Although the Grammy Awards – scheduled for February 1 this year – are held in Los Angeles, the nominees hail from across the country, including Phoenix. Here are the 2026 contenders with connections to the Valley.
Mega Ran
The nerdcore rapper received a nomination for Best Children’s Music Album. Buddy’s Magic Tree House is his second album that is informed by the adoption of his foster son, Buddy. He shared on Instagram that he was “honestly floored.”
Mega Ran, whose real name is Raheem Jarbo, continues to hold the Guinness World Record for producing the most commercially available songs about video games. In his post, the former teacher made sure to thank his “amazing” wife and Buddy, “who inspires me every day.”
Local rapper Michael Gamarano, known as Bag of Tricks Cat, recorded, mixed, mastered and produced Jarbo’s album. He also mixed and mastered tracks on Harmony by FYÜTCH & Aura V., another Best Children’s Music Album nominee.
Bob Mehr
The former Phoenix New Times music editor said on social media he was “deeply honored” by his Best Album Notes nomination for the 20th anniversary deluxe edition of Wilco’s A Ghost Is Born.
The author of Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements and contributor to The New York Times has won the award twice before for the same category: in 2023, for his musings on Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and in 2021, for the box set of The Replacements’ Dead Man’s Pop.
