Gillian Pelkonen reacts after finding out that the band I’m With Her won a 2026 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. (Photo provided by Gillian Pelkonen)
Alumna Wins Grammy for Engineering Best Folk Album
Gillian Pelkonen G’21 was recording a video on her phone while attending the when the band was announced as winner of the Best Folk Album.
Then, adrenaline took over. A recording engineer for the trio’s “,” Pelkonen had quite the memorable time during her first trip to the music industry’s biggest event of the year.
“When they won, I completely panicked and threw my phone at my friend who was sitting next to me, stopping the video I was taking,” says Pelkonen, an alumna of the master’s of audio arts program.
I’m With Her band members Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz, who each have accomplished solo careers, accepted the Best Folk Album award on stage at the glitzy Feb. 1 ceremony in Los Angeles. During remarks, O’Donovan singled out Pelkonen, along with co-engineer D. James Goodwin and producer Josh Kaufman for their work.
“The whole thing felt like a blur—the ceremony moves so quickly that it felt like the category and the winner were announced back-to-back,” Pelkonen says.
Actually, it was the second award of the night for I’m With Her, which minutes earlier had won Best American Roots Song for “Ancient Light,” the lead track on “Wild and Clear and Blue.”
Pelkonen said the experience felt surreal, especially after spending months working on the album in studios in quiet, intimate communities in upstate New York. As an engineer, she tries to create an environment that “feels easy, supportive and invisible—where the music can happen without friction.”
“It was about capturing the performances live in the room, letting Aoife, Sara and Sarah do what they do best, and staying out of their way,” Pelkonen says.
The audio arts master’s program is co-led by the and . Since earning her Pelkonen has built a career in the Hudson Valley, working as both a primary and second engineer for producers and individual artists. In 2024, she expanded her work to include touring as production assistant for the band Goose.
“I don’t think you can ever know whether something will be recognized by the Grammys, and thinking about it during the process can actually take away from the creativity,” Pelkonen says.
“What I did know was that we were making something special, emotional and unique,” she says, “and I felt incredibly honored to be part of it.”
