The award was first approved by the board of trustees of the Grammy Awards in June 2014.
[1] According to NARAS, the award encompasses all of the subgenres of the American Roots category field, which include Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk and other forms of regional roots music.
The category is open for solo artists, duos, groups and other collaborations and is for singles or tracks only.
It was joined by a sister category, Best Americana Performance, in 2023.
The Grammy is awarded to the performer(s) of the winning recording.