The Highwomen was the big winner in the 2020 Americana Honors & Awards that were revealed on Dec. 15. The all-female group’s self-titled debut release won Album of the Year, while one of its tracks (“Crowded Table”) took Song of the Year Honors. The Highwomen was also named Duo/Group of the Year.
Comprised of Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hembry and Maren Morris, The Highwomen burst on the country-Americana scene during last summer’s Newport Folk Festival. Carlile and Hembry co-wrote “Crowded Table,” along with Lori McKenna.
Here’s a link to view the official video for “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNY-CPAp_I
Carlile, a folk-rock and Americana singer-songwriter, who was named Artist of the Year in the 2019 Americana Honors & Awards and was among the nominees in that category this year, also was the big winner in the American Roots Music Field during the 61st annual Grammy Awards presented by the Recording Academy 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.
John Prine, the revered songwriter, who died April 7 at the age of 73 from complications of the coronavirus (COVID-19), was named Artist of the Year. He 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.
Black Pumas, an Austin, Texas-based psychedelic soul band was named Emerging Act of the Year, while Nashville, Tennessee-based fiddler Brittany Haas – a solo artists who is also in the quartet Hawktail and has been part of the chamber-grass band Crooked Still and the house band for Live From Here, among others_ — was honored as Instrumentalist of the Year.
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. Since the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the professional not-for-profit trade association from hosting the live event this fall, it announced the winners via its website (https://americanamusic.org) and social media channels.
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