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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.
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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.
Following the 9/11 disaster, Hilly relocated his family to Nashville, Tennessee. There he was hired by Barbara Orbison, widow of singer Roy Orbison as Vice President of Orbison Records, where he steered numerous initiatives that re-monetized the catalog of the artist. He coordinated museum exhibits and helped to produce the American Music Master Series at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; oversaw the campaign to encourage the US Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp to honor Roy Orbison; [1] and initiated numerous other projects and re-releases of the Orbison catalog that resulted in tripling sales over previous years.
In the spring of 2007, Hilly accepted the position as Executive Director of the Americana Music Association, whose mission is to foster growth of Americana music. During his tenure, expansion has been evident such as the Recording Academy’s decision (2010) to add the Americana Category to its list of Grammy Awards and in 2011, Merriam-Webster to added the word, Americana, as a musical term, to its prestigious Collegiate Dictionary.
Hilly has steered the Association to increased attendance totals at their annual Americana Music Festival and Conference and significantly, raised the profile of the genre with Rolling Stone magazine printing the Americana Music Airplay Chart, the creation of the Americana Landing Page at amazon.com and major feature stories about the genre and the organization in Billboard, the New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal and hundreds of other periodicals worldwide. Hilly is the Executive Producer of the annual Americana Honors & Awards show at the Historic Ryman Auditorium, which is broadcast around the world on PBS and AXS TV along with BBC Radio 2, XM/Sirius Satellite Radio, WSM, Voice of America and NPR.org. In recent years the organization has been bolstered with ever-growing support and attendance of artists like Bonnie Raitt, John Fogerty, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle and Levon Helm (with whom Hilly produced the GRAMMY and EMMY Award-winning PBS special Levon Helm: Ramble at the Ryman). The recent success and inclusion into the Americana umbrella of new and emerging artists like the Avett Brothers, the Civil Wars, Mumford & Sons, Tift Merritt, the Lumineers and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals has broadened the scope of the Americana audience to the next generation of music loving fans.
Hilly has served on the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) merchandising committees; the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame American Music Masters Advisory board, the Nashville Mayors Music Council and is an active member of NARM, the Recording Academy (NARAS) and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Hilly grew up outside of New York City and on his family’s farm in Vermont. Hilly has three children and plays the bass guitar. [2]
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as operatic, earning him the nicknames "The Caruso of Rock" and "The Big O." Many of Orbison's songs conveyed vulnerability at a time when most male rock-and-roll performers chose to project machismo. He performed while standing motionless and wearing black clothes to match his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses.
The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1967. It consisted of four Canadians and one American: Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, and Levon Helm. The Band combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz, country, and R&B, influencing musicians such as George Harrison, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton and Wilco.
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.
Emmylou Harris is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1992 and an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2018, she was presented the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Fred Luther Foster was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbison, and was also involved in the early careers of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Foster suggested to Kris Kristofferson the title and theme of "Me and Bobby McGee", which became a hit for Kristofferson, Roger Miller, and Janis Joplin, and for which Foster received a co-writing credit.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band.
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice, multi-instrumental ability, and creative drumming style, highlighted on many of the Band's recordings, such as "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".
"The Weight" is a song by the Canadian-American group the Band that was released as a single in 1968 and on the group's debut album Music from Big Pink. It was their first release under this name, after their previous releases as Canadian Squires and Levon and the Hawks. Written by Band member Robbie Robertson, the song is about a visitor's experiences in a town mentioned in the lyric's first line as Nazareth. "The Weight" has significantly influenced American popular music, having been listed as No. 41 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time published in 2004. Pitchfork Media named it the 13th best song of the 1960s, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. PBS, which broadcast performances of the song on Ramble at the Ryman (2011), Austin City Limits (2012), and Quick Hits (2012), describes it as "a masterpiece of Biblical allusions, enigmatic lines and iconic characters" and notes its enduring popularity as "an essential part of the American songbook."
Troy Harold Seals is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
The Americana Music Association is a not-for-profit trade organization advocating for American Roots Music around the world. It is a network for Americana artists, radio stations, record labels, publishers, and others with the goal of developing an infrastructure that will boost visibility and economic viability. Additionally, the organization works to increase brand recognition of Americana music and its artists. The Association produces events throughout the year, including the annual AMERICANAFEST: The Americana Music Festival and Conference and the Americana Music Honors & Awards, typically held together in the fall. The association also manages and publishes radio airplay charts. It publishes newsletters, conducts market research, and disseminates information about important events in the Americana community.
Brian Mitchell is well known in music industry circles and beyond for working with some of music's most respected artists. He has worked with Levon Helm & The Midnight Ramble Band, Bob Dylan, BB King, Al Green, Dolly Parton, Buster Poindexter, and Allen Toussaint. He also records and performs his own original music. Mitchell has appeared on 5 Grammy Award-winning recordings, 3 with Levon Helm, and one each with BB King and with Les Paul. In 2015 Brian was inducted into the New York Blues Hall Of Fame. His versatility on piano, Hammond B-3 organ, accordion, various vintage keyboards and harmonica, plus his distinct vocal stylings, have firmly established him as one of New York City's most sought after musicians.
The Grammy Award for Best Americana Album is an honor presented to recording artists for quality albums in the Americana music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
Brian Ahern, CM is a Canadian record producer and guitarist. He has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including 12 albums for Anne Murray; 11 albums for Emmylou Harris ; he also produced discs for Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Roy Orbison, Glen Campbell, Don Williams, Jesse Winchester, and Linda Ronstadt. Ahern was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006 in Saint John, New Brunswick. He was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for Producer/Engineer during The Americana Music Association Awards at the Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville TN. on Thursday, 9 September 2010 by former wife Emmylou Harris and musician Rodney Crowell.
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 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.
Amy Helm is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the daughter of drummer Levon Helm and singer Libby Titus. She is a past member of the Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble Band and Ollabelle, as well as her own touring band.