Five Kentuckians are up for Grammy Awards this year. Who is most likely to win?

In not unusual to see a Kentucky name or two scattered among the many nominees vying for Grammy Awards every year. For this weekend’s ceremony, the 66th for the Grammys, there are 94 categories, so it would be pretty hard for the Recording Academy not to include at least one artist from the ol’ Bluegrass State, right?

What distinguishes Grammy night No. 66, though, is the number and breadth of nominations. We’ve got five — count ‘em, five — Kentucky nominees this year. Sure, most are country and/or Americana-leaning. Two are the state’s top country exports, but still renegades to a degree that they have little in common with the sugar-coated pop that passes for the brand of modern Nashville music favored by country radio. A third is looking to repeat her Duo/Vocal Performance win from last year.

But look at who else has been invited to the party – specifically, the reigning Kentucky Poet Laureate and the conductor of the Louisville Orchestra. Kind of widens the stylistic reach of what defines Kentucky music to the rest of the country, doesn’t it?

Here is a look at the five Kentucky artists up for Grammy Awards on Sunday and the categories they will be competing in.

The 66th Grammy Awards will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET Feb. 4 from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on CBS-TV.

Tyler Childers

Best Country Album: “Rustin’ in the Rain”

Best Country Song: “In Your Love”

Best Country Solo Performance: “In Your Love”

Best Music Video: “In Your Love”

Best Americana Performance: “Help Me Make It Through the Night”

Five of the seven Grammy nominations the Lawrence County songwriter has earned to date came his way in the wake of his 2023 album “Rustin’ in the Rain.” The recording was released with only one week left in the 12-month period for music being considered for the 66th Grammy Awards (Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 15, 2023.)

Locally, this has been the latest in a series of banner years for Childers, with three huge sellout concerts to his credit — a Sunday night headlining show at Railbird in June and a pair of packed houses at Rupp Arena on New Year’s Eve weekend. Nationally, his stature as a concert artist is similarly expansive. Nearly all dates on his upcoming “Mule Pull ’24” tour in North America and Europe have sold out.

So, does this mean Childers will pick up his first Grammy this weekend? Well, let’s put it this way. If he doesn’t, the Recording Academy is even more short-sighted than it has proven to be in the past.

The one to keep an eye on here will be Best Country Album. This is one of the very few major Grammy categories not purely dictated by commercial popularity. In the past decade alone, the Best Country Album has gone to Willie Nelson (last year), Kacey Musgraves (twice), Kentucky favorite Chris Stapleton (three times), Tanya Tucker and another home state star, Sturgill Simpson. My bet is Childers will take honors here this year. Save for the nomination for Best Music Video, the other categories are toss-ups.

Chris Stapleton

Best Country Song: “White Horse”

Best Country Solo Performance: “White Horse”

Best County Duo/Group Performance: “We Don’t Fight Anymore”

You know the Recording Academy likes you when it gives you two nominations for a single that is eligible from an album that is not.

Explanation: “White Horse” is a sterling slab of Southern soaked rock and soul, a fitting summation of Lexington born/Staffordsville raised Stapleton’s appeal as a writer and vocalist. It was released as a single last July as a preview of his fifth album, “Higher.” The full album would not surface until November. Thus, the single stands as Stapleton’s only solo work that can be considered for the 66th Grammy Awards. Recognition for the album will have to wait until next year.

“White Horse” marks Stapleton’s 20th Grammy nomination. Curiously, one of the competitors this time will be Childers’ “In Your Love.”

Stapleton has won eight Grammys since the release of his debut album “Traveller” in 2015.

Carly Pearce

Best County Duo/Group Performance: “We Don’t Fight Anymore”

This one is a real oddity. “We Don’t Fight Anymore” was a moderate hit for the Kenton County native Pearce last summer. It was a stand-alone single, meaning it wasn’t part of an album, at least not yet. It barely cracked the Top 20 but drew considerable airplay. No doubt, some of the appeal came from Pearce’s duet partner, fellow Kentuckian Chris Stapleton. Pearce reportedly sent the song, which she co-wrote, to Stapleton’s wife and artistic partner Morgane. She then passed it to her husband and an alliance was struck.

This will be a long-shot win for Pearce. Then again, she won her only Grammy (so far) last year in the same category for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” a duet with Ashley McBryde. The song fended off Goliath-level competition from Reba McEntire/Dolly Parton, Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Luke Combs/Miranda Lambert and Brothers Osborne.

Pearce’s home state fans should also note the singer will be back on home turf on June 15 to open a Rupp Arena concert for Tim McGraw.

Silas House

Best Music Video: “In Your Love”

This might seem an unlikely entry for several reasons. Though current Kentucky Poet Laureate House is predominantly viewed as a novelist, he has also worked extensively as a music journalist, penning press kit bios for the likes of Jason Isbell, Kris Kristofferson, Lucinda Williams and, not coincidentally, Tyler Childers.

The Laurel County native’s connection with the latter led to duties writing the story line for the music video for “In Your Love.” It depicts a romance between two gay coal miners, the subsequent hate that erupts among some in their rural community and a tragic ending that crosses all gender association boundaries.

This is only the 10th country-leaning music video to be nominated for a Grammy. It is also House’s first nod. I’m looking for this to be a win for House and Childers this weekend.

Teddy Abrams

Best Classical Instrumental Solo: “The American Project”

As Louisville Orchestra music director for the past decade, Abrams been something of a cultural journeyman, performing as a keyboardist in a variety of musical ensembles and conducting the orchestra in numerous non-classical concert, outreach and festival settings.

Abrams’ first Grammy nomination is for “The American Project,” an album featuring pianist and fellow Curtis Institute of Music graduate Yuja Wang. The record includes Abrams’ jazz inspired “Piano Concerto,” which Wang premiered with the Louisville Orchestra in January of 2022.