New York musicians are heading to the 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards. 18 artists hailing from The Empire State earned nominations this year, representing genres from pop to blues, proving the state’s music scene is as vibrant as ever.
Honoring the best recordings, compositions, and artists from August 31, 2024, to August 30, 2025, here is a breakdown of every GRAMMY-nominated musician from New York.
Lady Gaga
Arguably one of the greatest pop stars of all time, Lady Gaga is up for seven nominations, leading the 2026 GRAMMY race behind Kendrick Lamar with nine nominations. Hailing from Manhattan, Lady Gaga’s nominations include Record and Song of the Year for “Abracadabra” and Album of the Year for Mayhem, while Harlequin, the soundtrack album for the 2024 film Joker: Folie à Deux, scores a Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album nomination.
Following a standout Mayhem Ball tour, including a record-breaking concert drawing 2.5 million fans, Lady Gaga’s seven nominations bring the pop star’s total nominations to four, becoming one of the most nominated female artists.
Leon Thomas III
Pivoting away from his time in the hit Nickelodeon show Victorious, R&B musician Leon Thomas is up for six nominations. Following his highly successful debut album MUTT, the Brooklyn native has risen above his acting career following the release of his sophomore album PHOLKS.
Thomas’ nominations include Album of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best R&B Album.
Sombr
Indie star Sombr has turned many heads as of late following the release of his debut album, I Barely Know Her. Gaining his star footing in social media, Sombr has quickly caught the attention of legendary artists, including the world’s biggest star, Taylor Swift.
The success of his latest album catapulted the NYC star to international fame, becoming one of Gen Z’s favorite artists and scoring his first GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist.
Teyana Taylor
2025 has been a busy year for Teyana Taylor. Her Met Gala spotlight reaffirmed Taylor’s expertise in fashion, starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the new film One Battle of Another, and marked the release of her fourth album, Escape Room.
The Harlem triple-threat star finally earned her first GRAMMY nomination for Best R&B Album, snapping her 20-year dry spell.
Cardi B
Though the constant spotlight has been on her for over a decade, Cardi B isn’t going anywhere. The rapper’s eleventh nomination follows her sixth Best Rap Performance for “Outside.” The Washington Heights star has made history for the most nominations in the Best Rap Performance category.
Lakecia Benjamin
Also from Manhattan’s Washington Heights, saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin earned her sixth GRAMMY nomination for Best Jazz Performance for her single “Noble Rise.” Following her admission to the Fiorello LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, Benjamin discovered the saxophone, quickly finding her talent in the instrument before her admission to the New School in 1999.
Samara Joy
At just 26 years old, jazz singer Samara Joy has already accumulated five GRAMMY awards in the past three years. In this year’s GRAMMY nominations, Joy has added two more to her impressive resume.
The Bronx star is nominated for Best Jazz Performance and Best Jazz Vocal Album for her third album, Portrait.
Bill Charlap
Pianist Bill Charlap has performed alongside many greats: Wynton Marsalis, Ron Carter, Phil Woods, to name a few. In 2016, Charlap won a GRAMMY for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap: The Silver Lining, The Songs of Jerome Kern, and now, Charlap is nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album following his work in Elemental with Dee Dee Bridgewater. A jazz veteran, Charlap has racked up five GRAMMY nominations to his name.
Marcus Gilmore
Up for his third nomination, jazz drummer Marcus Gilmore is nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for his work in Southern Nights, alongside pianist Sullivan Fortner and bassist Peter Washington.
Another graduate of the Fiorello LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, Gilmore attended the Juilliard School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music before carving out his own career as a drummer, where he’s worked with legends like Chick Corea, Ravi Coltrane, and even worked on the soundtrack for the 2020 Disney film Soul.
John Patitucci
Brooklyn bassist, composer, and arranger John Patitucci has earned his 16th GRAMMY nomination for his latest album, Spirit Fall. For Patitucci, music has been a constant throughout his life, picking up the electric bass at ten years old before dabbling in music composition at 12.
Following his time at San Francisco State University and Long Beach State University, Patitucci has performed with many different artists throughout his career, from jazz luminaries Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz to film composers like James Newton Howard and John Williams.
The 8-Bit Big Band
For the 8-Bit Big Band, jazz and video game music are synonymous with each other. Made up of 30-65 members from all over the world, the orchestra is based in New York City. Since 2018, the orchestra has released five albums, where “Meta Knight’s Revenge” from their third album, Backwards Compatible, won a GRAMMY in 2022.
The 8-Bit Big Band is nominated for two GRAMMYs, including Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for their newest album, Orchestrator Emulator, and Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.
Barbra Streisand
Hollywood trailblazer Barbra Streisand does it again. Right from her first nomination in 1964, the EGOT winner has been nominated for her 48th GRAMMY nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her work The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume 2.
A New Yorker through and through, Streisand got her start in Greenwich Village theater before making her Broadway mark in 1962. Selling over 150 million records, Streisand continues to become one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.
Béla Fleck
If someone is named after three musicians, he is destined for success. Up for his 43rd GRAMMY nomination, Béla Fleck is nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for BEATrio. Nominated alongside harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sánchez, the newly formed trio has an impressive 23 GRAMMY wins combined.
Taj Mahal
With five wins and 18 nominations, Taj Mahal has long reshaped the blues genre for decades. Infusing music from the Caribbean, India, Hawaii, and more, Taj Mahal will add a new accolade to his name: a Best Traditional Blues Album GRAMMY nomination for his album Room On The Porch with Keb’ Mo’. With more than 50 years of experience, the Harlem native continues to reimagine the blues.
Maria Muldaur
52 years after her mega-hit “Midnight at Oasis,” folk singer Maria Muldaur is nominated for her sixth GRAMMY nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album for her latest album, One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey. Honoring classic blues singer Victoria Spivey, Muldaur was taken under the wing of Spivey while finding her footing as a folk singer in the early 1960s.
Joe Bonamassa
From upstate New York, singer-songwriter and guitarist Joe Bonamassa is nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album for his latest album, Breakthrough. Bonamassa’s music career started at the age of 12, when he opened for B.B. King. He’s since produced fifteen solo albums through his independent record label J&R Adventures.
Kirsten Agresta-Copely
Harpist Kirsten Agresta-Copely has earned her second GRAMMY nomination for her ambient album Kuruvinda, nominated for Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album. Having performed in the United States, South America, Japan, and more, Agresta-Copely’s career began at Indiana University Bloomington, where she later became an associate professor at Vanderbilt University.
Click here to view the full nominations.
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