Brandi Carlile, a folk-rock and Americana singer-songwriter who was named Artist of the Year for a second time during the awards show that was presented at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee last September 22, is among the artists whose performances were captured for this special episode. Also featured — in order of appearance — are performances by Fisk Jubilee Singers with Leon Timbo, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan and Joe Henry, Allison Russell, The Highwomen (Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hembry, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires) with Yola, Jason Isbell, Valerie June and Carla Thomas, Emerging Act Award-winner Charley Crockett, Amythyst Kiah, Buddy Miller (the show’s musical director), and The Mavericks. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, The Mavericks and “Queen of Memphis Soul” Carla Thomas were recognized as Lifetime Achievement Award honorees last September.

The Americana Honors & Awards show is a centerpiece of the annual AmericanaFest, a multi-day celebration of American roots-inspired music put on by the Americana Music Association each fall. A combination festival and conference, it is filled with daytime panel discussions and seminars and evenings chock-full of artist showcases at venues throughout the Music City. Established in 1999, the Americana Music Association is a professional not-for-profit trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world.

Here’s a link to an article about the Americana Honors & Awards that was posted on AcousticMusicScene.com on September 23, 2021.

The Highwomen, Brittany Howard and Tanya Tucker lead the nominees with three nods each. In addition, Brandi Carlile, a member of The Highwomen, was nominated for Artist of the Year and also co-produced Tanya Tucker’s album While I’m Living and co-wrote two of the nominated numbers for Song of the Year: “Bring My Flowers Now” (with Tucker and Phil & Tim Hanseroth) and “Crowded Table”(with Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna) for The Highwomen. Black Pumas, Drive-By Truckers, Nathaniel Ratliff and Aubrie Sellers each received nominations in two of the six Americana Music Association member-voted awards categories.

The Highwomen – comprised of Carlile, Amanda Shires, Maren Morris and Natalie Hamby – burst on the country-Americana scene during last summer’s Newport Folk Festival. The much-heralded quartet’s self-titled debut release received a nomination for Album of the Year, while one of its tracks (“Crowded Table”) is up for Song of the Year and The Highwomen are among the nominees for Duo/Group of the Year.Here’s a link to view the official video for “Crowded Table”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNY-CPAp_I.

Singer-Songwriter Brittany Howard, who formerly was the lead vocalist and guitarist for Alabama Shakes, is among the nominees for Artist of the Year and also received nominations for both Album and Song of the Year for her debut release Jaime and “Stay High,” respectively. Here’s a link to view the official video for “Stay High”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfizQsGWOxI.

Tanya Tucker, who won two Grammy Awards earlier this year for Best Country Album and Song and has 10 additional Grammy nods to her credit, received nominations for Artist, Album (While I’m Livin’) and Song of the Year (“Bring My Flowers Now”). The singer-songwriter first drew attention at age 13 with her hit country song “Delta Dawn” in 1972.

Click on the video link below to watch Tanya Tucker and Brandi Carlile perform “Bring My Flowers Now”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oR5OZ-egXw.

Brandi Carlile, a folk-rock and Americana singer-songwriter, who was named Artist of the Year in 2019, also was the big winner in the American Roots Music Field during the 61st annual Grammy Awards presented by the Recording Academy in February at which her eighth album, By The Way, I Forgive You, was named Best Americana Album, while one of its tracks (“The Joke”) was named both Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song.

In addition to Carlile, Howard and Tucker, Artist of the Year nominees include the late revered John Prine and Yola, Prine, a songwriter’s songwriter, who died April 7 at the age of 73 from complications of the coronavirus (COVID-19), was the big winner in last year’s Americana Honors & Awards. His 2019 release, The Tree of Forgiveness, was named Album of the Year, while “Summer’s End” was voted Song of the Year. Prine, who previously won Grammy Awards for two of his albums, also was honored by The Recording Academy with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. Yola, a rootsy British singer-songwriter, was selected by AMA-UK members as UK Artist of the Year in January, while her critically acclaimed debut album Walk Through Fire was voted UK Album of the Year. She also was nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2019.

Here’s a listing of the nominees:

Album of the Year:

And It’s Still Alright, Nathaniel Rateliff, Produced by James Barone, Patrick Meese and Nathaniel Rateliff

Country Squire, Tyler Childers, Produced by David Ferguson and Sturgill Simpson

The Highwomen, The Highwomen, Produced by Dave Cobb

Jaime, Brittany Howard, Produced by Brittany Howard

While I’m Livin’, Tanya Tucker, Produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings

Artist of the Year:

Brandi Carlile

Brittany Howard

John Prine

Tanya Tucker

Yola

Duo/Group of the Year:

Black Pumas

Drive-By Truckers

The Highwomen

Buddy & Julie Miller

Our Native Daughters

Emerging Act of the Year:

Black Pumas

Katie Pruitt

Aubrie Sellers

Billy Strings

Kelsey Waldon

Instrumentalist of the Year:

Ellen Angelico

Annie Clements

Brittany Haas

Zachariah Hickman

Rich Hinman

Song of the Year:

“And It’s Still Alright,” Nathaniel Rateliff, Written by Nathaniel Rateliff

“Bring My Flowers Now,” Tanya Tucker, Written by Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker

“Crowded Table,” The Highwomen, Written by Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna

“My Love Will Not Change,” Aubrie Sellers featuring Steve Earle, Written by Billy Burnette and Shawn Camp

“Stay High,” Brittany Howard, Written by Brittany Howard

“Thoughts and Prayers,” Drive-By Truckers, Written by Patterson Hood.

The Americana Honors & Awards is usually a highlight of Americanafest, a six-day festival and conference celebrating American roots-inspired music that is put on by the Americana Music Association. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the professional not-for-profit trade association will not be hosting it this fall. However, the newly formed Americana Music Association Foundation will be presenting its first initiative at that time. More information will be posted on https://americanamusic.org as details become available.

Yola, a 35 year-old rootsy British singer-songwriter, was selected by AMA-UK members as UK Artist of the Year, while her critically acclaimed debut album Walk Through Fire (produced by Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach) was voted UK Album of he Year. Yola — who showcased her talents at the Newport and Philadelphia Folk Festivals, SXSW, AmericanaFest and Farm Aid, as well as such notable venues as the Hollywood Bowl during 2019 – also was recently nominated for four Grammy Awards.

Here’s a link to view the official video for “Faraway Look,” a rack on Yola’s debut album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWTwuQ3LeH4.

Other recipients of AMA-UK member-voted awards included:

International Album of the Year: The Highwomen. The self-titled, Dave Cobb-produced debut album by the Nashville based all-female group of the same name that features Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires.

International Song of the Year: “Me and The Ghost of Charlemagne,” written and performed by Nashville-based singer-songwriter Amy Speace. Here’s a link to the official video for the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvQqHCguhQU

International Artist of the Year: Brandi Carlisle, an American folk-rock and Americana singer-songwriter, who also was the big winner in the American Roots Music Field during the 61st annual Grammy Awards presented by the Recording Academy last February during which she was recognized for Best Americana Album (By The Way, I Forgive You), while one of its tracks (“The Joke”) was named both Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song.

UK Instrumentalist of the Year: Sian Monaghan, a session drummer who has played with a number of artists and tours with UK country band The Wandering Hearts.

In addition to he AMA-UK member-voted awards, board members of the professional trade association that represents and advocates for the voice of American roots music in the United Kingdom, honored a number of folks with special awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Joan Armatrading, a British singer-songwriter whose recording career spans nearly 50 years and who also keynoted the conference. Nick Lowe — an English singer-songwriter (“Cruel to be Kind,” among others), multi-instrumentalist and producer (Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Pretenders) — received the Trailblazer Award; while Mark Whitfield from Americana-UK.com received the Grassroots Award. The Legend Award recipient was Lonnie Donegan, the late influential British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician.

The Outstanding Contribution Award was presented to Bob Harris OBE — a longtime program host on BBC Radio and former host of The Old Grey Whistle Test on BBC-TV, who also hosted the awards show and has been a passionate advocate of Americana music on both sides of the pond. Harris himself selected and presented the recipients of the Emerging Artist Award – Ferris & Sylvester, a British duo whose music fuses Americana, folk, blues and rock.

22 year-old London-based singer-songwriter Jade Bird’s eponymous debut album was the Best-Selling Americana Album by a UK Artist.