Category Archives: Bluegrass

Grammys 2016 – Alabama Shakes , Punch Brothers, Mavericks, Jason Isbell, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell Among Roots Nominees

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58th-Grammy-Logo

The Recording Academy® announced nominations for the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards® in all 83 categories this morning. The nominees were selected from more than 21,000 submissions entered from the only peer-based music award, voted on by The Academy’s membership body of creators across all disciplines of music, including recording artists, songwriters, producers, and engineers.

Roots rock band Alabama Shakes has proven crossover appeal by a snagging a total of five GRAMMY nominations for their latest ‘Sound & Color.
Punch Brothers follow with 3 nominations. The Mavericks, Jason Isbell and Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell follow with 2 nominations apiece.

Lee Ann Womack is up for Best Country Solo Performance and Hayes Carll received a Best Country Song nomination for “Chances Are,” a great track on her album “The Way I’m Livin’.”

Roots super-producer Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton) is up for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and the GRAMMY voters again prove more open that genre specific award shows by nominating Ashley Monroe, Kacey Musgraves and current country / roots (deserving) darling Chris Stapleton for Best Country Album alongside mainstream favorites Sam Hunt and Little Big Town.

Gospel and soul legend and Best Americana Album recipient Mavis Staples was nominated for Best American Roots Performance for her version of ” Blind Lemon Jefferson’s ‘See That My Grave Is Kept Clean’ from her latest ‘Your Good Fortune’ EP.

Bob Dylan’s ‘Shadows in the Night’ is up for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and British pop-soul crooner James Bay is nominated for Best New Artist. Wilco and My Morning Jacket are both up for Best Alternative Music Album.

made a name for himself this year by melding his deep, melodic voice with simple, blues-inspired guitar riffs. He released his debut album Chaos and the Calm, which is also nominated for a Best Rock Album Grammy, this past March, earning comparisons to pal Ed Sheeran, whom he’s performed with before.

Final-round GRAMMY® ballots will be mailed Dec. 16 and the will be presented Monday, Feb. 15, 2016, live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on the CBS Television Network from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

Best Country Album:
Sam Hunt, Montevallo
Little Big Town, Pain Killer
Ashley Monroe, The Blade
Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material
Chris Stapleton, Traveller

Best Americana Album:
Brandi Carlile, The Firewatcher’s Daughter
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, The Traveling Kind
Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free
The Mavericks, Mono
Punch Brothers, The Phosphorescent Blues

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Brothers Osborne, “Stay a Little Longer”
Joey + Rory, “If I Needed You”
Charles Kelley, Dierks Bentley & Eric Paslay, “The Driver”
Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”
Blake Shelton feat. Ashley Monroe, “Lonely Tonight”

Best Country Song
Lee Ann Womack, “Chances Are”
Tim McGraw, “Diamond Rings And Old Barstools”
Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”
Brandy Clark, “Hold My Hand”
Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”

Best Country Solo Performance
Cam, “Burning House”
Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”
Carrie Underwood, “Little Toy Guns”
Keith Urban, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”
Lee Ann Womack, “Chances Are”

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical:
Jeff Bhasker
Dave Cobb
Diplo
Larry Klein
Blake Mills

Best American Roots Performance:

And Am I Born To Die
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, And Am I Born To Die
Track from: Béla Fleck And Abigail Washburn

Buddy Guy, Born To Play Guitar
Track from: Born To Play Guitar

The Milk Carton Kids, City Of Our Lady
Track from: Monterey

Punch Brothers, Julep
Track from: The Phosphorescent Blues

Mavis Staples, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
Track from: Your Good Fortune

Best American Roots Song

All Night Long
Raul Malo, songwriter (The Mavericks)
Track from: Mono
Label: The Valory Music Co.; Publisher(s): Big Machine Music/Raul Malo Music

The Cost Of Living
Don Henley & Stan Lynch, songwriters (Don Henley & Merle Haggard)
Track from: Cass County
Label: Capitol Records; Publisher(s): Wisteria Music (GMR) admin. by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Matanzas Music

Julep
Chris Eldridge, Paul Kowert, Noam Pikelny, Chris Thile & Gabe Witcher, songwriters (Punch Brothers)
Track from: The Phosphorescent Blues
Label: Nonesuch; Publisher(s): Chris Thile Music, Money Baby Music, Noam Tunes, Silver Hammer Music, Paul Kowert

The Traveling Kind
Cory Chisel, Rodney Crowell & Emmylou Harris, songwriters (Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell)
Track from: The Traveling Kind
Label: Nonesuch; Publisher(s): Criterion Music o/b/o Coolwell Music/Almo Music Corp. o/b/o Poodlebone Music/Chisel Publishing

24 Frames
Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell)
Track from: Something More Than Free
Label: Southeastern Records; Publisher(s): Songs Of Emchant

Best Bluegrass Album

Pocket Full Of Keys
Dale Ann Bradley
Label: Pinecastle Records

Before The Sun Goes Down
Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley
Label: Compass Records Group

In Session
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

Man Of Constant Sorrow
Ralph Stanley & Friends
Label: Red River Entertainment

The Muscle Shoals Recordings
The Steeldrivers
Label: Rounder

Best Blues Album
Descendants Of Hill Country
Cedric Burnside Project
Label: Cedric Burnside Project

Outskirts Of Love
Shemekia Copeland
Label: Alligator Records

Born To Play Guitar
Buddy Guy
Label: RCA Records/Silvertone Records

Worthy
Bettye LaVette
Label: Cherry Red

Muddy Waters 100
John Primer & Various Artists
Label: Raisin Music Records

Best Folk Album

Wood, Wire & Words
Norman Blake
Label: Plectrafone Records

Béla Fleck And Abigail Washburn
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn
Label: Rounder

Tomorrow Is My Turn
Rhiannon Giddens
Label: Nonesuch

Servant Of Love
Patty Griffin
Label: PGM

Didn’t He Ramble
Glen Hansard
Label: Anti

Best Regional Roots Music Album

Go Go Juice
Jon Cleary
Label: FHQ Records

La La La La
Natalie Ai Kamauu
Label: KEKO Records

Kawaiokalena
Keali’i Reichel
Label: Punahele Productions

Get Ready
The Revelers
Label: The Revelers

Generations
Windwalker And The MCW
Label: MCW Productions / PK Productions LLC

Loretta Lynn To Release New Album ‘ Full Circle’ in 2016

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Loretta Lynn - Full Circle

Billboard.com announced today that the First Lady of Country Music , Loretta Lynn will release her first album in over 11 years on March 4, 2016.

The album is also the first of new album projects for a volume series imagined and created at the Cash Cabin Studio called the Cash Cabin Recordings.
From the post:

The 13-song set is a concept piece to take listeners through a journey of the 83-year-old Loretta’s own musical story, traveling from the Appalachian folk songs and gospel music of her childhood to country standards, new interpretations of her own classic hits and newly-written numbers. The Patsy Lynn Russell and John Carter Cash-produced LP will be released on Legacy Recordings and was recorded at Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tenn.

Lynn’s last release was her 2004 collaboration with Jack White, ‘Van Lear Rose,’ which won two Grammies including Best Country Album of the Year.

On Full Circle, Lynn performs duets with Willie Nelson on the song “Lay Me Down” and Elvis Costello guests on “Everything It Takes.”

And if that’s not enough fans can also catch a new documentary about Loretta’s extraordinary life and career with American Masters — ‘Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl.’ The doc premieres nationwide Friday, March 4, 2016, 9:00-11:00 p.m. on PBS – check local listings.

‘Full Circle’ is available for pre-order now at Amazon Music

See the full track list below.

Full Circle Track List:
Whispering Sea (Introduction)
Whispering Sea
Secret Love
Who’s Gonna Miss Me?
Black Jack David
Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven
Always On My Mind
Wine Into Water
In The Pines
Band Of Gold
Fist City
I Never Will Marry
Everything It Takes (featuring Elvis Costello)
Lay Me Down (featuring Willie Nelson)

Watch Out! Steve Martin and Edie Brickell – “Won’t Go Back” on the Jimmy Fallon Show [VIDEO]

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Steve Martin and Edie Brickell – “Won’t Go Back”

‘So Familiar,’ second collaboration from Edie Brickell and Steve Martin is out today. This follow up to the Grammy-winning debut, ‘Love Has Come for You’ finds the unlikely duo traveling the smooth roots they did on their debut. Hey, if it ain’t broken.

A dapper Martin on banjo and a smiling Brickell on vocals, the couple appear to be having a great time on this spirited, and slightly funky, version of the album’s first single, “Won’t Go Back,” for the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon audience.

Songs from ‘So Familiar,’ and other songs by Brickell and Martin, will be featured in a “Bright Star,” a musical debuting on Broadway early next year.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-steve-martin-edie-brickells-plucky-wont-go-back-on-fallon-20151030#ixzz3q5Nld99T
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

Watch Out! Steve Martin and Edie Brickell – “Won’t Go Back” [VIDEO]

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Steve Martin and Edie Brickell - “Won’t Go Back”

This is not a video for the claustrophobic. This whimsical video follows a red dressed traveler – Edie Brickell, of Dallas’ own Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – entering an elevator to be met by a jovial banjoist, Martin. As the song “Won’t Go Back” build into a bluegrass meets Brill building 50’s pop the elevator fills with a cast of diverse characters each with a part, and an instrument, to play.

Come for the fun. Stay for the music.

Steve Martin cheekily tells vanityfair.com that the video was three years in the making and was a delight to work on,” says of his and Edie Brickell’s song “Won’t Go Back.” Martin continues, “Especially wonderful to work with was “hey you” (our director) and “hey you” (our costumer), and I am deeply indebted to “hey you” (the woman who sang).”

“Won’t Go Back” is from their upcoming second studio LP, ‘So Familiar’ out Oct 30th. Pre-order here.

Live Review – Ry Cooder, Sharon White and Ricky Skaggs – The Granada Theatre – 9/25/2015

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Ry Cooder, Sharon White, and Ricky Skaggs

All discussions about roots music lead to some kind of history lesson. But history in theory brings tedium and loss of context. The lucky crowd on hand last Saturday at the historic Granada Theatre were given a living history lesson none of us will soon forget. Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White, Ry Cooder and a grand supporting band performed country, bluegrass and gospel songs (none younger than 1965, Skaggs informed the audience) in grand aplomb

This is the source, the core. The musical crop seed of what now goes by the umbrella Americana. And the standing room crowd stood enthralled in this living and joyous journey into history.

Masterful musicianship and dazzling harmonies (helped by Sharon’s sister and fellow Whites band member Cheryl) wasted no time with a stirring version of Louvin Brothers’s gospel favorite “Family Who Prays.” The spirit of the ages filled the theatre for a nearly 2 hour performance that would alternately hush the room in a solemn silence and then rev them up into whooping, had-clapping, boot-stomping frenzy.

“(Take Me in You) Lifeboat” by Skagg’s own mentors Flatt & Scruggs followed , then a swinging rendition of Merle Travis’ “Sweet Temptation.” Next a solum moment with a devastating Hank Williams’ mournful “Mansion on the Hill.” On through the night on sounds from a reverent band of dizzying talent. But all was not somber reflection, Skaggs, White and Cooder traded affection and jokes all night. After breaking out a banjo for Stanley Brothers’ “Cold Jordan” Cooder quipped “I learned this song from YouTube, and so can you.”

Cooder then donned one of his several vintage electric guitars for the Delmore Brothers stone-rocking “Pan American Boogie.” Then a gloriously sweeping version of Hank Snow’s “A Fool Such As I” (video below) and then Kitty Wells’ song of heartbreak and woe “Making Believe” (written by Jimmy Work), and then a smartly-dressed White nephew joined the band to add to add twin fiddle to a rousing version of what Skaggs named “The state’s national anthem,” Bob Will’s ‘San Antonio Rose.’

Skaggs fluidly moved from mandolin to fiddle to acoustic guitar to a sweet cheery red Telecaster. Cooder was the master of the elusive tone. White was the soul of classic country on acoustic and other-worldly harmonies. A 84 year old Buck White showed why he’s a master of the ivories. Ry’s son Joachim Cooder on drums and Mark Fain laid a fluid yet solid foundation for the band to dance on.

Call it what you will, the music was alive and left the audience hungry for more.

Setlist:

The Family that Prays (Louvin Brothers),
Take Me to Your Lifeboat (Flatt and Scruggs)
Sweet Temptation (Merle Travis)
Mansion on the Hill (Hank Williams)
On My Mind (Flatt and Scruggs)
Cold Jordan (The Stanley Brothers)
Daniel Prayed (Ralph Stanley)
Hold What You Got (Jimmy Martin)
Pan American Boogie (The Delmore Brothers)
Fool Such as I (Hank Snow)
Above and Beyond (Harlan Howard)
San Antonio Rose (Bob Wills)
No One Will Ever Know (Hank Williams)
Gone Home (Ricky Skaggs)
Wait a Little Longer (Bill Monroe)
No Doubt About It (Flatt and Scruggs)
Uncle Pen (Bill Monroe)

Encore:
You Must Unload (John B. Vaughan)
Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’ (Flatt and Scruggs)
Reunion In Heaven (Flatt and Scruggs)

Americana Music Festival 2015 Picks

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americana-fest

Sleep deprivation, dehydration and perpetual joy at musical discovery are risks faced by attendees at the 16th annual Americana Music Festival and Conference this week in Nashville.

But those voluntary perils are undertook gladly for an opportunity to see some of the best roots music from around the world playing live showcases at multiple venues around the city and to partake in panels and seminars giving career tips and insights to musicians and other industry types. Then there’s the indescribably good Hattie B’s hot chicken) located near the hosting Hutton Hotel.

I’ll be skipping this year but if I were on the ground (and had a way to be many places at the same time) these are the shows I’d be sure to see.

Tuesday, September 15th

Donnie Fritts & John Paul White – 11:00 PM – City Winery

Wednesday, September 16th

The Suffers – 10:00 PM – Cannery Ballroom

James McMurtry – 11:00 PM – City Winery

Patty Griffin – 12:00 AM – City Winery

Thursday, September 17th

Ry Cooder / Sharon White / Ricky Skaggs – 10:00 PM – 3rd & Lindsley

Buddy Miller & Marc Ribot – 3rd & Lindsley

Ryan Culwell – 8:00 PM – The Basement

Daniel Romano – 12:00 AM – The Basement

Ray Wylie Hubbard – 9:00 PM – Cannery Ballroom

Pokey LaFarge – 10:00 PM – Cannery Ballroom

Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen – 11:00 PM – Cannery Ballroom

Eilen Jewell – 9:00 PM – City Winery

Dustbowl Revival – 10:00 PM – City Winery

Jeffrey Foucault – 12:00 AM – City Winery

Legendary Shack Shakers – 8:00 PM – The High Watt

Birds of Chicago – 9:00 PM – The High Watt

Lindi Ortega – 10:00 PM – The High Watt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AnMZG9sgkY

Possessed by Paul James – 12:00 AM – The High Watt

Mary Gauthier – 10:00 PM – The Listening Room

The Stray Birds – 8:00 PM – Mercy Lounge

Lera Lynn – 10:00 PM – Mercy Lounge

honeyhoney – 11:00 PM – Mercy Lounge

Humming House – 12:00 AM – Mercy Lounge

Darrell Scott – 6:00 PM – Downtown Presbyterian Church

B̩la Fleck & Abigail Washburn Р7:00 PM РDowntown Presbyterian Church

Friday, September 18th

Lewis & Leigh – 8:00 PM – Mercy Lounge
September 16, 12pm AMA-UK Mid-Day Party, Blue Bar
September 17, 5:30pm, Acoustic Set at British Underground High Tea, Tin Roof

Sam Outlaw – 8:00 PM – 3rd & Lindsley

Caitlin Canty – 9:00 PM – City Winery

Lee Ann Womack – 9:00 PM – 3rd & Lindsley

John Moreland – 10:00 PM – Mercy Lounge

Whitey Morgan – 10:00 PM – 3rd & Lindsley

Cale Tyson – 10:00 PM – The High Watt

Jim Lauderdale – 11:00 PM – 3rd & Lindsley

Uncle Lucius – 12:00 AM – – 3rd & Lindsley

Henry Wagons – 11:00 PM – Basement East

American Aquarium — 12:00 AM – Mercy Lounge

Saturday, September 19th

Andrew Combs – 10:00 PM – Mercy Lounge

Doug Seegers – 10:00 PM – City Winery

Gretchen Peters – 11:00 PM – City Winery

The Hello Strangers – 12:00 AM – City Winery

Fats Kaplin and friends – 11 PM – The Station Inn

Sunday, September 20th

Thirty Tigers Gospel Brunch – 1:30 PM – City Winery

Listen Up! 10 String Symphony – “Anna Jane” [PREMIERE]

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10 String Symphony - "Anna Jane"

“Anna Jane,” the new cut from 10 String Symphony, starts out on a somber note, like a violin-led dirge. But the pace becomes lively in the jazz/bluegrass (jazzgrass?) style reminiscent of Nickel Creek or Sarah Jarosz, and a lovely ode to love (and jealousy) slowly blossoms. In the end, the praise of a woman tinges at the edges with a darker tone.

10 String Symphony is comprised of the exceptional talent of former Illinois fiddle champion Rachel Baiman & Christian Sedelmyer, who also occupies the fiddle position in The Jerry Douglas Band.

Of the song Rachel remembers, “Anna Jane was the first original song that Christian and I collaborated on. I had the verses all written and a version of the chorus but no real melody for the song. Christian came over and we worked the song up in my attic, where it turned into a subtly complicated affair, with the chord progression changing just slightly on each verse. My friend Caroline Spence was the first to tell me that the ‘Oh Anna Jane’ part was a chorus.

She said, ‘You totally wrote a chorus, that should be between every verse.’ I think at that point I was just over thinking everything a bit and wasn’t comfortable with such a simple refrain, when in reality, that was exactly what the song needed.

When people heard the first version of the song, (the chorus was just ‘Oh Anna Jane/Oh Anna Jane/Oh Anna Jane/Here we go again’) they often thought it was a love song. In fact, it’s a song about jealousy. But it’s that super painful form of jealousy where you want something (in this case someone) that your friend has, but at the same time, you know she is wonderful, and completely deserving of that person. It makes it all that much worse, because you really can’t bring yourself to be angry at anyone, which would be the easy way to deal with it. That is why, even though it’s not a love song, the first verse goes on and on about the virtues of ‘Anna Jane.’ I wrote all the verses in about 30 minutes in one of those really intense moments where your feelings are so big you feel like they are going to explode out of your body.

Our producer, Mark Sloan, helped us re-write the chorus to incorporate a fiddle melody that Christian wrote, and also to solidify the message of the song. He added those ‘she’s the only one you see’ and ‘I’ll never be what you need’ parts. I was so attached to the song I didn’t think I’d be willing to change it, but when he sent me recordings of those ideas, he had just nailed it so perfectly melodically and lyrically, that Christian and I both immediately loved it, which is RARE! Haha.”

10 String Symphony will release ‘Weight of the World’ on October 23.

Dave Rawlings Machine Announces New Album ‘Nashville Obsolete.’

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Dave Rawlings Machine

2015 Americana releases are about to get much, much better.

Dave Rawlings Machine has announced the release of their second album, ‘Nashville Obsolete,’ on Acony Records on September 18. ‘Nashville Obsolete,’ is the follow-up to the 2009 debut ‘A Friend of a Friend.’

‘Nashville Obsolete’ was recorded on analog tape at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, TN, whose client list includes Willie Nelson, Bob Seger, Neal Diamond, Emmylou Harris, John Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dusty Springfield, Alabama and many, many others.

‘Nashville Obsolete’ features seven original compositions written by Rawlings and longtime collaborator Gillian Welch and produced by Rawlings. This will be the seventh studio album the duo have appeared together on.

Along with vocals and guitar byRawlings and Welch, other contributors included Willie Watson on vocals and guitar, Punch Brothers Paul Kowert of on bass, and guest appearances from Brittany Haas on fiddle and Jordan Tice on mandolin. A tour in support of the album is forthcoming.

Welch and Rawlings, along with Buffy Sainte-Marie, Don Henley, Ricky Skaggs & Los Lobos, will also be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting from the Americana Music Association during the 2015 Honors & Awards ceremony held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The award will be presented to the two days before the album is released on September 16.

1. The Weekend
2. Short Haired Woman Blues
3. The Trip
4. Bodysnatchers
5. The Last Pharaoh
6. Candy
7. Pilgrim (You Can’t Go Home)

Pre-orders of ‘Nashville Obsolete’ are currently available from iTunes and physically and Amazon

Here’s Welch and Rawlings’ opening number of “65 Revisited,” the Bob Dylan 50th anniversary tribute of his electric performance at Newport Folk Festival.

Americana Music Association Announces 70 Additional AmericanaFest Acts

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americana-fest

Building on an already stellar first-round lineup The Americana Music Association announced an additional 70 artists to perform at the 16th annual Americana Music Festival & Conference, which takes place in Nashville and runs September 15-20, 2015.

The six-day, city-wide festival fills Music City with fans, legends, newcomers, and tilts the quest for glitz into the early direction of a quest for a great song. With over 150 artists and bands scheduled, the event continues to dominate as the premier showcase for roots music and culture.

In addition to previously announced acts such as Los Lobos, Patty Griffin, and Lee Ann Womack, AmericanaFest will feature Ry Cooder, performing with Sharon White and Ricky Skaggs, Donnie Fritts performing with former Civil War John Paul White, former Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson, current member of Old Crow Medicine Show Gill Landry supporting his solo effort.

Also included are Cale Tyson, Lindi Ortega, Luther Dickinson, Kelsey Waldon, Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, Gretchen Peters, American Aquarium, Legendary Shack Shakers and Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear who held a mesmerizing performance last year at Jack White’s Third Man performance space.

The list of the second round announcements is below, and a complete list can be found here.

Showcase wristbands ($50, increasing to $60 on August 15) allow admission into all showcase venues, some sanctioned parties and special events, and can be purchased here. Festival and Conference registrations ($365 for members/$465 for non-members) offer priority admission into all showcase venues, sanctioned parties and events, daytime educational panels, come with one ticket to the critically acclaimed Americana Honors & Awards show at the historic Ryman Auditorium, and can be purchased here.

List of Artists Added to AmericanaFest 2015:
Adam Faucett
American Aquarium
Amy LaVere
Andrew Leahey & The Homestead
Band of Heathens
Buddy Miller
Buxton
Cale Tyson
The Carmonas
Daniel Romano
Darrell Scott
David Wax Museum
Dirty River Boys
Donnie Fritts & John Paul White
Doug Seegers
Dreaming Spires
Dustbowl Revival
Eddie Berman
Eilen Jewell
The Fairfield Four
Gill Landry
The Good Lovelies
Great Peacock
Gretchen Peters
The Hillbenders
The Honeycutters
Humming House
JD & The Straight Shot
JD Souther
Jeffrey Foucault
Jim Lauderdale
Jonathan Tyler
Josh Rouse
JP Harris
Kacy & Clayton
Kelsey Waldon
Legendary Shack Shakers
Lewis and Leigh
Lindi Ortega
Los Colognes
Low Cut Connie
Luther Dickinson
Margo Price
The Mavericks
McCrary Sisters
Michaela Anne
Miss Tess & The Talkbacks
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Paper Bird
Pine Hill Project (featuring Richard Shindell & Lucy Kaplansky)
Pony Boy
Porter
Possessed By Paul James
Raised By Eagles
Ron Pope & The Nighthawks
Ry Cooder/Sharon White/Ricky Skaggs
Ryan Culwell
Sam Outlaw
Spirit Family Reunion
The Suffers
T. Hardy Morris
T Sisters
Taarka
Those Pretty Wrongs
Town Mountain
Uncle Lucius
Whitney Rose
Willie Watson
The Wood Brothers

Lucinda Williams , Sturgill Simpson and Shakey Graves Lead 2015 Americana Awards Nominees

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americana-fest

The Americana Music Awards just announced their 2015 nominees, and Lucinda Williams, Shakey Graves and Sturgill Simpson lead the pack with 3 nominations apiece. All were nominated for Album of the Year and Song of the year. Williams and Simpson share the Artist of the Year category with Lee Ann Womack, Rhiannon Giddens and Jason Isbell. Shakey Graves shares the Emerging Artist of the Year category with First Aid Kit, Houndmouth, Nikki Lane and the man behind one of the great stories of the year, Doug Seegers.

The awards will again be presented at the Mother Church of Country Music, the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

As impressive as it is the full list of nominees below is it offers just a glimpse of the diverse and strong field of Americana and roots artists building this sustainable genre and cultural force. There are no outliers, surprises or dark horses in the nominees, but that’s not the point of award shows. It’s to reward and display some of the most marketable of the genre to a larger public in order to grow a sustainable fan base for these artists and the next coming up, many of whom can be found playing the week-long festival at local clubs.

As mainstream country starts to take notice of Americana celebration each year in Music Row’s back yard I can’t help but feel that some of that influence (and, yes, proven success. It’ s still a business) won’t have some positive effect on roots music as a whole.

2015 Americana Honors & Awards Nominees

Album of the Year (Award goes to Artist and Producer)
‘And The War Came’ – Shakey Graves; Produced by Alejandro Rose-Garcia and Chris Boosahda
‘Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone’ – Lucinda Williams; Produced by Lucinda Williams, Tom Overby and Greg Leisz
‘Metamodern Sounds In Country Music’ – Sturgill Simpson; Produced by Dave Cobb
‘The Way I’m Livin” – Lee Ann Womack; Produced by Frank Liddell
‘Tomorrow Is My Turn’ – Rhiannon Giddens; Produced by T-Bone Burnett

The surprise the this category is the quirky, less rootsy ‘And The War Came’ by Alejandro Rose-Garcia aka Shakey Graves. I love that country superstar Lee Ann Womack has been so warmly embraced by the community for her great work on ‘The Way I’m Livin’ ‘ and Rhiannon Giddens more than deserves to be here fit her wonderful release. I believe it’s going to a photo finish between Lucinda Williams and Sturgill Simpson.

Artist of the Year
Rhiannon Giddens
Jason Isbell
Sturgill Simpson
Lucinda Williams
Lee Ann Womack

A Lee Ann Womack win would be badass and I believe likely winner Sturgill Simpson would agree.

Duo/Group of the Year
Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn
The Lone Bellow
The Mavericks
Punch Brothers
Shovels & Rope

Can’t quibble with anything here but it would be cool if Brooklyn’s The Lone Bellow walked away with it.

Emerging Artist of the Year
First Aid Kit
Houndmouth
Nikki Lane
Doug Seegers
Shakey Graves

Love Doug Seegers but I have to go with Nikki Lane on this one. Though I would have her in Artist of the Year as she’s now on her second excellent release (which should be up for AOTY)

Instrumentalist of the Year
Hubby Jenkins
Laur Joamets
Greg Leisz
John Leventhal
Stuart Mathis

Great performers all but I have to go with Lucinda’s axw\e-master Stuart Mathis here. The man’s a genius of nuance and a really nice guy as well.

Song of the Year (Award goes to Artist and Songwriter)
“Dearly Departed” – Shakey Graves; Written by Alejandro Rose-Garcia and Esme’ Patterson
“East Side Of Town” – Lucinda Williams; Written by Lucinda Williams
“Terms Of My Surrender” – John Hiatt; Written by John Hiatt
“Turtles All The Way Down” – Sturgill Simpson; Written by Sturgill Simpson
“You’re The Best Lover That I Ever Had” – Steve Earle & the Dukes; Written by Steve Earle

Song of the Year is where I have plenty of conflicts. No Nikki Lane “The Right Time?” No American Aquarium ‘Man I’m Supposed To Be?’ No Cory Branan ‘Missing You Fierce’
9 or Old 97s ‘Longer Than You’ve Been Alive’ Oh well, I don’t program for radio and am looking at (and voted) this category differently than my contemporaries.