and when we were in Miami in July, that was what was saving me because it has that bright freshness.
For me, that Bella Berry is for when I’m relaxing with it and getting into more of that fruited wine moment. It allows me to sit and sip with it.
AM: As we look ahead to 2024, what are things that we can expect with the brand whether it be products being added to the assortment, sponsoring more events, where will we see you?
LM: We will definitely be working on new cocktails. That’s always the excitement when you’re working with a range like this. We’re learning a lot from year 1 where we started with the Spritz cocktails as the first launch and then we will see where else we want to innovate because that is always exciting. What do we want, where else can we solve, and what else goes with our mission here? What are more options that you can enjoy with food that are better than their traditional proxy? This year, I’m really loving this entertaining moment that we have had for this holiday. It was really exciting to see how much people resonated with that and the setups that we have had and we did a huge Parachute market in LA. Just setting it up with the little cart, people thought that it was amazing because when you don’t have time and you’re running around, they appreciate our message and how we can be in their moments. I’d love to see us get involved with Galentines Day, Women’s History Month which is big for us because we believe in shaking things up in the industry and having women’s founders is huge in this space that doesn’t normally have as many. We want to highlight and support different events and communities that are celebrating on women’s history month. Spring and Summer is going to be wild because that is the season where everyone is thinking light and fresh. It’s a more natural time where people are thinking about trimming down and getting ready for beach season. It’s nice when we have these moments to flow through that we can work with in different seasons for different reasons.
AM: I’ve been at a lot of private events and editor events so you’re constantly trying various foods and beverages and in many cases you have them quite a lot! I have to say that I was really interested in trying L’Orange as I know its proxy is the Aperol Spritz which is actually not one of my favorites – and I have had it a lot. I do like bitter beverages, but that one is one that never really speaks to me; however, I like the L’Orange and I was surprised.
LM: To your point, a lot of people are still hearing and learning about that cocktail and so they just want to try it. But there are so many elements that can go wrong. If it’s a cheap prosecco, it amplifies the bitter, if the proportions are off – then it’s not going to be good. Some people are more sensitive to bitter so we just wanted to have a balance to make sure that the bitterness was there, but not to overpower it. We wanted to pair the orange with passion fruit to bring a different tanginess to it and there’s some herbal chamomile.
AM: Which I love that.
LM: Yeah, those are the aromas that you want without being overbearing.
AM: Stepping away from Delola, in prep for this interview I was looking through your LinkedIn as your resume is impressive! So you worked with Nestle Water as a mixologist. I know that they have Perrier – which I’m a huge fan of so what was your role there as I never thought of a mixologist working with a water brand!
LM: I mean, my whole goal and strategy in working with them was – I mean it’s funny because I have been through their water training – Perrier is a moment, San Pellegrino is another moment. Why? It’s because of their different salinity. Pellegrino is actually a smaller bubble which I like and I say that Deloa is more like a San Pellegrino bubble because it's not like it has that big feeling it cleans your palette which is why it goes so well with food.
It was just really fun because I would come up with a lot of ideas for them. Some of them would be that we would take buyers to Art Basel and I would create these different infusions with Perrier and I would make my own tisanes. There’s be a glass jar and we’d pour the Perrier over it and the bubbles would extract the peat and then they’d have these things like revive and relax. We would change the different botanicals for those modes.
It was also about using water in a lot of different sparkling cocktails. Thinking about depending on the kind of water you’re using, the cocktails change right? You should think about your ingredients and if you’re thinking about everything else, why wouldn’t you think about the sparkling water that you are putting into a cocktail? They’re all so different and they all bring different things to it.
Having that education, it was pretty fun to be able to stretch your brain on such a nerdy topic!
AM: I love it! I love using Perrier Cucumber in a lot of my cocktails so I get it. But when I saw it, I knew I was going to ask you!
LM: It’s a whole different thing! I did an event for Spindrift this past fall where they set up at the corner of West Broadway and they had a full on tropical truck and I made full on cocktails. It’s a stretch. When you’re thinking outside of the box – you just have to go for it. I did one cocktail with their new Mint Tea one and I did a Matcha Cocktail with Coconut Water and they thought it was so wild, but it all worked! It’s green on green but you're stretching your brain and you just think about it and get inspired, look at cookbooks, and you get the ideas of how to flavor build - you get to try different combinations and again, that led me to putting orange, chamomile and passion fruit together. L’Orange is a different way in thinking about beverages and so anytime that I have the opportunity to learn about something else, that’s helpful when I take that knowledge with me to cocktails.
AM: You’re the Co-Founder of Speed Rack, tell me why it was created, about the event, and what does it do?
LM: Before I started Speed Rack, I kind of started another group before. It was called LUPEC Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails. I started the NY chapter after meeting the women in Boston who had a chapter. They were getting together, they had produced a little cocktail book, it was really cute and we met at Tales of the Cocktail and they were doing events with cocktails in their community to raise money for women’s based charities. So everything from women’s shelters to women’s professional development programs like Dress For Success. I thought it was a great idea! It helps you build a great community together and to your point, I knew that there were more women in the bar scene but I didn’t know where they were hiding.
When I started working for Zacapa, you get your brand list of places to go and it pushed me out of my comfort zone. Normally, I would go to where all of my friends were. Most of those were male bartenders. So it brought me to other spaces and I started meeting these incredible bartenders. One of them was Eryn Reece who was our 2nd year Speed Rack winner and has been our coach for the last few years. Her competitors have won twice in the last few years and I realized that there were all of these women, but I didn’t know them and that was a shame. So if we all get together and work together, we’ll amplify. We’d make Death & Co give us their bar, we’d take it over from 5-7 for a charity event. The guys at Tao would give us their basement and we’d do a whole event and that's how it started. I met my partner in Speed Rack one night working when Phil Ward asked me to fill in one night. I agreed that I would put the cocktail tray back in my hand for 1 night to help him out. He had triplets working for him that were his servers and one of them was getting married so that’s 3 of your staff that has to be some place! I was the only sever available and I didn’t know her. She told me that she was trying to get into bartending and I told her about the group and that she could do some of the events with us. That’s when she said it was a really interesting idea and that maybe we could do something else like a kind of competition. It’s a way that people could do it together and I love food and TV – so let’s do Chopped meets a beverage competition. So we do classic cocktails and you really just show what they would be doing on a Fri/Sat night. Half of them were working in the server bars cranking out rounds of drinks and no one saw them. So they were hidden, but in doing these events, they were being brought to the forefront. We literally created a pedestal where they could stand there and show everyone how incredibly talented they are.
That’s how Speed Rack started – here we are 12 years later we have a cocktail book coming out April 30th – it’s 80 wom en all over the world who have competed in Speed Rack and we raise money for Breast Cancer Research and Education. We’ve really worked with some incredible partners, the Pink Agenda is one of our biggest partners. This year was amazing to have Delola sponsor our cocktail bar with the pink Paloma and it was really great and it’s a great organization that tackles breast cancer from a lot of different angles. It’s about research, women supporting women and granting a wish to Giuliana Rancic’s charity so if someone is going through Breast Cancer treatment, they get some sort of wish granted and it’s just a really beautiful moment. The folks in the room are really committed to eradicating this disease and it’s really great to be able to see that and what we can do for our community.
AM: Absolutely!
Are there events coming up for next year that we can know about?
LM: Yes, we’ll be putting out a schedule for 2024 around the book so we have NY, Chicago and we culminate at Tales of the Cocktail with the National Finals. One thing that took place during the pandemic is that we realized that we could reach more bartenders so we actually have a very big portion of our finalists that come – we pick them through online applications and we film their videos and we have our coaches who do this mentorship of bringing back past winners. They help make a team and then that team trains together for the National Finals. They come in with 6 friends and they all train as a group and it’s really great to see how they all help each other and that’s the beauty of it and what we talk about in general on how we all work together in this industry. We have to lift each other up and to stick together. It’s not a competition, I’m in competition with myself not with you!
AM: Well when it comes back through to NY, we have to check it out!
I’m a huge fan of Bar Convent Brooklyn and have been to it a few times. You’re the Head of Education for this tell me for this tell me about your role here and for those who don’t know about this event, can you tell us about it although we have covered it in years past in our issues.
LM: I’m the Head of Education for Bar Convent Brooklyn. The first Bar Convent I went to was many years ago in Berlin. It’s a conference and the difference between Bar Convent Berlin and Bar Convent Brooklyn is that in Brooklyn, it’s more of an elevated tradeshow so what’s great about it is that for 2 days, you have everyone bringing everything in from countries of spirits together to being able to taste Italy and all of the Amaro spirits together.
You can also try emerging types of spirit brands together. There’s breaking boundaries in new spirits, new agave, and things like that. Then you can see really great activations from brands that are bringing you into their world. There’s always great things happening with the Shochu and the Japanese area which is so fun because there is always something new. Then team Peru which I have helped run their booth for the last couple of years, they always have a big llama but they are showing you the beauty of Pisco and the range like 20 folks – 20 suppliers and you’re tasting it. So that’s really great to enjoy those nuances. Then there are educational stages that are led by brands which they may bring in an expert like Don Lee and they have a whole seminar of the types and then there’s Park Street which are seminars that are focused on business. It’s a track focusing on new brands learning about distribution. Then there’s the Main Stage which I’m the Head of Education on – I have a wonderful team of experts that are all over the country and they weigh in on the 8 or 10 picks that are 5 per day for the sessions that are a range of topics. We feel as a group that these are the emerging and trending conversations that you want to have. In the past, we have had the reinvention of the no and low conversation, a full on alternative agave conversation – not just tequila, last year we had discussions on hospitality with Ryan Chetiyawardana aka Mr Lyan where he talked about some of his failures and how they led to success. It led to this conversation of what does hospitality mean. It’s a really great process because we all get to sit together, rate the topics and ideas, and sometimes we match make too. So the team weighs in with me to see what I like and then I get to task to communicate directly with the people that submitted and see how we can restructure their discussions or pair them up if 2 people have the same idea. Maybe by doing it together they can share their differing perspectives. It’s really great to have that viewpoint for education.
I spent a few years on the Tales of the Cocktail education. I did 3 years there so I was very specifically at that time on the business track so I worked with them on that and now I work on culture, business, and other topics!
AM: That’s amazing!
What do you have coming out next year that we should keep an eye out for?
LM: I don’t know yet what the year is going to bring! I know for sure that year 2 of Delola, it will be our first full year because we launched in April of last year. So I’m really excited to see what a Jan – Dec year looks like. It’s kind of nice to see and to go back in markets where people will have already tried us and it will be a part two! It will be fun to see where that relationship will grow and develop.
The book is coming out and as I said, I’m really excited for the book tour! Being able to collaborate in the markets with the contributors will be amazing. We’re going to finalize where our tour will be and just getting out there and being there! The book is unapologetically pink! This is just the sample!
AM: Oh I love the metallic pink!
LM: We’re bold! If you’re intimidated by how pink this book is, then you’re not our audience!
IG @drinksat6
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Delola
Read the DEC ISSUE #96 of Athleisure Mag and see POWER OF THE SIP | Lynnette Marrero in mag.
Featured
