Americana Music Honors & Awards Ceremony
The Americana Music Honors & Awards took place on Wednesday evening at the Ryman auditorium in Nashville, where top competition trophies were distributed to notable artists. The ceremony, which is part of the Americanafest Conference, saw Sierra Ferrell, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, MJ Lenderman, and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings take home awards.
Award Winners
Ferrell won the Americana Music Association award for Solo Artist of the Year for the second time in a row. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings took home the "Duo/Group of the Year" award. MJ Lenderman, who broke out as a solo artist last year with his album "Boat Songs", won the award for Emerging Artist of the Year. Nathaniel Rateliff and his band won Album of the Year for "The Future". The song of the year award went to "Old Churchyard", which was jointly written by the members of the recently reunited roots super group.
Special Honors
The remaining competitive prize, Instrumentalist of the Year, went to Alex Hargreaves, the touring violinist of the Billy Strings’ band. The Americana Music Association also awarded lifetime achievement awards and other special honors. The Old 97’s, Joe Henry, and Darrell Scott were the recipients of the official lifetime achievement awards. The McCrary Sisters received the Americana Award, in collaboration with the National Museum of African American Music.
Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award
Jesse Welles, who lost in the competition category for Emerging Artist of the Year, received the Spirit of Americana Free Speech award, which is traditionally considered one of the lifetime awards of the program. John Fogerty presented Welles with the trophy, after they had performed the Creedence classic "Who’ll Stop the Rain" together on stage.
The Ceremony
The 24th annual Americana Honors & Awards ceremony was hosted by John C. Reilly, a long-time champion of Americana music, and featured performances by most of the nominated artists. The show started and ended with historically minded appearances, including SG Goodman opening with a number by Neil Young and Emmylou Harris and Daniel Lanois performing a song from their 30-year-old album "Wrecking Ball". The ceremony was broadcast live on YouTube and will later be broadcast as part of the PBS series "Austin City Limits".
Standing Ovations
Standing ovations went to performances by Darrell Scott, the McCrary Sisters, Maggie Rose, Joe Henry, and the surprise team-up of two of the competitive winners of the night, Rateliff and the duo of Welch and Rawlings. The ceremony was a celebration of Americana music and its artists, and it will be remembered for its incredible performances and well-deserved awards.
