LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Legendary roots star Taj Mahal was announced to be honored at the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony, receiving a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, alongside fellow honorees Frankie Beverly, The Clash, Dr. Bobby Jones, Prince, Roxanne Shante, and Frankie Valli. The ceremony celebrating the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award, and Technical GRAMMY Award recipients will return during GRAMMY Week on February 1, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.
Mahal also received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album for Swingin’ Live at the Church in Tulsa, a dynamic live album released via Lightning Rod Records. Mahal also received a nomination for Best American Roots Performance for “Nothing In Rambling” by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Featuring Taj alongside Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, and Mick Fleetwood.
Swingin’ Live at the Church in Tulsa is his latest project and an extraordinary set recorded live at the Tulsa studio. The studio is best known as the home base of Shelter Records and the late great Leon Russell, a huge influence on and personal friend of Mahal’s. The ten songs reach across multiple genres that he has explored in his incomparable career and feature “The Taj Mahal Sextet,” which includes bassist Bill Rich, drummer Kester Smith, and guitarist/Hawaiian lap steel player Bobby Ingano—augmented by dobro player Rob Ickes and guitarist and vocalist Trey Hensley.
At 82 years old, Mahal can easily claim musical legend status. He has four Grammy Awards to his name (out of seventeen nominations), alongside a lifetime of other achievements and a career spanning six decades, releasing nearly 50 albums; he is both an architect and custodian of the roots music sound. Proficient in 20 different instruments and a serial collaborator, Mahal has worked with musicians including the Rolling Stones, Etta James, Angelique Kidjo, Ziggy Marley, and more.
“Some of us were gifted by our ancestors to be in a long line of musicians,” says Mahal. “It’s in your DNA. Others are lucky to find it and put in the dedication that it takes to be able to get there. So that’s my life as an 82-year-old—still playing music, still enjoying it, still getting to do the things I want to do.”
Track List
01 – Betty And Dupree
02 – Mailbox Blues
03 – Queen Bee
04 – Lovin’ In My Baby’s Eyes
05 – Waiting For My Papa To Come Home
06 – Slow Drag
07 – Sitting On Top Of The World
08 – Twilight In Hawaii
09 – Corrina
10 – Mean Old World
US Tour Dates – Tickets
Jan-Feb 26-2 2025 – Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise 2025 – Fort Lauderdale, FL
Feb 6 2025 – Jesse Ed Davis Tribute – Tulsa, OK
Feb 8 2025 – The Masonic – San Francisco, CA – Benefit for Sweet Relief Musicians Fund Celebrating 30th years and honoring Joan Baez
Mar 15 2025 – Taj Mahal Quintet 6PM Show – Phoenix, AZ
Mar 15 2025 – Taj Mahal Quintet 8PM Show – Phoenix, AZ
Mar 16 2025 – Taj Mahal Quintet 6PM Show – Phoenix, AZ
Mar 16 2025 – Taj Mahal Quintet 8PM Show – Phoenix, AZ
Mar 27-30 2025 – Big Ears Festival 2025 – Knoxville, TN
Mar 30 2025 – Savannah Music Festival – Savannah, GA
Apr 25-27 2025 – Biscuits and Banjos 2025 – Durham, NC
