As the Americana Music Association celebrates 25 years as a trade organization committed to honoring, supporting and advocating for a myriad of roots-oriented music, the organization held its 23rd annual Americana Honors & Awards at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Wednesday evening (Sept. 18).
The historic building, which has been home to generations of performers, was appropriate for the ceremony, as the evening was a revelry of Americana music’s roots and branches, winding through and meshing together rock n’ roll, Gospel, folk, country, blues, R&B and more.
Sierra Ferrell was the evening’s biggest winner, taking home the coveted artist of the year honor as well as album of the year (for Trail of Flowers). “Wondering Why” hitmakers The Red Clay Strays were named emerging artist of the year.
Duane Betts opened the show with a tribute to his late father Dickey Betts by performing a relaxed, rollicking rendition of The Allman Brothers Band’s “Blue Sky” (from The Allman Brothers Band’s 1972 album Eat a Peach), punctuated by Betts’ note-perfect guitar skills and relaxed-yet-commanding guitar acumen.
“That one’s for you, Dad. We love you,” Betts said, honoring his father, Dickey, who died in April.
The Milk Carton Kids welcomed the audience watching both in-person at the Ryman as well as those watching at home. Buddy Miller continued his reign as band leader, leading the 2024 house band with Don Was, The McCrary Sisters, Bryan Owings, Jerry Pentecost, Jen Gunderman, Jim Hoke and Larry Campbell.
From there, Oklahoma native and emerging artist of the year nominee Kaitlin Butts performed a roaring rendition of the witty, fiddle laden “You Ain’t Gotta Die (to Be Dead to Me).” The first accolade of the evening, instrumentalist of the year, was awarded to 18-year-old guitarist/singer phenom Grace Bowers, who in August released her debut album, Wine on Venus. Bowers was on the road and could not be in attendance.
Waxahatchee performed her song of the year-nominated “Right Back To It,” from her album Tigers Blood. Charles Wesley Godwin, his voice golden and burnished, performed the banjo-inflected love song “All Again.”
The evening rolled on with performances from the agile-voiced Jobi Riccio, as well as Wyatt Flores, who previewed the title track from his upcoming project Welcome to the Plains.
The Milk Carton Kids dedicated their performance of “When You’re Gone” to sound engineer Mark Richards. Also stunning the audience were performances from sibling duo Larkin Poe, Red Dirt country-rockers Turnpike Troubadours, and the octave-scaling, peerless vocal dynamo The War and Treaty (who drew an instant, rowdy standing ovation). Also on the bill were engaging performances from Sarah Jarosz, Brandy Clark accompanied by SistaStrings, and a masterful performance of “American Dreaming” from Ferrell. Noah Kahan also performed his smash hit “Dial Drunk.”
Throughout the evening, powerful performances were punctuated by more awards winners, including Larkin Poe (duo/group of the year), Grace Bowers (instrumentalist of the year) and Brandy Clark (song of the year, for “Dear Insecurity,” featuring Brandi Carlile).
“I have struggled most of my career with where my music fits and you guys have made me feel at home,” Clark said in accepting the song of the year honor. “I remember I was at a low time of not fittin’ in and [Americana Music Association executive director] Jed Hilly invited me to play AmericanaFest.” Clark also thanked several of her music industry champions, including Gail Gellman, Tracy Gershon, CMT’s Leslie Fram, as well as the musicians on Clark’s self-titled album and Carlile, who not only sang on the song, but produced the album.
The Americana Music Association also honored several artists and musicians with the lifetime achievement award, including the gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama, who performed an ovation-drawing rendition of “Work Until My Days are Done.” Fellow lifetime achievement honorees included Dave Alvin (known for his work as an artist, writer and member of The Blasters, X and The Knitters), Rev. Gary Davis, Shelby Lynne, Dwight Yoakam and musician/producer Don Was (known for working with a slate of artists including Bonnie Raitt, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elton John, John Mayer, Ziggy Marley, Lucinda Williams, Ringo Starr, Delbert McClinton, Hootie & the Blowfish, The Black Crowes and Martina McBride (who introduced Was during the evening’s celebration).
“Go where the love is,” Alvin advised those listening. “Surround yourself with people who love music the same way that you do, no matter what passing tastes or fads might be, and always surround yourselves with musicians who are better than you are.”
The Americana Music Association has for the past five years teamed with the National Museum of African American Music, and was instrumental Wednesday evening in honoring Davis with the legacy of americana award, with Fantastic Negrito performing “Samson and Delilah.”
Singer-songwriter Allison Moorer celebrated her big sister and Wednesday evening’s lifetime achievement honoree Shelby Lynne, calling Lynne “my personal trailblazer.”
“I am proud to be a part of Americana. If I was ever to fit in anywhere, it was with the misfits, storytellers, outlaws and truth-tellers, the heartbreakers, the hippies,” Lynne said, before she was joined by Moorer in singing “Gotta Get Back,” from Lynne’s landmark album I Am Shelby Lynne.
Versatile musician, writer and actor Yoakam was also feted by Clark with a lifetime achievement award. He earned a standing ovation as he took the stage, first paying tribute to Alvin, saying, “Without Dave Alvin coming into my life, I don’t know where my journey would have taken me. The twists and turns that lay ahead of me at that point wouldn’t have turned corners into bright sunlight without Dave championing me…I owe him a debt of gratitude along with [guitarist/producer] Pete Anderson.”
“That was truly an independent record,” Yoakam said of Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., which Yoakam originally released as a six-song indie record in 1984, before it was picked up by Warner’s Reprise Records and re-released with additional songs in 1986. The project would become the first of three consecutive Yoakam albums to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s top country albums chart. On Wednesday evening, Yoakam also said that original indie project was part of, “…why the spirit of the Americana Music Association felt at home to me…Thanks for the reminder every year when the AMA allows me to participate in anything they are doing. They always make room for us to come down… Every decade or so there is another generation that rediscovers the enormous impact of early country music, blues, rock and roll, soul, all of it can have on their peers and a brand new audience. The only place I ever won an artist of the year award was the Americana Awards [in 2013],” he noted. From there, fastening his guitar strap, Yoakam plunged the audience into his Bakersfield-meets-rockabilly groove of his 1993 hit “Fast as You.”
During the evening, Elizabeth Cook also took a moment to honor Jeremy Tepper, executive and program director of SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country station, who passed away in June.
“Jeremy was a key part of this community,” Cook said. “He was a musician first-off, and a label owner, a really clever guy who recognized that truck stops still had jukeboxes…and thus was born Diesel Only Records….he was an early and ardent supporter of the Americana Music Association.”
The star-studded evening closed with Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell offering a version of the Gram Parsons song “Return of the Grievous Angel.”
See the full list of this year’s Americana Music Honors & Awards honorees below:
Instrumentalist of the year: Grace Bowers
Album of the year: Trail of Flowers, Sierra Ferrell (produced by Eddie Spear and Gary Paczosa)
Duo/Group of the year: Larkin Poe
Emerging act of the year: The Red Clay Strays
Song of the year: “Dear Insecurity,” by Brandy Clark (feat. Brandi Carlile) (written by Clark and Michael Pollack)
Artist of the year: Sierra Ferrell
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