GRAMMY nominated album: Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople // voting starts Fri Dec. 12 // listening event in LA Thurs Dec. 18
Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño
& Friends at TreePeople
GRAMMY® Award nominated for
Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
“Musically ambitious, exploratory, and principled, this is a necessary statement for our times.” -WIRE Magazine
“An album of invocation, memory, resistance, and release, it bridges generations, disciplines, and intentions.” -Cast the Dice
“Urgent and immensely powerful." -FLOOD
"Williams lifts a suite of soothing ambient jazz into something powerful, optimistic and inspiring.”
-The Quietus
“It’s a message his country - and the rest of the world - needs to hear, and on this beautiful, angry and groundbreaking live album, he gets that message across with unrivaled eloquence.” -KLOF
“Deep and moving.” -mxdwn
“This album marks a new enterprise and platform for greater harmony and a safe place for experimentation.” -Monolith Cocktail
(( photo by Sam Lee ))
Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople, the first collaborative album from poet/vocalist Saul Williams and percussionist/producer Carlos Niño, has been nominated for a 2026 GRAMMY Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.
It is the first ever GRAMMY nomination for the poet, performer, actor and musician Williams, coming more than 25 years into his career as a recording artist.For Niño, the nomination follows his major presence in the pool of 2025 GRAMMY Award nods, where he was nominated in the 'Best Instrumental Composition' category, and André 3000's album New Blue Sun that Niño co-produced was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Alternative Jazz Album'.
Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople was recorded live underneath black walnut and oak trees in Coldwater Canyon Park, Los Angeles, December 18th, 2024, on the grounds of longstanding conservationist organization TreePeople. Featuring Nate Mercereau (Guitar Synthesizer, Live Sampling with Midi Guitar, Sample Sources), Aaron Shaw (Flute, Soprano Saxophone with Pedals, Tenor Saxophone), Andres Renteria (Bells, Congas, Egyptian Rattle Drum, Hand Drums, Percussion), Maia (Flute, Vibraphone, Voice), Francesca Heart (Computer, Conch Shell, Sound Design), Kamasi Washington (Tenor Saxophone), and a special appearance from aja monet, the album is a testament to the radical potential of communal creativity as a salve against both political apathy and social alienation.
The album is in many ways an archetype of the community-based, in-the-moment album production style that International Anthem has embraced since our label's first releases; and it was mixed and mastered by IARC engineers Dave Vettraino and David Allen. This GRAMMY nomination is a first for our label as well, marking a proud new milestone at the close of our IA11 campaign (celebrating our eleventh year).
Listen to
Saul Williams meets
Carlos Niño & Friends
at TreePeople.
ALBUM LISTENING EVENT
LOS ANGELES DECEMBER 18th
Exactly one year after the original live recording of Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople, this coming Thursday December 18, 2025, International Anthem, TreePeople, and Living Earth (organizer of the original concert) will together host a special listening event in the hillside amphitheater at TreePeople – the very same location where the album was recorded.
The gathering starts at 6pm with tea from Greenstone Farm and Sanctuary. Full listening of the album starts at 7pm, immediately followed by a round table discussion with musicians and others who contributed to the album's creation.
...ICYMI...
Watch this incredible KEXP session with Saul Williams, Carlos Niño & Friends (featuring the amazing Aaron Shaw)
Deluxe Vinyl Package
Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at Treepeople comes on a Limited edition 140 gram vinyl 2xLP, inside a heavyweight jacket, with 8 page insert booklet, hype sticker and printed poly-lined printed inner-sleeves. Pressed at Pallas in Germany, with lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST.T.
Available on Limited Edition "Forest Edition" Color vinyl for $37 USD.
Also available on Classic Black vinyl for $32 USD.
