The Americana Music Association’s annual Americana Honors & Awards will return for its 20th year on September 22nd at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Nominees in each of the categories were announced by Keb’ Mo’ and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor during an afternoon event at Nashville’s National Museum of African-American Music on Wednesday.
Artists appearing in multiple categories include Jason Isbell, Amythyst Kiah, Valerie June, and Brandi Carlile. Isbell and Carlile are both up for Artist of the Year, while Isbell’s Reunions is nominated for Album of the Year and Carlile’s membership in the Highwomen makes her eligible for Duo/Group of the Year. Kiah will compete against Carlile in that category, thanks to her membership in Our Native Daughters, but will also vie for Emerging Act of the Year and Song of the Year for “Black Myself.” June’s “Call Me a Fool” is up for Song of the Year, and her Moon and Stars is an Album of the Year contender.
Other Artist of the Year nominees include Kathleen Edwards, Margo Price, and Billy Strings. In the Emerging Category, nominees also include Charley Crockett, Joy Oladokun, Allison Russell, and the indie rock project Waxahatchee, whose country-tinged album Saint Cloud was a favorite of 2020.
The Americana Honors & Awards is the key event of the annual AmericanaFest, which will return with several days of musical showcases September 22nd to 25th in Nashville. The 2020 edition of the awards was held as a virtual event, with the Highwomen, John Prine, and Black Pumas among the winners.
Album of the Year
Cuttin’ Grass – Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions), Sturgill Simpson [Produced by David Ferguson & Sturgill Simpson]
J.T., Steve Earle & The Dukes [Produced by Steve Earle]
The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers, Valerie June [Produced by Valerie June, Ben Rice, and Jack Splash]
Reunions, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit [Produced by Dave Cobb]
World on the Ground, Sarah Jarosz [Produced by John Leventhal]
Artist of the Year
Brandi Carlile
Kathleen Edwards
Jason Isbell
Margo Price
Billy Strings
Duo/Group of the Year
Black Pumas
The Highwomen
Our Native Daughters
The War and Treaty
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
Emerging Act of the Year
Charley Crockett
Amythyst Kiah
Joy Oladokun
Allison Russell
Waxahatchee
Instrumentalist of the Year
Megan Coleman
Robbie Crowell
Jay Jacildo
Philip Towns
Kristin Weber
Song of the Year
“Black Myself,” Amythyst Kiah [Written by Amythyst Kiah]
“Call Me a Fool,” Valerie June featuring Carla Thomas [Written by Valerie June]
“Dreamsicle,” Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit [Written by Jason Isbell]
“I Remember Everything,” John Prine [Written by Pat McLaughlin and John Prine]
“Long Violent History,” Tyler Childers [Written by Tyler Childers]