 | |
| Formation | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Type | not-for-profit music organization |
| Headquarters | Nashville, TN |
Official language | English |
Executive Director | Jed Hilly |
| Website | americanamusic.org |
The Americana Music Association is a not-for-profit trade organization advocating for American Roots Music globally, and supporting professionals within the field.
The Americana Music Association was founded in order to advocate and provide a network for Americana artists and industry professionals. [1] The Association produces the annual Americana Music Festival and Conference, known as AMERICANAFEST, and the Americana Music Honors & Awards, typically held together in the fall. [2] The association also manages and publishes radio airplay charts, [3] publishes newsletters, conducts market research, and disseminates information about events in the Americana community.
Founded in 1999, the association held its first convention at the Hilton Suites in downtown Nashville in September 2000, featuring performances by Sam Bush, Rhonda Vincent, Rodney Crowell, and Jim Lauderdale. [1] The Americana Honors and Awards were added to the convention the following year. Americana icons Emmylou Harris, Billy Joe Shaver, and T-Bone Burnett were given lifetime achievement awards for performing, songwriting, and executive achievement, respectively. [4] The 2001 convention also featured a surprise performance by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, with members of the Cash family. After being awarded the association's first "Spirit of Americana" Free Speech Award, Cash gave a recitation of his song-poem "Ragged Old Flag," before performing with June and their family. [5] [6] This was the last public performance the Cashes would ever give together. [7]
Over time, the fall event attracted larger groups of fans and industry conferees, [8] and the organization formally changed the name of its event to the Americana Music Festival and Conference. By 2008, the event had expanded to four days and moved its Awards Show to the historic Ryman Auditorium. [9]
Previous musical performances at the conference have included Levon Helm's Ramble at the Ryman, John Fogerty, Grace Potter, The Avett Brothers, The Civil Wars, Bonnie Raitt, Booker T. Jones, Richard Thompson, Alabama Shakes, Punch Brothers, John Fullbright, and Robert Plant with Buddy Miller. [10] [11]
The Association's capstone event, the Americana Music Honors & Awards, aired live nationally on September 12, 2012, via AXS TV, broadcast via SiriusXM, WSM radio, and streamed by NPR.org. Musical segments of the awards show also appeared on PBS nationwide during the special presentation "ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2012". Additional international radio broadcasts via BBC2 and Voice of America began airing September 23, 2012. [12]
The Grand Ole Opry is a regular live country-music radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the time of year. It was founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as the WSM Barn Dance, taking its current name in 1927. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, it is the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.
Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller.
John Robert Hiatt is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded a variety of other distinctions in the music industry.
The Nashville Municipal Auditorium is an indoor sports and concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee. It opened October 7, 1962 with both an arena and exhibition hall. The former exhibition hall has been permanent home to the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum since 2013.
Ryman Auditorium is a historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue and museum located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in the downtown core of Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It is best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. It is owned and operated by Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. Ryman Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was later designated as a National Historic Landmark on June 25, 2001, for its pivotal role in the popularization of country music. A storied stage for Rock & Roll artists for decades, the Ryman was named a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark in 2022.
Rosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash.
Charles Samuel Bush is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame a second time in 2023 as a solo artist.
Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, Remedy, released in 2014, won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. The group's music has been called old-time, folk, and alternative country. Along with original songs, the band performs many pre-World War II blues and folk songs.
Justin Townes Earle was an American singer-songwriter and musician. After his debut EP, Yuma (2007), he released eight full-length albums. He was recognized with an Americana Music Award for Emerging Artist of the Year in 2009 and for Song of the Year in 2011 for "Harlem River Blues". His father is alternative country artist Steve Earle.
The Black Lillies are an Americana band from Knoxville, Tennessee that was founded in early 2009 by Cruz Contreras. They toured actively from 2009 until their last show on New Year's Eve 2019. Their lineup for their 2018 Stranger to Me studio album included Cruz Contreras on lead vocals, guitar, and keys, Sam Quinn on bass and vocals, Bowman Townsend on drums, and Dustin Schaefer on electric guitar and vocals.
Ramble at the Ryman is a 2011 live album recorded by American rock multi-instrumentalist Levon Helm during his September 17, 2008 performance at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. The performance kicked off the beginning of the Americana Music Festival & Conference. The album features six songs by The Band and other cover material, including songs from previous Helm solo releases. Helm's band is led by multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell and Helm's daughter, vocalist and mandolinist Amy Helm.
The Americana Music Honors & Awards is the marquee event for the Americana Music Association. Beginning in 2002, the Americana Music Association honors distinguished members of the music community. Six member-voted awards and several Lifetime Achievement Awards are handed out while over 2000 artists, music-loving fans and entertainment industry executives look on.
The Americana Music Festival & Conference is a music festival and music industry conference that takes place every year. The first was held in 2000. It has since grown into a five-day multi-venue production. It is run by the Americana Music Association which is a professional not-for-profit trade organization whose mission is to promote awareness, provide a forum, and advocate for the creative and economic vitality of the Americana music genre.
Jed Hilly is the American Executive Director of the Americana Music Association. Hilly was formerly the vice-president of Digital Asset Management and Marketing Services at Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
The Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival is an annual festival of songwriters in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established by the 4,000-member Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) in 1993. The festival is typically a five-day session for songwriters including nights of "songwriter in the round" shows held at 10 or so venues around the city, usually Nashville's top singer/songwriter hotspots. According to Tennessean writer Dave Paulson, the festival allows country music's rising stars to take the stage alongside their closest collaborators. The festival is not about country music per se — it includes all genres of music, and features both professional and amateur composers in the U.S. and abroad. The name was derived from Tin Pan Alley, a district of Manhattan near West 28th Street, where music publishers flourished as far back as 1885. As of 2019, Tin Pan South is "the world's largest songwriter festival" according to the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation. The 31st annual (2023) event will feature performances by hundreds of songwriters.
The 2021 Americana Music Honors & Awards, 20th ceremony, were held on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at Ryman Auditorium the in Nashville, Tennessee. The marquee event for the Americana Music Association, artists are awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. This was the first ceremony to be held since 2019, following the cancellation of the 2020 awards due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show was broadcast on Circle in the US for the first time and was also available to watch in its entirety on Facebook, alongside a highlights show that aired on PBS as part of Austin City Limits.
The 2022 Americana Music Honors & Awards ceremony was held on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, at Ryman Auditorium the in Nashville, Tennessee. The marquee event for the Americana Music Association, artists are awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry.
The 2023 Americana Music Honors & Awards ceremony was held on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at Ryman Auditorium the in Nashville, Tennessee. The marquee event for the Americana Music Association, artists are awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. The show was livestreamed on the Circle YouTube channel and on the AMA's Facebook page, plus live radio broadcasts on Sirius XM and local Tennessee stations WSM, WMOT and WRLT. An hour-long special of highlights aired on PBS in November as part of Austin City Limits. The Milk Carton Kids returned to host the ceremony, having previously hosted in 2018 and 2019.
The 2024 Americana Music Honors & Awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at the Ryman Auditorium the in Nashville, Tennessee. The marquee event for the Americana Music Association and the centerpiece of their annual Americanafest, artists are awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry and the americana genre. The show is set to be livestreamed on the Circle YouTube channel and on the AMA's Facebook page, alongside live radio broadcasts on Sirius XM and local Tennessee stations WSM, WMOT and WRLT. An hour-long special of highlights will on PBS in November as part of Austin City Limits.