Poss frequently acknowledged that he didn’t have a very conventional career path. “I used to joke that I had the perfect qualifications for being in the music business,” Poss once wrote. “I had no business training; in fact, no formal music background either but I teach Sociology of deviant Behavior.”

After graduating from Duke, he took a position with County Records in Floyd, Virginia. Poss and its owner, Dave Freeman, launched Sugar Hill Records in 1978, embracing what Poss called “contemporary music grounded in traditional music roots.” A self-described “wayward academic in an entrepreneurial role,” Poss assumed full control of the label in 1980, and moved it to Durham. He operated the label from there until its sale to Welk Music Group 20 years later. He became the group’s chairman in 2002. It’s now part of Concord Music, which also owns Rounder Records.

Among the many artists of note who recorded for Sugar Hill Records during Poss’ tenure were Pat Alger, Byron Berline, Ronnie Bowman, Sam Bush, Guy Clark, Mike Cross, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Douglas, Sara Evans, Cathy Fink, Butch Hancock, Hot Rize, The Infamous Stringdusters, Chris Hillman, Wanda Jackson, Sarah Jarosz, Robert Earl Keen, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Lonesome River Band, Lyle Lovett, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Nickel Creek, Tim O’Brien, Dolly Parton, Dirk Powell, The Red Clay Ramblers, Peter Rowan, Ricky Skaggs, Darrell Scott, Marty Stuart, Bryan Sutton, Chris Thile, Townes Van Zandt, Doc Watson, and Jesse Winchester.

“The identity peg for Sugar Hill is having that traditional connection to contemporary music,” Poss Told Blue ridge Outdoors in 2008. “Some have taken to describing a ‘Sugar Hill Sound,” but I am not going to try to define that. To me, it’s what connect Doc Watson to Chris Thile, ricky skaggs to Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt to dolly Parton. They all exhibit a rootedness in their contemporary expressions of music. I like it because the music comes from a place. It’s not prefabricated or manufactured.”

Douglas and Skaggs had been part of a bluegrass group called Boone Creek, whose One Way Track album was Sugar Hill’s first release in 1978. In a May 18 Facebook post, Douglas wrote of Poss: “His dream was to have a label that mirrored the same idea as Sam Phillips and his famous Sun label, which catered to a specific audience and created a new genre, Rockabilly Plus. Barry knew an audience was there for a specific form of music (bluegrass) and there were certain bands who could grow that audience and the music would evolve with the growth of that audience.”

Douglas, who also produced a number of recordings for Sugar Hill Records, noted that he and Poss were “very close friends. Confidants really. He was like my wingman and brother at any event we collided with. We would spend hours talking about the direction of the music and the parameters he wanted his label to maintain no matter the current climate.” Poss was also godfather to Douglas’ daughter Nola. “Barry loved my family, and Jill and I, along with our children, will forever press his memory closer to our hearts.”

In addition to spending many years at the helm of Sugar Hill Records, Poss was a founding board member of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky and helped to launch the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA).

“Barry Poss was not just a champion of roots music and the artists that made it, but he was instrumental in the founding of our organization,” Ken White, IBMA’s executive director, said in a statement. “For that and so much more, we will always be grateful.”

Poss was a recipient of the IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1998. The Americana Music Association also honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 in recognition of Sugar Hill’s pivotal role in both preserving and reinvigorating traditional music, while he was inducted into the Oak Ridge Music Hall of Fame in 2023.

Closer to home, Poss also served on the boards of the Carolina Theater, the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, MerleFest, the North Carolina, Folklife Institute, and WUNC-FM.

While many artists and others have shared tributes to Poss since his passing, for his part Poss once said: “It’s the artists who make the music to which I’m the most indebted. They had something important to say. They needed to be heard. And I wanted to be part of their creative lives – because it mattered.”

Here’s a complete listing of the nominees in the American Roots Music Field:

Best Americana Album:

• Brandy Clark — Brandy Clark
• The Chicago Sessions — Rodney Crowell
• You’re The One — Rhiannon Giddens
• Weathervanes — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• The Returner — Allison Russell

Best Americana Performance:

• “Friendship” — The Blind Boys of Alabama
• “Help Me Make It Through The Night” — Tyler Childers
• “Dear Insecurity” — Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile
• “King of Oklahoma” — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• “The Returner” — Allison Russell

Best American Roots Performance:

• “Butterfly” — Jon Batiste
• “Heaven Help Us All” — The Blind Boys of Alabama
• “Inventing The Wheel” — Madison Cunningham
• “You Louisiana Man” — Rhiannon Giddens
• “Eve Was Black” — Allison Russell

Best American Roots Song:

• “Blank Page” — Michael Trotter Jr. & Tanya Trotter, songwriters (The War and Treaty)
• “California Sober” — Aaron Allen, William Apostol & Jon Weisberger, songwriters (Billy Strings featuring Willie Nelson)
• “Cast Iron Skillet” — Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit)
• “Dear Insecurity” — Brandy Clark & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile)
• “The Returner” — Drew Lindsay, JT Nero & Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)

Best Bluegrass Album:

• Radio John: Songs Of John Hartford — Sam Bush
• Lovin’ Of The Game — Michael Cleveland
• Mighty Poplar — Mighty Poplar
• Bluegrass — Willie Nelson
• Me/And Dad — Billy Strings
• City Of Gold — Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Best Folk Album:

• Traveling Wildfire — Dom Flemons
• I Only See the Moon — The Milk Carton Kids
• Joni Mitchell At Newport (Live) — Joni Mitchell
• Celebrants — Nickel Creek
• Jubilee — Old Crow Medicine Show
• Seven Psalms — Paul Simon
• Folkocracy — Rufus Wainwright

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

• Death Wish Blues — Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton
• Healing Time — Ruthie Foster
• Live In London — Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
• Blood Harmony — Larkin Poe
• LaVette! — Bettye LaVette

Best Traditional Blues Album:

• Ridin’ — Eric Bibb
• The Soul Side of Sipp — Mr. Sipp
• Life Don’t Miss Nobody — Tracy Nelson
• Teardrops For Magic Slim Live At Rosa’s Lounge — John Primer
• All My Love For You — Bobby Rush

Best Regional Roots Music Album:

• New Beginnings — Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band
• Live At The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers
• Live: Orpheum Theater Nola — Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
• Made In New Orleans — New Breed Brass Band
• Too Much To Hold — New Orleans Nightcrawlers
• Live At The Maple Leaf — The Rumble Featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.

Also of Note: Among the nominees for Best New Artist are The War and Treaty. Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer featuring Rakesh Chaurasia received nominations in three categories: Best Global Music Performance (for “Pashto”), Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (for As We Speak) and Best Instrumental Composition (for “Motion”). Tyler Childers’ “In Your Love,” Brandy Clark’s “Buried” and Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse” are among those in the running for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song (along with co-writers Geno Seale, Jessie Jo Dillon and Dan Wilson, respectively). Childers’ “In Your Love” also is vying for Best Music Video, while his Rustin’ In The Rain is among the nominees for Best Country Album. Clark’s Shucked is in the running for Best Musical Theater Album. “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves is in the running for both Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, while Bryan’s self-titled album vies for Best Country Album.

The Recording Academy (grammy.com) represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards.

In a Facebook post, Amy Rigby, a singer-songwriter who was sharing the stage with Olney and Scott Miller as part of a song swap, wrote:

“David Olney, a beautiful man, a legend, a songwriting poet died last night. I was sitting next to him in the round, had been so honored and looking forward to getting to trade songs with him and Scott Miller. Olney was in the middle of his third song when he stopped, apologized and shut his eyes. He was very still, sitting upright with his guitar on, wearing the coolest hat and a beautiful rust suede jacket we laughed about because it was raining like hell outside the boathouse where we were playing- I just want the picture to be as graceful and dignified as it was, because it at first looked like he was just taking a moment. Scott Miller had the presence of mind to say we needed to revive him. Doctors in the audience and 30A folks were all working so hard to get him to come to. It’s hard to post about this because I can’t really believe he’s gone. I am so sorry for his wife and family and friends and all the people who loved him and his music. Even those who never heard of him. We all lost someone important last night.”

Here’s a link to a nearly 30-minute Acoustic Interlude session featuring David Olney that was recorded during the 2020 30A Songwriters Festival:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxF6WXW4Hq0&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0ADwrIUBizMkjE2EbVfBGJEjcnVE1QI0CVPplVN9hyJlX1Vou3SClU8po

Based in Nashville since 1973, the Lincoln, Rhode Island native, who was born on March 23, 1948 and moved to Music City after briefly studying English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, had quickly become part of a like-minded group of songwriters that included Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Rodney Crowell. “Anytime anyone asks me who my favorite music writers are, I say Mozart, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bob Dylan, and David Olney,” Van Zandt once said. “David Olney is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever heard – and that’s true. I mean that from my heart.” That quote appears in the liner notes for Olney’s 1991 release, Roses.

After fronting a band, The X-Rays, who recorded two albums for Rounder Records, Olney released his first solo album, Eye of the Storm, in 1986. His 1988 sophomore release, Deeper Well, featured his song “Jerusalem Tomorrow” that Emmylou Harris covered on her 1993 album, Cowgirl’s Prayer; she also covered its title track on 1995’s Wrecking Ball. Of Olney, Harris had said: “David Olney tells marvelous stories, with characters who cling to he hope of enduring love, all the while crossing the deep divide into that long, dark night of the soul.”

Here’s a link to a video of David Olney performing “Jerusalem Tomorrow”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQcX_rv20dk

Olney, whose last album, This Side or the Other, was released in 2018, was a prolific songwriter and a mainstay of the Nashville music community. He also was a cinematographer and helped to produce a number of short films and documentaries.

Facebook, the online social network, was replete with online tributes to and remembrances of Olney, beginning shortly after his death.

“I’m in shock. Devastated that my friend, songwriter David Olney has passed away,” wrote singer-songwriter Abbie Gardner in a Jan. 19 post. “We were supposed to write together next week. I spent the morning watching videos of him just trying to turn back the clock and spend some more time listening to his stories and grumbly voice… I always tucked away ideas I thought he would like and saved them for our co-writes. I don’t know what I’ll do with the one I’d hoped to share with him next week. There’s one of our songs on his last record ironically called “Death Will Not Divide Us.” Listening to that now is heartbreaking and healing all at once. I hope you’re right, David, I really hope you’re right.”

Here’s a link to view the official music video for “Death Will Not Divide Us”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA2AEyo74ds

Dan Navarro, a fellow singer-songwriter, noted that he was on the same stage, The Boathouse at Watercolor, in a round just before Olney. “I greeted and hugged him as I came offstage, as he was prepping to go on,” Navarro posted. “I hadn’t seen him in a year… He was sweet and I thought he looked great, with his long white beard, which was not so long last year. I complimented him on his cool suede jacket, and he prepped to go on. About ten minutes later, he was seated onstage checking, and I went up to say bye bye. An hour later he was gone. What a shocking heartbreaking loss.”

Singer-Songwriter Amy Speace also posted on Jan. 19: “11 or 12 years ago I got an email from Mary Sack saying that David Olney had heard me at the Folk Alliance and wanted me to join him in a 9pm round at The Bluebird Cafe. It was my first time there. It felt like I’d been handed a secret key to a kingdom. He was one of my first calls when I moved to East Nashville and we had coffee at Bongo and talked about Shakespeare and folk music and touring in Holland. He was welcoming. He was unpretentious and kind. A true master. I saw him only a week or so ago at The Five Spot sounding on top of his game. Word spread quickly at this festival that he died on stage tonight and it doesn’t seem real. The last Bluebird Round I hosted, he was my first call and I got the chance to sit next to him and hear him play all those songs and thank him for graciously opening the door for me years ago. I hope he knew how much that invitation meant. I hope he feels that the tribe won’t sleep tonight. This is one of my favorites. My heart is with his family and his close friends.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxF6WXW4Hq0&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0ADwrIUBizMkjE2EbVfBGJEjcnVE1QI0CVPplVN9hyJlX1Vou3SClU8po

Olney was to have showcased his talents and been part of a Wisdom of the Elders panel discussion at the annual Folk Alliance International Conference in New Orleans later this week. In addition to an official juried showcase, he was slotted to play Acoustic Chaos: The Georgia Room on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 11 p.m. The room’s host, Jill Kettles, Olney’s ‘on-again and off-again publicist,’ has invited conference attendees to come to the room during that time and sing their favorite David Olney song or talk about him as a friend, a colleague, or as an inspiration.

Olney leaves behind his wife, Regine, daughter, Lillian, and son, Redding, as well as many friends in the music community. Memorial services have not yet been planned.

Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit’s The Nashville Sound was named Best Americana Album, while “If We Were Vampires,” one of its original songs penned by Isbell, won the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song. Isbell’s previous recording, Something More Than Fine, won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2016 and sported that year’s Best American Roots Song, ”24 Frames.” Also a six-time Americana Awards winner, the former Drive-By Trucker was previously named Artist of the Year and won Album and Song of the Year honors during the Americana Music Association’s 15th Annual Americana Honors & Awards Show in 2016. Last October, Isbell – who hails from Alabama and currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee – was named to be the official artist-in-residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann’s Mental Illness won Best Folk Album. Her first new studio recording in five years, it marks a return for Mann to a slower and more acoustic sound – with the focus on acoustic guitar, piano, and, of course, her voice — after she rocked out more on her previous album, 2012’s Charmed. That recording had harkened back more toward her days as the lead vocalist for rockers ‘Til Tuesday in the late 1980s.

The Infamous Stringdusters feature Andy Hall (dobro), Andy Falco (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), and Travis Book (double bass). Although the band has received a number of International Bluegrass Music Awards over the years, this marked its first Grammy win – having previously been among the nominees for Best Country Instrumental Performance in 2011. Released on Compass Records last January, Laws of Gravity is The Infamous Stringdusters’ seventh studio album and was recorded while the band was on tour.

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage have won a bevy of awards overs the years from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA). Hailed as the queen of bluegrass music, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rhonda Vincent is an eight-time IBMA vocalist of the Year and multi-time SPBGMA Entertainer and Female Vocalist of the Year. Her bandmates include Hunter Berry (fiddle), Brent Burke (dobro). Mickey Harris (bass & vocals), Aaron McDaris (banjo), and Josh Williams (guitar & vocals).

Other Grammy Award winners in the American Roots Music Field include:

Best American Roots Performance: “Killer Diller Blues” (Alabama Shakes)

Best Traditional Blues Album: Blue & Lonesome (The Rolling Stones)

Best Contemporary Blues Album: TajMo (Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’)

Best Regional Roots Album: Kalenda (Lost Bayou Ramblers)

Outside of the American Roots Music Field, Chris Stapleton, a country music artist who has also garnered considerable folk and roots radio airplay, received Gammy Awards for both Best Country Song (“Broken Halos,” written with Mike Henderson0, Best Country album (From A Room; Volume 1) and Best Country Solo Performance (“Either Way”). A Kentucky-born singer-songwriter who formerly fronted The SteelDrivers, Stapleton has penned a number of songs that have topped the country music charts.

Americana Music Association, Folk Alliance International Hosted Pre-Grammy Events

On Saturday, Jan. 27, prior to the Grammy Awards, both the Americana Music Association and Folk Alliance International hosted celebratory events at popular NYC live music venues City Winery and Joe’s Pub, respectively. An Americanafest Pre-Grammy Salute to Emmylou Harris — who will be honored by The Recording Academy with a Lifetime Achievement Award later this year — was presented by the Americana Music Association and featured performances by Brandi Carlile, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Harris, Jack Ingram, Keb’ Mo’, and The Secret Sisters, among others. Hailing from northern Alabama, The Secret Sisters (Lydia and Laura Rogers) were among this year’s nominees for Best Folk Album and also shared their sisterly harmonies at Joe’s Pub during the afternoon, where Folk Alliance International honored past and present nominees in that category and other roots artists. Among the other artists at Joe’s Pub were Ashley Campbell (Glen’s daughter), Olivia Chaney of Ofa Rex (also a Best Folk album nominee), Rose Cousins (an award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter and the afternoon’s emcee), Michael Daves, bluesman Guy Davis (whose collaboration with Fabrizio Poggi on Sonny and Brownie’s Last Train earned a nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album), Anais Mitchell, and Dar Williams.

Americanafest is a six-day festival and conference celebrating American roots-inspired music that is put on by the Americana Music Association. Early registration is currently available for the next one that is set for Sept. 11-16 in Nashville and will feature educational panels and seminars, showcases at venues around the music city, and the annual Americana Honors & Awards Show. Established in 1999, the Americana Music Association is a professional trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music throughout the world. For more information, visit www.americanamusic.org.

Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org) is a Kansas City, MO-based nonprofit organization that seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through education, advocacy and performance. It’s 30th annual conference is slated for Feb. 14-18, in Kansas City, MO, and will feature presentations by Mary Chapin Carpenter and Richard Thompson, the Louis Jay Meyers Music Camp, the International Folk Music Awards, the third annual Kansas City Folk Festival, artist showcases, workshops, panel discussions, film screenings, an exhibit hall, and more.

Several artists are nominated for two awards in the American Roots Music Field. Among the nominees for both Best Americana Roots Song and Best Americana Album are the late Gregg Allman (for “My Only True Friend” and Southern Blood, respectively), Jason Isbell (for “If We Were Vampires” and The Nashville Sound, respectively), and The Mavericks (for “I Wish You Well” and Brand New Day, respectively). Besides being nominated for Best American Roots Performance, Alison Krauss (“I Never Cared For You”) and the late Leonard Cohen (“Steer Your Way”) also are nominated for awards outside of the American Roots Music Field. Krauss is among those vying for Best Country Solo Performance (for “Losing You”), while Cohen is in the running for Best Rock Performance (for “You Want It Darker”).

Here’s a list of the Grammy Award nominees in the American Roots Music Field:

Best American Roots Performance:

• “Killer Diller Blues” – Alabama Shakes
• “Let My Mother Live” – Blind Boys Of Alabama
• “Arkansas Farmboy” – Glen Campbell
• “Steer Your Way” – Leonard Cohen
• “I Never Cared For You” – Alison Krauss

Best American Roots Song:

• “Cumberland Gap” – David Rawlings & Gillian Welch, songwriters (David Rawlings)
• “I Wish You Well” – Raul Malo & Alan Miller, songwriters (The Mavericks)
• “If We Were Vampires” – Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit)
• “It Ain’t Over Yet” – Rodney Crowell, songwriter (Rodney Crowell featuring Rosanne Cash & John Paul White)
• “My Only True Friend” – Gregg Allman & Scott Sharrard, songwriters (Gregg Allman)

Best Americana Album:

• Southern Blood – Gregg Allman
• Shine On Rainy Day – Brent Cobb
• Beast Epic – Iron & Wine
• The Nashville Sound – Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
• Brand New Day – The Mavericks

Best Bluegrass Album:

• Fiddler’s Dream – Michael Cleveland
• Laws Of Gravity – The Infamous Stringdusters
• Original – Bobby Osborne
• Universal Favorite – Noam Pikelny
• All The Rage – In Concert Volume One [Live] – Rhonda Vincent And The Rage

Best Traditional Blues Album:

• Migration Blues – Eric Bibb
• Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio – Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio
• Roll And Tumble – R.L. Boyce
• Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train – Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi
• Blue & Lonesome – The Rolling Stones

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

• Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm – Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm
• Recorded Live In Lafayette – Sonny Landreth
• TajMo – Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’
• Got Soul – Robert Randolph & The Family Band
• Live From The Fox Oakland – Tedeschi Trucks Band

Best Folk Album:

• Mental Illness – Aimee Mann
• Semper Femina – Laura Marling
• The Queen Of Hearts – Offa Rex
• You Don’t Own Me Anymore – The Secret Sisters
• The Laughing Apple – Yusuf / Cat Stevens

Best Regional Roots Music Album:

• Top Of The Mountain – Dwayne Dopsie And The Zydeco Hellraisers
• Ho’okena 3.0 – Ho’okena
• Kalenda – Lost Bayou Ramblers
• Miyo Kekisepa, Make A Stand [Live] – Northern Cree
• Pua Kiele – Josh Tatofi

Also of note: The Jerry Douglas Band is among the nominees for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for its debut studio release What If, as is the guitar duo of Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge for Mount Royal. Douglas is a 14-time Grammy Award winner and three-time Country Music Association Musician of the Year. A founding member of The Infamous Stringdusters, Eldridge also is a member of Punch Brothers and is in the house band on A Prairie Home Companion. Folk-rockers Bob Dylan and Sarah McLachlan are among the five artists whose recent recordings (Triplicate and Wonderland, respectively) are in the running for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

A complete list of nominees in all categories appears online at www.grammy.com.

With nods for Album of the Year (A Sailor’s Guide to Earth), Artist of the Year and Song of the Year (“All Around You”), Sturgill Simpson has the most nominations for this year’s American Honors and Awards. The Kentucky-bred and Nashville-based singer-songwriter was previously honored as Emerging Artist of the Year in 2014 and Artist of the Year in 2015, while his “Turtles All The Way Down” was named Song of the Year in 2015. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, his third studio album and first major label release, received the Grammy Award for Best Country Album earlier this year, while Simpson was named International Artist of the Year in the UK American Awards. Rodney Crowell, Drive-By Truckers and Lori McKenna each were nominated in two of the six AMA member-voted awards categories.

Here’s a listing of the nominees:

Album of the Year
American Band – Drive-By Truckers
Close Ties – Rodney Crowell
Freedom Highway – Rhiannon Giddens
The Navigator – Hurray for the Riff Raff
A Sailor’s Guide to Earth – Sturgill Simpson

Artist of the Year
Jason Isbell
John Prine
Lori McKenna
Margo Price
Sturgill Simpson

Duo/Group of the Year
Billy Bragg & Joe Henry
Drive-By Truckers
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
The Lumineers

Emerging Artist of the Year
Aaron Lee Tasjan
Amanda Shires
Brent Cobb
Sam Outlaw

Song of the Year
“All Around You” – Sturgill Simpson
“It Ain’t Over Yet” – Rodney Crowell (with Rosanne Cash and John Paul White)
“To Be Without You” – Ryan Adams
“Wreck You” – Lori McKenna (co-written with Felix McTeigue)

Instrumentalist of the Year
Spencer Collum, Jr.
Jen Gunderman
Courtney Hartman
Charlie Sexton

In addition to these six Americana Music Association member-voted awards, Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to Van Morrison (Songwriter), Robert Cray (Performance), Hi Rhythm Section (Instrumentalist), Iris DeMent (Trailblazer), Graham Nash (Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music), and Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg for Hightone Records (Executive).

AmericanaFest, which extends from September 12-17, is expected to draw several thousand artists, industry professionals and fans for plenty of learning and networking opportunities during days filled with 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 trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American Roots Music throughout the world. For more information, visit www.americanamusic.org.

Recorded live during the American Music Association’s 15th Annual Honors & Awards ceremony at Nashville’s storied Ryman Auditorium on Sept. 21, the music-filled hour-long show will feature many of the evening’s award-winners and honorees.

Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell, who took home trophies for Album of the Year (Something More Than Free) and Song of the Year (“24 Frames”) — accompanied by his wife, fiddler Amanda Shires, and his band, The 400 Unit — performs “if It Takes a Lifetime. The former Drive-By-Trucker is now the recipient of six Americana Awards.

The Honors & Awards ceremony celebrates authentic, diverse and original music from many genres, both traditional and contemporary. “If you can taste the dirt through your ears, that is Americana,” says Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association. “It is music that is derived or inspired by American roots traditions.”

The broadcast features tributes to three roots music luminaries who died within the last year: country outlaw Merle Haggard, troubadour Guy Clark, and bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley. Grateful Dead founder Bob Weir, the night’s Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree for Performance, opens the show with a rendition of Haggard’s iconic “Mama Tried.” Steve Earle performs Clark’s classic Desperados Waiting for a Train.” And Alison Krauss sings Stanley’s “Gloryland,” a cappella, joined by Buddy Miller, Melonie Cannon and Stuart Duncan.

The PBS broadcast also features performances of “Bring It On Home” by Duo/Group of the Year honoree Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell and “What I Don’t Know” by honky-tonk maverick Dwight Yoakam. 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Bonnie Raitt performs “Gypsy in Me” (backed by gospel greats The McCrary Sisters) and joins Stax soul legend William Bell, the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree for Songwriting, on “The Three of Me,” accompanied by producer John Leventhal on guitar. Emerging Artist Award-winner Margo Price sings her “Tennessee Song,” while up-and-coming Americana sensation Parker Millsap is joined by Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan on backing vocals as he performs “Heaven Sent” from his critically acclaimed Album of the Year-nominated release. The Lumineers perform a new song, Angela,” while Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats perform “Wasting Time.” Country music star George Strait closes out the broadcast with a performance of his signature “King of Broken Hearts, “ joined by songwriter Jim Lauderdale, the Americana Honors & Awards show’s host for 14 consecutive years and a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

The Americana Honors & Awards show was a highlight of AmericanaFest, the Americana Music Festival and Conference, which extended from September 20-25 and featured lots of learning and networking opportunities as well as musical entertainment at various venues throughout the Music City.

Here’s a link to an article entitled 2016 Americana Honors and Awards Presented that was previously posted on AcousticMusicScene.com:

https://acousticmusicscene.com/2016/09/27/2016-americana-honors-and-awards-presented/

Established in 1999, the Americana Music Association is a professional trade association dedicated to building and promoting the Americana genre and the individuals who participate in the industry. For more information, visit www.americanamusic.org.

Since its inception in 1974, Austin City Limits has helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The longest-running music series in American television history, it’s also the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. The show, produced by KLRU-TV, also received a Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012.

Isbell, who took home trophies for his 2015 release, Something More Than Free, and for the song “24 Frames,” is now a six-time Americana Award winner. The former Drive-By Trucker had snagged the most nominations (three) earlier this year. Isbell thanked Amanda Shires, his wife and fellow artist, for helping to keep him grounded amid his artistic success. “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,” he said while accepting the award for Song of the Year.

Here’s a link to a lyric video for Isbell’s “24 Frames”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtgPeNKpnyw

Stapleton, a Kentucky-born singer-songwriter, who has co-written six number one country music hit songs and formerly fronted The SteelDrivers, was hailed for his 2015 solo debut Traveller. The critically acclaimed album that also topped the Billboard Top 200 charts and landed him appearances on several late-night television shows, also received a Grammy Award earlier this year for Best Country Album, while Traveller was named 2015 Album of the Year by the Country Music Association (CMA). Stapleton also won a Grammy Award this year for Best Country Solo Performance and was named CMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year and New Artist of the Year in 2015. During the Americana Honors & Awards show, he expressed thanks to all the Americana radio stations, noting: “It’s been a big part of what we’ve been doing.”

Here’s a link to hear the title track of Chris Stapleton’s solo debut album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kBnFgLP8po

Other winners of Americana Music Association member-voted awards included Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell (Duo/Group of the Year for a second time), Margo Price (Emerging Artist of the Year), and Sara Watkins (Instrumentalist of the Year).

Lifetime Achievement Award recipients included 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 Award, co-presented by the First Amendment Center). On behalf of the Guthrie family, a President’s Award in Honor of Woody Guthrie was presented to Lucinda Williams.

Hosted by Lauderdale for the 14th consecutive year and featuring an all-star band led by Buddy Miller, the Americana Awards and Honors show also featured musical tributes to several luminary artists who died in the past year: Guy Clark, Merle Haggard, Ralph Stanley and Allen Toussaint. The show was a highlight of “AmericanaFest,” the Americana Music Festival and Conference, which extended from September 20-25 and featured lots of learning and networking opportunities as well as musical entertainment at various venues throughout the Music City.

Established in 1999, the Americana Music Association is a professional trade association dedicated to building and promoting the Americana genre and the individuals who participate in the industry. For more information, visit www.americanamusic.org.

With nods for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year, former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell snagged the most nominations. Williams, Price, Chris Stapleton and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweat each were nominated in two categories.

Here’s a complete listing of the nominees for the 15th annual American Honors & Awards:

Album of the Year

Something More Than Free, Jason Isbell, produced by Dave Cobb
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

Artist of the Year

Jason Isbell
Bonnie Raitt
Chris Stapleton
Lucinda Williams

Duo/Group of the Year

Alabama Shakes
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
Lake Street Dive
The Milk Carton Kids
Tedeschi Trucks Band

Emerging Artist of the Year

Leon Bridges
John Moreland
Margo Price
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

Song of the Year

“24 Frames” Jason Isbell
“Dime Store Cowgirl” Kacey Musgraves
“Hands Of Time” Margo Price
“S.O.B.” Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweats

Instrumentalist of the Year

Cindy Cashdollar
Stuart Duncan
Jedd Hughes
Sara Watkins

The winners of these six Americana Music Association member-voted awards will be announced during a September 21 Americana Honors and Awards show at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. The event is a highlight of “AmericanaFest,” the Americana Music Festival and Conference, which extends from September 20-25. AmericanaFest features lots of learning, networking and musical entertainment at various venues throughout the Music City

Established in 1999, the Americana Music Association is a professional trade association dedicated to building and promoting the Americana genre and the individuals who participate in the industry. For more information, visit www.americanamusic.org.

Although Old Settler’s has grown in popularity over the years, it retains a more casual and laid-back down-home Texas vibe than a couple of other notable Austin area music festivals – and that’s part of its allure. Among the diverse array of talented performers on the 2016 lineup are The Accidentals, The Jeff Austin Band, The Band of Heathens, The Black Lillies, Hayes Carll, Rodney Crowell, Dawes, Deer Tick, Della Mae, Jerry Douglas presents The Earls of Leicester, The HillBenders present The Who’s TOMMY: A Bluegrass Opry, Sierra Hull, Sarah Jarosz (who grew up playing the festival’s workshops and smaller stages), The Jayhawks, Lonesome River Band, The Milk Carton Kids, Bob Schneider, Carolyn Wonderland, The Woods Brothers, and more.

In addition to music on four stages, there will be performance workshops, sing-a-longs and impromptu jam sessions, a youth talent competition and children’s activities, a market area featuring arts and crafts or crafts people and artisans, specialty foods and craft brews, and lots of tasty barbecue. Those camping on-site can also enjoy late-night jams around the campfires.

Discounted admission wristbands are available online via EventBrite until April 1. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.oldsettlersmusicfest.org.

Each year, the nonprofit festival provides financial support to several community organizations. The beneficiaries for 2016 will be the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, Kids in New Groove, and the Center for Texas Music History. In addition, four scholarships will be provided to students pursuing music-related degrees at two area colleges.