This is part of a series of features from All Things Considered on first-time Grammy nominees, ahead of the February 5 awards.
While public health restrictions kept it dormant during the pandemic, the Station Inn still got a shout-out from the Grammy Awards. In March 2021, the Grammy telecast aired a pre-produced segment about the celebrated bluegrass venue in Nashville, Tenn. – one of several independently run clubs profiled that year. In that feature, owner J.T. Gray promised a national audience that the club would reopen: "That's going to be a celebration like never before," he said. "It's going to be a big party." Gray died at age 75 the following week, and did not live to see his club reopen. But the Station Inn once again features music seven days a week.