Polka + Grammy = Brave Combo

After a string of nominations and near-misses, Brave Combo finally won a long-deserved Grammy at the 42nd annual installment of the Grammy Awards, which happened February 23 in Los Angeles. The group won in the Best Polka Album category for last year's Polkasonic, following previous nominations in 1996 for Polkas for a Gloomy World, and last year for Polka Party with Brave Combo -- Live and Wild. In a convenient bit of timing, Brave Combo will release a new album on Rounder Records on March 21, though the disc -- titled The Process -- is not another set of polkas. Instead, The Process is the latest in the band's series of world-pop excursions; so much for capitalizing on the Grammy nod. (Yeah, like that would happen.) You can see and hear for yourself on Saturday, when Brave Combo performs with Mudd Runner and Stickies at Rick's Place.

Other local Grammy winners included Erykah Badu, who won in the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group category for her duet ("You Got Me") with The Roots, and the Dixie Chicks. The Chicks took home trophies for Album of the Year (for their -- altogether now -- fifth album, Fly) and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Ready to Run." Congratulations to all, save for the Dixie Chicks, whose inexplicable success, combined with their hefty award intake, has only served to prove that selling out is the right thing to do. Don't encourage The Man. Send your early Dixie Chicks albums to Street Beat at zcrain@dallasobserver.com.