Music’s Biggest Night

It was just another typical November morning for Music Industry Arts professor Dan Brodbeck. He was in his office at Fanshawe to critique a recording with one of his first-year students when a text popped up from a friend based in Los Angeles: “Dude…In the End was nominated for a Grammy!”

In the End is the final album from Irish alternative rock group, The Cranberries. Dan engineered part of the album and also co-wrote the track “Summer Song” with his late friend Dolores O’Riordan, the band’s lead singer.

In a state of shock, Dan paused the meeting to confirm if his name was included as part of the nomination. Not only do the artists receive a Grammy, but they are also given to the producers and engineers.

Once confirmed, Dan was able to share the excitement.

“This is a massive honour—it’s like winning a gold medal at the Olympics,” Dan says. “This is a world-wide award and to be one of five nominated in the Best Rock Album category, out of all the rock albums in the world—it doesn’t get any bigger than that.”

Just two months later Dan headed to Los Angeles to celebrate the biggest night in music.

On the day of the Grammys, Dan describes the buildup to the ceremony as strange because he was on his own—his friends and family were thousands of kilometres away getting ready to watch the festivities at a party held in Dan’s honour at The Chef’s Table, Fanshawe’s teaching restaurant.

Best Rock Album was one of 70 awards presented during an afternoon ceremony before the evening telecast.

“I was so nervous and started thinking about the fact that we could win,” he says. “There had been talk that they were going to move the Rock Album category to the evening telecast. Could it mean we could win since it was The Cranberries’ first nomination? It’s hard to believe since there are hundreds of submissions that are whittled down to just five nominees in a category.”

While the Best Rock Album award ultimately went to the band Cage the Elephant, Dan is proud of the nomination and could feel the support of those behind him. “I received an overwhelming number of messages through email, social media and texts, not only from London, but around the world,” he says.

After the afternoon ceremony wrapped up, Dan headed to the Staples Center for the evening event. “I was only 25 feet away from some of the biggest nominees, like Billie Eilish,” Dan says. “It felt like we were at a theatre performance because there were actually two stages, not just the one you see on television. So one set is being put together while a performance takes place on another. It was an amazing, over-the-top spectacle.”