BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Though the world of rock ’n’ roll has never, and hopefully will never, prioritise the importance of winning awards over creating timeless, inspiring, rulebook-shredding music, it’s rewarding none the less to see contemporary artists carrying the torch for all things loud to receive plaudits.

On February 6, the 65th Annual Grammy Awards will take place in LA’S Crypto.com Arena, and a number of TG favourites are up for awards. Nominated for the first time are Bristol post-punks Idles (whose guitarist Lee Kiernan is pictured here) and Baltimore hardcore crew Turnstile, both of whom have worked tirelessly to stop our humble six-string from sounding stale throughout their short careers thus far. The former are up for Best Rock Album with CRAWLER, while the latter’s Blackout is up for Best Rock Song and Best Metal Performance, and both bands are up for Best Rock Performance for their tracks Crawl! and Holiday, respectively.

Meanwhile, Big Thief, Muse, Wet Leg, Ghost, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Beck, Megadeth, The Black Keys and relative unknowns Ozzy Osbourne and Jeff Beck are also nominated in various Rock and Alternative categories, showing that while the Grammys may not be to everyone’s taste, they still know a great guitar tune when they hear one. That said, you never know what you’ll get with this show, so we’ll be putting a fiver on Bryan Adams to take home Best Rock Performance. But regardless of who wins, it’s still inspiring to see so many brilliant musicians getting the recognition they deserve.