Americana Music Association’s 12th Annual Honors 2013

Americana Music Association’s 12th Annual Honors 2013

Winners List,  Links to: Audio, Reports, Press Releases, Photos + Billboard Article 

Americana Music Association’s 12th Annual Honors 2013
CLICK to ENLARGE

Folk Alley and NPR Music returned to Nashville to present a webcast of the Americana Music Association’s 12th Annual Honors and Awards ceremony presented by Nissan from historic Ryman Auditorium. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013.

The event, hosted by Jim Lauderdale, included performances by The McCrary Sisters (“Blowin’ in the Wind”), Robert Hunter, Old Crow Medicine Show (“Wagon Wheel”), Dr. John, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Richard Thompson (“Good Things Happen to Bad People,”), John Fullbright, Shovels & Rope (“Birmingham”), Milk Carton Kids, JD McPherson, Mike Bub, Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, Holly Williams and Duane Eddy. Original Buffalo Springfield members Stephen Stills and Richie Furay also came together to play the band’s iconic song “For What It’s Worth,” and third-generation musician Holly Williams offered a tribute to her late grandfather Hank Williams Sr.

Revered Nashville songsmiths Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell took home Duo/Group and Album of the Year honors, while roots-rock newcomers Shovels & Rope, featuring Nashville native Cary Ann Hearst, won Emerging Artist and Song of the Year awards.

The Americana Honors & Awards house band led by Buddy Miller, included Don Was, Larry Campbell, Marco Giovino, John Deaderick, Jim Hoke and the McCrary Sisters. Artists return to the stage to perform "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" to close the event.

The Americana Honors & Awards, aired live on AXS TV, NPR.org, Sirius/XM's "Outlaw Country" and WSM. "Austin City Limits" will broadcast an edited special Nov. 23.

Voice of America and Bob Harris of BBC2 will broadcast overseas in the following weeks. 

** Listen to a recording of the entire show (161 minutes), including performances by Shovels & Rope, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter at folkalley or npr.org

Americana Music Association’s 12th Annual Honors
Montage - CLICK to ENLARGE

 AMA Honors & Awards 2013: Winners

Album of the Year: “Old Yellow Moon,” Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell - Photo

(presented by Rosanne Cash & Alejandro Escovedo)

Artist of the Year: Dwight Yoakam  (presented by Nicki Bluhm & Sam Bush)

Duo Group of the Year: Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell Photo 

(presented by Tift Merritt & Billy Bragg)

Song of the Year: “Birmingham,” Shovels & Rope - Photo

(presented by Joy Williams and Langhorne Slim - Photo)

Emerging Artist of the Year: Shovels & Rope - Image

Instrumentalist of the Year: Larry Campbell

(presented by Jerry Douglas & Aoife O'Donovan - photo)

Trailblazer Award: Old Crow Medicine Show (presented by actor Ed Helms - Photo

Spirit of Americana / Free Speech in Music Award: Stephen Stills

(presented by Ken Paulson and Richie Furay - Photo)

Lifetime Achievement for Instrumentalist: Duane Eddy

(presented by Bob Harris OBE - Photo) 

Lifetime Achievement for Performance: Dr. John (presented by Dan Auerbach)

Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriter: Robert Hunter

President’s Award: Hank Williams

(presented by Ken Burns) accepted by Jett Williams and Holly Williams photo -

Lifetime Achievement Award for Executive: Chris Strachwitz 

(presented by Ry Cooder- photo)

Full listing of the 2013 Americana Music Association Awards Nominees

Sept 19, 2013 Official Press Release (Americana Music Association) FULL report and winners listing.

Press Release: Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Ed Helms. Ken Burns join Americana Honors & Awards Show, Sept. 18

Reviews:

Nashville Scene.com Review: Americana Awards and Honors Show at the Ryman, 9/18/13

The Tennessean - Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Shovels & Rope win big at 2013

The Telegraph - Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell win two trophies at Americana Awards

Wall Street Journal When a Shelter Becomes a Home...The Americana Music Association's annual awards show Wednesday celebrates a young but growing genre that was once a refuge for roots music veterans.....

Americana Music Association’s 12th Annual Honors
Red Carpet Montage - CLICK to ENLARGE

Photo's 

The Tennessean Gallery photos: Americana Honors & Awards red carpet 2013

The Tennessean Gallery photos: Americana Honors & Awards 2013

Khou.com  Gallery photos (51 pic)

Getty Images Search Gallery

Lennon Stella and Maisy Stella ("Maddie and Daphne" on the ABC series Nashville) perform live 12th Annual Americana Music Honors And Awards Ceremony - Photo

BBC Radio's Bob Harris presents Duane Eddy with the Lifetime Achievement for Instrumentalist - Photo - Photo

Red Carpet

Suzy Bogguss, Jerry Douglas and Martina McBride - Photo

Nicki Bluhm - Photo

Tim Bluhm and Nicki Bluhm (Indie country/folk duo) - Photo

Rodney Crowell, Emmy Lou Harris and Brian Ahern - Photo

Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris - Photo -  Photo

Charles Esten (“Deacon” from ABC series Nashville)  - Photo

Jed Hilly and Ed Helms - Photo

Martina McBride - Photo

Aoife O'Donovan - Photo

Lennon Stella and Maisy Stella - Photo - ** Photo

Lennon Stella and Maisy Stella ("Maddie and Daphne" on the ABC series Nashville) - ** Photo

Maisy Stella, Lennon Stella & Charles Esten - ** Photo

Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst of Shovels and Rope - Photo ** Photo

Joy Williams & the Americana Music Association's Jed Hilly - Photo

BBC Radio's Bob Harris and Holly Williams - Photo

Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis - Photo

Holly Williams and BBC Radio's Bob Harris - Photo

Joy Williams - Photo

Tweets

FolkAlley.com @FolkAlley #Americanafest Stephen Stills & Richie Furay - ROCKIN' "For What It's Worth" !!  Yeah!!!

Americana Music @AmericanaFest Congratulations to @shovelsandrope, the 2013 winners of Emerging Artist of the year! @TheRyman #americanafest

Clare Bowen @clarembee @AmericanaFest at @TheRyman. Now THAT'S music. pic.twitter.com/h0yDFXVuX3

Bob Harris Country @BHarrisCountry And of course we bow down to @crowmedicine @WhisperingBob  #americanafest  http://twitpic.com/de49i5

Bob Harris Country @BHarrisCountry What a night! @WhisperingBob with Stephen Stills everyone! #americanafest  http://twitpic.com/de495s

Martina McBride @martinamcbride Such an AMAZING night of music tonight at the @AmericanaFest. Inspiring and beautiful performances. So happy to be there!

JD McPherson @jdmcphersonjr Had a blast yesterday at @AmericanaFest , so good to see my Oklahoma compadre @johnrfullbright and many other giants perform!

Dwight Yoakam @DwightYoakam Thank you to @AmericanaFest for the enormous honor you have given me & 3 Pears. I am humbled by having been given Artist of The Year Award.

  

Related Article:

Billboard: When Country Becomes Americana

What’s a country artist to do when the hits stop coming?

In another era, the options were to retire a la Barbara Mandrell or to keep playing the oldies in a scaled-down manner, as did the subject of John Anderson’s “Would You Catch a Falling Star.”

The new option is to experiment a little, maintain some uncertain tie to roots music and rebrand as an Americana artist.

Rodney & Emmylou
Click to enlarge (Getty Photo)

Emmylou Harris and Dwight Yoakam, both of whom commanded attention from mainstream country radio with adventurous recordings earlier in their careers, occupy two of the four artist of the year slots on the ballot for this year’s American Music Honors & Awards, which will be presented Sept. 18 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Harris and Rodney Crowell, who scored five No. 1 country singles with his 1988 album “Diamonds & Dirt”, are also up for Americana album for Old Yellow Moon.

It’s hardly the first time the Americana Music Assn. embraced a country act on the backside of a successful commercial run. Johnny Cash received three posthumous Americana awards in 2003 for the work he did with producer Rick Rubin. Loretta Lynn was a double-winner the next year after working with Jack White. Rosanne Cash likewise earned an album of the year trophy in 2010 for The List.

Not that every country artist could segue into Americana. It’s hard to imagine the genre embracing Moe Bandy, Earl Thomas Conley or SHeDAISY.

It’s sort of like criminology—one has to prove intent. In the case of Americana, it’s the intent to risk commercial reputation in favor of artistic pursuit.

“I look at the Americana genre, and I think it’s really an art form compared with commercial art,” Americana Assn. executive director Jed Hilly says. “I think that the country music genre as we know it today has moved into more of the commercial art form. It’s not a criticism, it’s just a fact”.

“The artists in the Americana world, they really work like a sculptor, or a painter or an artist. They’re reaching back into history, in some ways, to get their inspiration. And there’s no question in my mind that Dwight, Emmy, they studied the masters, the same way Picasso studied the masters. They’re inspired by Charlie Louvin, they’re inspired by Hank Williams. That’s my take on why they live in the Americana genre.”

Mirriam-Webster officially added Americana to the dictionary in 2011, defining it as “a genre of American music having roots in early folk and country music.” Americana likewise embraces other rootsy forms—blues, black gospel and bluegrass, for example—but it’s still somewhat murky to many outsiders, despite Hilly’s insistence otherwise.

Yoakam’s presence in the category adds to the confusion. Warner Music Nashville never worked his critically lauded 2012 album 3 Pears to country radio (he is, reportedly, no longer on the label), and there’s reason to believe it never would have received much attention at mainstream radio.

Jed Hilly

Yet if you strip away the imaging and marketing, and consider 3 Pears solely on its sonic merits, it’s not unlikely that his raucous brand of country could be accepted by the actual listener right alongside Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line.

Americana generally distances itself from such mainstream acts, though it welcomed Dierks Bentley to its stage when he worked his bluegrass/alt-country album Up on the Ridge. And it’s not entirely impossible other one-off forays outside the mainstream would be accepted. Hilly hasn’t heard Alan Jackson’s The Bluegrass Album and could only react to George Strait’s recent hint that a Western swing-style album may be in his future.

“Great, if Alan Jackson is exploring the roots,” Hilly says. “Kudos to him, kudos to George, for pushing the envelope. That’s what an artist does.” There’s that art thing again. Part of the reason Americana remains a little hazy—who decides whether the primary motivation is art or commerce?

Even the artist in question may not know the answer.