The 
Grammy Awards returned to New York City for the first time since 2003 last night, offering an over-three-hour 60th annual spectacle at Madison Square Garden. The night featured a number of performances from nominees and more, including a touching tribute to Tom Petty, a barn-burning homage to Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, a fiery opener from Kendrick Lamar and a powerful statement from Kesha, among other moments. 

Guitarist Gary Clark Jr. and pianist/Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste teamed up for the Berry/Domino tribute, which had the energy if not quite the time allotment to properly honor the rock-and-roll pioneers with truncated versions of their tunes “Ain’t That A Shame” (Domino) and “Maybellene” (Berry). 

To kick off the somber “In Memoriam” segment of the night, Chris Stapleton (winner of three Grammys on the night and cover star of the December issue of Relix) and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Emmylou Harris joined forces and voices for a gorgeous rendition of Petty’s “Wildflowers.”

Other highlights of the night included Lamar’s politically charged medley that opened the show (and featured U2’s Bono and The Edge), Kesha’s performance of “Praying,” dedicated to the women’s empowerment “Time’s Up” movement and featuring a number of supporting female voices like Cyndi Lauper, Andra Day and Camila Cabello, Childish Gambino crooning on his own “Terrified” (with impressive young singer JD McCrary) and Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ delivering some blues during the Grammy Premiere Ceremony that came before the main event. 

Watch clips of those Grammy highlights below.

Gary Clark Jr. + Jon Batiste “Ain’t That A Shame” & “Maybellene”:

Chris Stapleton + Emmylou Harris “Wildflowers”:

Kendrick Lamar:

Kendrick Lamar’s full performance at the 2018 #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/VG5K88hPQ0
— DUCKWORTH TDE (@DuckworthTDE) January 29, 2018

Kesha:

Childish Gambino:

Taj Mahal + Keb’ Mo’: