Grammy Awards: 7 can't-miss Nashville moments

A little bit of Nashville took to the Grammy Awards stage on Sunday night in Los Angeles — and a slice of the Grammys made its way to Music City. 

The 63rd annual Grammy Awards ran Sunday on CBS and featured performances by country hitmakers and history-makers, as well as a one-off appearance inside a beloved Nashville club. 

From tear-jerking tributes to late Nashville artists and one win 150 years in the making, read along for seven can't-miss Nashville moments from this year's Grammy Awards. 

More:The full list of 2021 Grammy Award winners

Taylor's third Album of the Year

Taylor Swift's "Folklore," an album of mystic escapism born out of self-isolation, won Album of the Year in a fitting nod to the reverie art Swift has delivered at a prolific pace since COVID-19 otherwise upended the music business. 

Swift, a world-renowned artist and part-time Nashville resident who launched her career in Music City, won the top honor for a third time in Grammy Awards history. She's the first woman to achieve such rare heights, joining all-time company in Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder. 

Grammys:Taylor Swift (and the rest of Nashville) make history during powerful show

Surrounded by collaborators — including producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, who performed with Swift earlier in the show — she praised her listeners in accepting the trophy. 

"Mostly, we just want to thank the fans," Swift said from the outdoor Los Angeles stage. "You guys met us in this imaginary world that we created, and we can't tell you how honored we are, forever."

Miranda's ace 'Wildcard' 

Miranda Lambert's "Wildcard" paid off Sunday night.

Behind the Jay Joyce-produced 2019 release, Lambert won Best Country Album — the top genre prize at the Grammy Awards for Nashville's famed export — for the second time in her career. The first was for 2014 effort "Platinum." 

Lambert thanked her team, husband, fellow nominees, bandmates and the forearm tattoo that inspired "Wildcard." She won a field that featured Ashley McBryde, Brandy Clark, Ingrid Andress and Little Big Town, all female or co-ed acts. 

It's the third Grammy win for Lambert, a 21-time nominee. 

"We're such a family in country music so I feel like holding this right now I'm holding it for all of us, especially us girls," Lambert said on stage. 

She celebrated her win by performing standout "Wildcard" number "Bluebird" during the ceremony. Lambert delivered the a true-to-form performance of the pensive, wistful tune, singing its hopeful chorus — "I'll keep a light on in my soul/ Keep a bluebird in my heart" — with a conviction familiar to her standout storytelling. 

"Bluebird was a big song for me and I haven't got to sing it with [the fans] and play it with the band much," Lambert told The Tennessean backstage. "This [award] feels good in a year where you're like, 'What's happening? Does it mean anything anymore?' But knowing that the music helped get people through — including myself — I know the celebration will be even bigger when we get back together." 

More:Miranda Lambert brings 'Bluebird' to 2021 Grammy Awards

Mickey's moment 

Mickey Guyton — the first solo Black woman in country music to earn a Grammy Award nomination — performed her transcendent single "Black Like Me" during Sunday night's show. 

A vital piece of country music truth-telling on her experience as an African American woman, Guyton delivered the ballad's soaring chorus backed by a full band: "If you think we live in the land of the free/ You should try to be Black like me." 

The Grammys performance marked Guyton's highest-profile TV appearance to date. Last year, she stole the show at the ACM Awards, performing "What Are You Gonna Tell Her" with Keith Urban.

Her history-making nomination didn't earn Guyton a Grammy Award, however; Vince Gill won in Guyton's nominated category, Best Solo Country Performance, for his song "When My Amy Prays." 

"Although I didn’t win this Grammy, it truly is an honor and I will forever be a Grammy nominated artist," she shared on Twitter. "I love you guys." 

More:ACM Awards: Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton to co-host Nashville show

'We all thank you, John'

John Prine won two posthumous Grammy Awards Sunday night, nearly 50 years after the great singer-songwriter earned his first nomination. 

Prine's "I Remember Everything" — his last recording — won Best American Roots Song and Best American Roots Performance at Sunday's pre-telecast ceremony. 

"I Remember Everything," recorded in 2019, was released last June — two months after the 73-year-old died of complications from COVID-19.  

Prine's widow and former manager, Fiona Prine, accepted the award along with the couple's three sons.

"The music community in Nashville and beyond, your love and encouragement has meant the world to us this past year," Fiona Prine said. "And to the fans, you span several generations now. Thank you for supporting and continuing to promote John's words and music in the world."

And, during the prime time ceremony, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile honored Prine with a stunning rendition of "I Remember Everything."

Carlile performed the song during an in memoriam segment that saw Lionel Richie singing for late country hitmaker Kenny Rogers, and Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak honoring Little Richard. 

"We all thank you, John," Carlile said from the Grammy Awards stage, "for everything." 

More:Grammy Awards 2021: Brandi Carlile to salute John Prine at ceremony

A 150-year honor

How's this for an overdue honor? 

150 years after the original group was founded — and subsequently brought African-American music to the world — Nashville's Fisk Jubilee Singers won their first-ever Grammy Award. 

"Hallelujah," said Dr. Paul Kwami, who has served as the group’s musical director since 1994. 

The winning album was recorded live at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium with 2016-17 students and featured guest artists Ruby Amanfu, Keb’ Mo’, Lee Ann Womack, The Fairfield Four, Rod McGaha, Derek Minor, Shannon Sanders, Rodney Atkins, Jimmy Hall and CeCe Winans.

Backstage, Kwami said he wanted to "honor those original" students who founded the group in 1871. 

"In a way, it’s surprising, it’s the first time we have won a Grammy," Kwami said in the virtual press room Sunday night. "Sometimes I think it’s because of the music we’re known for, which is the Negro spiritual. Whatever the case, I’m happy this happened in the year we are celebrating our 150th anniversary. It’s an addition to the celebration.”

More:Fisk Jubilee Singers win first Grammy in 150-year career

Maren meets Mayer 

In a segment that featured back-to-back-to-back Nashville performances, Maren Morris brought her crossover smash "The Bones" to the Grammy Awards stage. 

And she brought a collaborator in guitar-pop entertainer John Mayer.

Mayer took a solo and sang backing vocals to the fit-for-a-pandemic hit that reminds listeners, "When the bones are good, the rest don't matter." 

A piece of Nashville 

Grammy viewers stepped into Nashville's own Station Inn during Sunday night's show. 

The venerable bluegrass club — located in an untouched nook of the gentrified Gulch neighborhood — got a prime time feature as part of a Grammy initiative to highlight independent venues impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The segment featured a brief interview with owner JT Gray, who unveiled the award for Best Country Album. 

More:Grammy Awards: Nashville club Station Inn featured on upcoming show

Contributing: USA Today's Bryan Alexander