Molly Tuttle's new album is her third. But in many ways, it's a reintroduction – of her prodigious guitar talent, of her personal story, and to the Recording Academy that decides Grammy Awards.

This year artists working within the orbit of the unstable category "roots music" got personal even as they explored complex cultural lineages and challenged the rules of established scenes and forms.

This year artists working within the orbit of the unstable category "roots music" got personal even as they explored complex cultural lineages and challenged the rules of established scenes and forms.

Both artists could have used their new albums to make good on their pop crossover potential. Instead, they managed to reaffirm their ties to their genres of origin without sacrificing creative growth.