MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Six Middle Tennessee State University alumni and former students all received a total of eight nominations for the 67th annual Grammy Awards set for Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.

Receiving nominations in multiple genres, the MTSU-trained professionals, including some previous winners and nominees, include singer-songwriter Jessie Alexander (two nominations), audio production engineers Brandon Bell, Jason Hall (two nominations), Bobby Holland and Jimmy Mansfield, and singer-songwriter Jaelee Roberts.

• Bobby Holland, a 2006 Department of Recording Industry graduate, is nominated for his mixing work on singer-songwriter Maggie Rose’s album “No One Gets Out of Live,” which is nominated for Best Americana Album.

“Bobby provides great inspiration for our audio production students. I am thrilled that his talent in the studio has been recognized by the Recording Academy,” said College of Media and Entertainment Dean Beverly Keel. “Maggie Rose is one of my favorite artists, so it is wonderful to have an alumni working in such an important creative capacity on her Grammy-nominated album.” 

Watch artist Maggie Rose perform “No One Gets Out Alive” from her Grammy nominated album on Live From The Today Show in the YouTube video below.

• Multiple Grammy-winner and nominee Brandon Bell, a 2004 Department of Recording Industry alum, is nominated for Best Bluegrass Album for his mixing work on “Billy Strings Live Vol. 1” by artist Billy Strings, who captured the same award in 2021.

“Brandon has been doing important work for years … and is building a body of work that is shaping popular music and will stand the test of time,” Keel noted about the Grammy-nominated alum. This marks Bell’s sixth nomination, previously capturing two awards.

Watch a video promoting Billy Strings’ Grammy-nominated album, “Billy Strings Live Vol. 1” in the YouTube link below.

• First-time Grammy nominee Jaelee Roberts, a 2023 commercial songwriting alum, is nominated as part of the group Sister Sadie for Best Bluegrass Album.

“I screamed when I saw Sister Sadie’s nomination because this is Jaelee’s first nomination,” Keel said. “She is so special to me, so I was moved to tears to see her receive this international recognition, especially so early in her career. She had tremendous success while she was a student and announced her solo Opry debut at her graduation party.”

Click the YouTube link below to hear a song from the Grammy-nominated album “No Fear” by Sister Sadie.

Roberts, who was named the International Bluegrass Music Awards Female Vocalist of the Year award in 2024, recently returned to her alma mater to perform at the “Party in the Grove” pregame tailgating event on Oct. 15, before MTSU’s football game against Kennesaw State University.

“We were delighted that she found time from her busy schedule to perform at our Party in the Grove a few weeks ago. She is a wonderful role model for our students,” Keel said. “There are no limits on what she can accomplish next.”

In an interview with local magazine Nashville Lifestyles, Roberts said graduating from MTSU will always be one of her  “life’s greatest accomplishments.”

“The education that I received at MTSU was stellar and the classes that I took absolutely helped me to be a better, more prepared artist, with an understanding of all aspects of the music business,” she told the magazine.

• Multi-Grammy winner Jason Hall, a 2000 Recording Industry graduate, is again among nominees, this year with two nominations for his mixing work on The Black Crowes’ “Happiness Bastards,” which is nominated for Best Rock Album, and for his work on Lainey Wilson’s “Whirlwind,” which is nominated for Best Country Album.

Hall has previously won three Grammys and has worked with artists such as Little Big Town, Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne and Eric Church.

Click the YouTube link below to listen to the entire “Happiness Bastards” album by the Black Crowes, which is nominated for Best Rock Album.

• Singer-songwriter Jessi Alexander, a former College of Media and Entertainment student, earned two nominations, one for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical, which is based on a selection of songs written and co-written, and another for Best Song Written for Visual Media for her work on “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” by country artist Luke Combs.

Alexander has written songs that have been recorded by country music artists like Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Eric Paslay, Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll and Miley Cyrus, including “The Climb,” which was featured in “Hannah Montana: The Movie.”

She is a four-time Grammy nominee and has previously won a Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year and an Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year for co-writing Lee Brice’s song “I Drive Your Truck.”

Watch the music video for “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” by country singer Luke Combs in the YouTube link below.

• Another former Grammy winner and nominee, Jimmy Mansfield, a 2014 audio production alum, is nominated this year for his engineering work on country singer Lainey Wilson’s “Whirlwind” album, which is nominated for Best Country Album. He has a previous award for his work on Wilson’s “Bell Bottom Country” album.

Click the YouTube link below to listen to the song “Whirlwind” off of country singer Lainey Wilson’s Grammy-nominate album by the same title.

About the Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards honor the best recordings, compositions and artists across genres in the music industry. Winners will be announced during a ceremony held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS at 7 p.m. and streamed on Paramount+. A host has yet to be announced for the upcoming awards show.

To be eligible for a nomination, the recordings must have been completed between Sept.16, 2023, and Aug. 30, 2024.

MTSU alumni, former or current students, and faculty from across the university have been a part of more than 170 Grammy Award nominations in the last two decades. The number of MTSU-connected Grammy winners since 2001 currently stands at more than 20 people, with nearly 50 Grammys, including nine repeat recipients, in categories from classical to pop to rock to country to gospel and rap.

In 2019, NBC News began calling MTSU a “Grammy-winner factory” due to its alumni.

For more information about MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry, visit https://mtsu.edu/recording-industry/. 

— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)