Jason
Isbell, Chris Stapleton Big Winners
at
Americana Music Association’s 15th Annual Honors & Awards
Stunning Tribute to Guy Clark, Merle Haggard, Dr. Ralph Stanley and Allen Toussaint opens 2016 Show, which also featured special appearances by:
Bob Weir, Dwight Yoakam, Margo Price, Timothy B. Schmit, Shawn Colvin,
Jason Isbell, George Strait and more
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| Chris Stapleton |
Two of the most talked-about roots music artists of the past year — Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton — highlighted the eclectic mix of honorees, presenters and performers at the 15th Annual Americana Music Association Honors & Awards show Wednesday night (21 Sept) at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium.
Isbell took home two trophies, one for Album of the Year for his 2015 release SOMETHING MORE THAN FREE and one for Song of the Year for “24 Frames,” while Stapleton was awarded Artist of the Year honors for the
overall impact made via his 2015 solo debut TRAVELLER.
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| Jason Isbell performs |
Isbell, now a six-time Americana Award winner, noted a key to keeping an artist grounded if success comes one’s way while accepting the Song of the Year award. “If you can, keep people around you who will tell you when you’ve done something awful, whether it’s in a song or in your personal life, and listen to them if at all possible,” Isbell said, thanking wife and fellow artist Amanda Shires as that key.
“Thank you to all the Americana radio stations out there, it’s been a
big part of what we’ve been doing,” Chris Stapleton said, genuinely touched
by the Artist of the Year award. “I’m
nervous, there’s so many heroes out here in audience and up here on the stage,
this is a remarkable thing.”
Each year, the Honors and Awards
show celebrates current Americana projects, a slate of Lifetime Achievement
awards, and a set of unique, unforgettable performances. Musical legends such
as Grateful Dead founder Bob Weir and country music megastar George Strait
graced the fabled Ryman stage alongside buzzed-about newcomers such as Margo
Price, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and The Lumineers.
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| 15th Annual Americana Music Association Honors & Awards Jason Isbell & wife Amanda Shires 21 Sept 2016 |
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| (L) Holly Williams presents Margo Price (R) with Emerging Artist Award |
Price picked up this year’s
Emerging Artist of the Year, while longtime musical collaborators Emmylou
Harris & Rodney Crowell earned Group/Duo of the Year (their second win in
this category), and fiddler Sara Watkins was named Instrumentalist of the Year
(the first female to win this award).
“What an extraordinary event!”
said Jed Hilly, executive director
of the Americana Music Association. “Once again, the Americana community raises
the bar of integrity and excellence. It’s such an honor to be in the room with
talent of that level.”
Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Shawn Colvin (Trailblazer), William Bell (Songwriting), Bob Weir (Performance), Jim Lauderdale (WagonMaster), Woody Guthrie (President’s Award), and Billy Bragg (Spirit of Americana/Free
Speech In Music, co-presented by the First Amendment Center) with the
posthumous President’s Award Presented In Honor of Woody Guthrie to Lucinda Williams on behalf of the
family.
Bob Weir, who helped open the show playing the Merle
Haggard classic “Mama Tried,” part of the tribute to recently departed musical
giants including Haggard, Allen Toussaint, Ralph Stanley and Guy Clark, took
note of the synthesis of musical traditions that shaped not only his own
experience, but encapsulates modern-day American roots music.
“You take musical traditions from England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain a
little bit, a little bit from France, and blend them together with a rich
variety of African musical traditions, and stir it up,” Weir said. “You let
it simmer for 200 or 300 years and see what happens. This could only happen in
a new land. Physically, culturally, and spiritually. That place was and is
America. It could only have happened here.”
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| 15th Annual Americana Music Association Honors & Awards George Strait & Jim Lauderdale perform 21 Sept 2016 CLICK to ENLARGE |
Americana fest all star finish:
Americana fest all star finish @AmericanaFest pic.twitter.com/5wHmSZQruU— Dylan Walshe (@DylanRWalshe) 22 September 2016
For the 14th consecutive year, Jim Lauderdale hosted the awards show Emmylou Harris calls “the shining star of Nashville and music everywhere” while multi-faceted producer/songwriter/performer Buddy Miller assembled an all-star band to contribute to the night’s amazing music, this year featuring Dave Cobb, Stuart Duncan, Fred Eltringham, Steve Fishell, Matt Rollings, Chris Wood and The McCrary Sisters.
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| 15th Annual Americana Music Association Honors & Awards FINALE: CLICK to ENLARGE |
Americana Music Honors & Awards 2016 Winners:
Album of the Year: Something More Than Free, Jason
Isbell, Produced by Dave Cobb (presented by John Prine)
Artist of the Year: Chris Stapleton (presented by Wynonna
Judd & Sam Palladio)
Group/ Duo of the Year: Emmylou Harris & Rodney
Crowell (presented by The Indigo Girls)
Song of the Year: “24 Frames” Jason Isbell;
Written by Jason Isbell (presented by Jack Ingram and Timothy B. Schmit)
Emerging Artist of the Year: Margo Price (presented
by Holly Williams)
Instrumentalist of the Year: Sara Watkins
Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music Award
co-presented by the Americana Music
Association and the First
Amendment Center: Billy Bragg
Lifetime Achievement Award, Trailblazer: Shawn
Colvin (presented by Bonnie Raitt)
Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriting: William Bell
Lifetime Achievement Award, Performance: Bob Weir
(presented by Bruce Hornsby)
Lifetime Achievement Award, WagonMaster: Jim
Lauderdale (presented by George Strait)
President's Award: Woody Guthrie
2016 Americana Honors and Awards nominees
Instrumentalist of the
Year
Cindy Cashdollar, Stuart Duncan, Jedd Hughes, Sara Watkins *
WINNER *
Group/Duo of the Year
Alabama Shakes; Emmylou
Harris & Rodney Crowell * WINNER *, Lake
Street Dive; Milk Carton Kids; Tedeschi Trucks Band
New/Emerging Artist of
the Year
John Moreland; Leon Bridges; Margo Price * WINNER *; Nathaniel
Rateliff & The Night Sweats;
Song of the Year
“24 Frames,” Jason
Isbell * WINNER *; “Dime Store Cowgirl,”
Kacey Musgraves; “Hands of Time,” Margo Price; “S.O.B.,” Nathaniel Rateliff
& The Night Sweats
Artist of the Year
Bonnie Raitt; Chris
Stapleton * WINNER *; Jason Isbell; Lucinda Williams
Album of the Year
SOMETHING MORE THAN FREE, Jason Isbell, Produced by Dave Cobb *
WINNER *
THE GHOSTS OF HIGHWAY 20, Lucinda Williams, Produced by
Greg Leisz, Tom Overby and Lucinda Williams
THE VERY LAST DAY, Parker Millsap, Produced by Parker
Millsap and Gary Paczosa
TRAVELLER, Chris Stapleton, Produced by Dave Cobb and Chris
Stapleton
By popular demand, the release the
transcript of T Bone Burnett's moving keynote address given at
AmericanaFest, the Americana Music Festival & Conference, Thursday,
September 22, 2016 - Press Release
Facebook Photo Gallery AmericanaMusicAssociation
Read the Report & 105 Photo Gallery
of The 2016 Americana Honors and Awards Show at the The Tennessean.com
Photos: From legends to contemporary artists, the @AmericanaFest Honors red carpet had it all. https://t.co/3bTxtzWvxI pic.twitter.com/i5QJMBQaML— The Tennessean (@Tennessean) 22 September 2016
High Definition
Just what the hell do we
mean by Americana?
In 2003, the organization said, “Americana is American roots music based
on the traditions of country. … The musical model can be traced back to the
Elvis Presley marriage of hillbilly and R&B.”
In 2007, it offered, “Americana is music that honors and is derived from
the traditions of American roots music. It is music inspired by American
culture traditions which is not only represented in classic
man-made/roots-based sounds but also through new and contemporary artists.”
Jed Hilly, the AMA’s executive director, recently sent an email that
added, “My definition is more simple: If you can taste the dirt through your
ears, that’s Americana.”....Read More
The Honors & Awards show
kicked off the 17h Annual Americana Music Festival and Conference that runs
through Sunday, Sept. 25 in Nashville.
About the Americana Music Association:
The Americana Music Association
is a professional not-for-profit trade organization whose mission is to
advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world. The
Association produces events throughout the year; including the Americana Music
Festival & Conference and the critically acclaimed Americana Honors &
Awards program. The Americana Music Association receives enormous support from
the Tennessee Department of Tourism, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp,
Lagunitas Brewing Company, Music City Networks, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC,
SoundExchange, and AT&T. For more information, or to purchase an Americana
Music Festival & Conference registration, please visit www.americanamusic.org.
About AmericanaFest:
The 17th annual Americana Music Festival &
Conference took place September 20-25, 2016. The event broght together fans and
music industry professionals alike, offering six days of celebration through
seminars, panels and networking opportunities by day and raw, battery
recharging showcases each night. The Americana Honors & Awards Show was the
featured performance of the festivities, taking place at the historic Ryman
Auditorium. T Bone Burnett delivered the keynote speech.
We are starting this morning discussing Where Country & Americana Collide. Should be an interesting discussion! #americanafest pic.twitter.com/TQI9D8PSaC— Americana Music (@AmericanaFest) 22 September 2016
Quick clip of 2016 AMA awards!
Quick clip of 2016 AMA awards! Photos to come! & Check out @NashvilleScene tmrw for an article about the awards painter!@AmericanaFest pic.twitter.com/7MFzYg1Jwp— stef ratliff (@KYartrat) 23 September 2016
For more information on the Americana Music Association:
Official Website: http://americanamusic.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/americanafest
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americanafest/
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