Aditya Veera Venkatesh
Credit: Special Arrangement
Two Bengalureans are among this year’s invitees to The Recording Academy, the house of Grammy Awards. The invitees get to pitch artistes for top honours, vote for the big night, and support the California-based Academy in its initiatives to support music creators.
The city names include guitarist and vocalist Bruce Lee Mani of rock band Thermal And A Quarter, and Aditya Veera Venkatesh, who is behind the ‘Stalwarts of Music’ podcast.
The invitation process is community-driven. The Class of 2024 boasts nearly 4,000 new members from around the world, including some Indian and Indian-origin artistes and music professionals.
Mani told Metrolife his formal induction as a voting member is due mid-August, which is when he will know the full scale of his responsibilities.
Venkatesh, on the other hand, has completed the formalities and has started vetting names. He is also educating artistes about Grammy’s Online Entry Process. “I have submitted ‘Snatch it’ by Pune’s Shitalchandra Kulkarni for the best rock performance category. I have also named two Tamil singles — ‘Vaanmugil’ by Nishad G for the best global music performance, and the viral ‘Aasa kooda’ by Sai Abhyankkar for the best R&B song,” shares Venkatesh.
Venkatesh will also have free access to the 2025 Grammy awards ceremony, he reveals.