Alabama Shakes brought their distinct mixture rock, blues, and southern soul to the Grammy stage and did so with a dash of bravado courtesy of lead singer/guitarist Brittany Howard and a pinch of casualness, courtesy of the other dudes in the band. As per usual, Howard owned the performance of “Don’t Wanna Fight.” Clad in all white, a teal Gibson SG swaying side to side in front of her, Howard played the part of soul music revivalist as the rest of the band did what they do best — held down the groove behind her.
It still seems crazy that the band’s album, Sound & Color, is only their second, as it just feels like they’ve been around for longer than that. But either way, Monday night’s performance was their chance to shine in front of their largest audience to date.
Sound & Color, a nominee for Album of the Year, has been considered somewhat of a long shot to win. Yet a surprise win — a la Arcade Fire or Beck winning the award — isn’t that out of the question. The album won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album earlier in the evening. “Don’t Wanna Fight,” the lead single off of Sound & Color, beat out the Foo Fighters and Florence + the Machine for Best Rock Performance and won for Best Rock Song earlier in the evening.
Alabama Shakes have been nominated for Grammys three times before. In 2013 they were nominated for Best New Artist and their song “Hold On” was nominated for Best Rock Performance while in 2014 “Always Alright,” from the Silver Linings Playbook soundtrack, was nominated for Best Rock Performance.
