Arts & Culture
UC Santa Cruz alumna Gillian Welch wins Grammy for Best Folk Album
UC Santa Cruz alumna Gillian Welch (Porter ’90, fine arts) alongside her musical partner David Rawlings, clinched the Best Folk Album award at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 for their album Woodland.
UC Santa Cruz alumna Gillian Welch (Porter ’90, fine arts) alongside her musical partner David Rawlings, clinched the Best Folk Album award at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 for their albumWoodland. The album showcases their signature blend of Appalachian folk, bluegrass, and Americana.
Welch has been a defining voice in American folk music for over two decades. Her breakthrough album,Revival, in 1996 was nominated for a Grammy and set the stage for a career steeped in rich storytelling and traditional acoustic sounds. She has since released multiple critically acclaimed albums, includingTime(The Revelator) and Soul Journey, and her work has been featured in films likeO Brother, Where Art Thou?, which helped spark a resurgence in folk and roots music. This recent Grammy win adds to Welch and Rawlings’ previous accolades, including a 2021 Grammy for Best Folk Album for their covers recordAll the Good Times.
As a student at UC Santa Cruz, Welch played bass in a goth band, drums in a psychedelic surf band, and developed an interest in bluegrass, performing with the local band Harmony Grits. She seems to nod to her time at UC Santa Cruz in “Empty Trainload of Sky”, the opening track onWoodland, with the lyrics:
Was it spirit? Was it solid?
Did I ditch that class in college?
Pulled the curtain from my eye
I said hey hey, my my
Welch and Rawlings will play at theGolden State Theatre in Monterey on March 10.