Philadelphia’s Will Yip, Christian McBride, and Andre Harris are among early Grammy winners
The rock producer, jazz bassist, and R&B songwriter were winners in an early awards ceremony. Bucks County pop singer Sabrina Carpenter is up for five awards in the evening telecast.
Philadelphia artists won big at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. Bassist Christian McBride, rock producer Will Yip, and songwriter Andre “Dre” Harris took home trophies in the ceremony that preceded the prime time telecast from the crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Jazzman McBride won in two of the three categories he was nominated in. The Southwest Philly native won for best jazz performance for Windows (Live), his collaboration with Brian Blade and the late pianist Chick Corea. He also won the best jazz ensemble album Grammy for Without Further Ado, Vol. 1, credited to Christian McBride Big Band.
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“It is such an honor to have been in Chick Corea’s orbit for over 25 years,” McBride said in accepting the award for Windows (Live). “I was very honored to witness his legacy of excellence and greatness, watching this man play the piano like no one else did, night after night.”
Sunday’s two wins bring McBride’s Grammy total to 11.
Yip won his first Grammy for his production work on Never Enough, the 2025 album by Baltimore band Turnstile, that won best rock album. Onstage at the Peacock Theatre in the ceremony that was streamed on grammy.com, Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates said: “The community we found through punk and hardcore music has given us a safe place to swing in the dark and land somewhere beautiful.”
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“It’s surreal. Rock album of the year!!! We all came up from ... literally out of basements. To this?! It’s just a testament to what our community can do. Amazing, man,” Yip said in a text message to The Inquirer, after his Grammy win. He had been nominated twice before, in 2014, and recently opened his new Memory Music Studios in South Philly.
Turnstile also won for best metal performance for the Never Enough song “Birds.”
Songwriter and producer Harris won as one of seven writers who teamed to write Kehlani’s smash hit “Folded,” which won for best R&B song. The song also won a best R&B performance Grammy.
Kehlani shouted out Harris in accepting that latter award. She was one of several winners who spoke out in support of immigrants’ protest of the Trump administration’s policies. She, however, was the only one to do so by directing an expletive at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
Jazz singer Samara Joy, who grew up in New York but is part of a Philly gospel music family, is once again a Grammy winner. The 26-year-old vocalist won her sixth trophy for Portrait, 2025’s best jazz vocal album.
Camden gospel bandleader Tye Tribbett, the Philadelphia Orchestra and its leader Yannick Nezet-Seguin, the Sun Ra Arkestra, the Crossing choir, UPenn grad John Legend, and jazz trumpeter Immanuel Wilkins were all up for awards in the early Grammy ceremony, but went home empty-handed.
Bucks County pop singer Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” lost to Doechii’s “Anxiety” in the best music video category in the early show, but she’s up for five more awards in the evening telecast, which is hosted by Trevor Noah.
Amy Allen won the best songwriter non-classical award for the second year in a row for her co-writing credits with several artists, including two by Carpenter in “Manchild” and “Tears.”
This is a developing story.