Santa Monica, Calif. — Kicking off GRAMMY® Week on Wed, Jan. 31, 2024, “A Celebration of Craft,” held jointly by both the Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® and Songwriters & Composers Wing™, took place at the GRAMMY Museum® in Downtown Los Angeles. The celebration was a first-ever joint GRAMMY Week event for the Academy’s craft Wings.
Representatives from a large range of top manufacturers, services and organizations pledged their support for the event and were in attendance to honor individuals who strive for songwriting and audio excellence, and who have championed creative freedom throughout their career. Recording and mixing engineer/producer Leslie Ann Jones, a seven-time GRAMMY winner, and the first woman Chair of the Recording Academy’s Board of Trustees (1999-2001), was the evening’s primary honoree. The event also saluted the year-round work of the Academy’s two Wings, highlighting the people working behind the scenes to create the year’s best musical works — including a special recognition for the 2024 Songwriter Of The Year GRAMMY nominees.
Premier Sponsors included Iron Mountain Media and Archive Services (formally IMES) and Qualcomm Technologies, International, Ltd. Supporting Sponsors included Neumann.Berlin, Shure Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Louisiana Entertainment, Kobalt, Audio-Technica, Seeker Music, Sound Royalties, Lurssen Mastering, AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management – Recording Studio Program, Qobuz, SESAC, Fraunhofer, and SoundExchange.
Maureen Droney, Vice President of the Producers & Engineers Wing, began the evening’s program from the Museum’s Ray Charles Terrace with welcoming remarks and thank-you’s to the sponsors, then introduced Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr., who noted the evening’s significance — it was the first time that a GRAMMY Week celebration brought together the Academy Wings of both Songwriters & Composers and Producers & Engineers. “The world needs more music right now,” he said. “It needs more of what we do.”
Songwriters & Composers Wing Senior Managing Director Susan Stewart and Chair Evan Bogart recognized this year’s Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical GRAMMY nominees Edgar Barrera, Jessie Jo Dillon, Shane McAnally, Theron Thomas, and Justin Tranter, celebrating the second year of this award for songwriters.
After remarks by P&E Wing co-chairs Chuck Ainlay and Ebonie Smith, Recording Academy Chair Tammy Hurt spoke to the many dedicated years of Recording Academy service performed by honoree Leslie Ann Jones, while Mason jr. emphasized her extraordinary career of more than 40 years. “She is a classicist, but also a forward thinker and a trailblazer,” he said. “She sets the bar high in terms of passion, equality and inspiration — but she is also at the peak of her career, still leading the charge.” Attendees were then treated to musical performances from GRAMMY® Award-winning singer-songwriter Brandy Clark and GRAMMY-nominated husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty.
“A Celebration of Craft would not have been possible without our sponsor partners,” states Droney. “This evening celebrated the hard work of the talented individuals who labor behind the scenes to create the best of what our industry has to offer, and we thank our valued partners for making the event possible. We are enormously appreciative of their partnership in helping us to host this special evening.”
Adds Stewart, “On behalf of the Songwriters & Composers Wing, we are filled with gratitude to our sponsors and everyone that contributed to a wonderful evening at the GRAMMY Museum. This joint event was a first since the S&C Wing’s founding in 2021, and we thank everyone who helped make this evening so magical. It was especially wonderful to see representatives from different sponsor brands interacting and talking shop, exchanging ideas, and celebrating the collective achievements of the industry’s talent.”
Jonathan Ruest, Neumann.Berlin head of sales and business development – Americas, stated, “Neumann was honored to partner with the Recording Academy for the A Celebration of Craft event held at the GRAMMY Museum. As Neumann reference audio solutions have enabled artists to test the boundaries of music creation since 1928, the Museum served as the perfect backdrop to recognize the artists paving the way for the future of the industry, while recognizing the rich history of the craft. Neumann remains committed to empowering creators worldwide to continue pushing the limits of recorded music in this joint path with the Recording Academy.”
Cory Lorentz, manager, artist relations at Shure Incorporated, remarked, “Over the years, the annual P&E Wing celebration was always a highlight and great way to kick off GRAMMY Week. Combining the P&E Wing and the S&C Wing for this year’s A Celebration of Craft in one room, while having that ‘room’ be the GRAMMY Museum – it was a home run! Shure has been there since the beginning, so we could not miss out on this positive and impactful change. Maureen Droney of the P&E Wing and the rest of the Recording Academy team always make us feel like family and take careful consideration when creating the most useful and helpful ways to represent a company, their products and their people. We have never wanted for anything more, and this has always given us the opportunity to interact with the esteemed guests of the evening.”
GRAMMY Week culminated with the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards® at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sun, Feb. 4, 2024, broadcasted live on the CBS Television Network and streamed live and on-demand on Paramount+.
Photo caption: Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter of The War and Treaty perform onstage during “A Celebration of Craft,” presented by the Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® and Songwriters & Composers Wing™ at The GRAMMY Museum® on January 31, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Recording Academy).
