Dave Rawlings, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ryan Bingham and Patty Griffin scored the most nominations for the Americana Music Association’s 2010 Honors and Awards. Fellow Americana singer-songwriters Emmylou Harris and Todd Snider announced the nominees May 12 during a reception in Nashville, Tennessee. Nominees in additional categories will be announced over the next several months, while the winners will be named September 9 during the association’s ninth annual awards and honors show at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

“Very quietly, Americana has become the fastest rising music community today,” maintains Jed Hilly, AMA’s executive director. “The nominees represent the elite of the elite, and we could not be more proud to work with and for such provocative creators.”

The 2010 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards nominees named this week are as follows:

Album of the Year : The List by Rosanne Cash, A Friend of a Friend by Dave Rawlings Machine, Downtown Church by Patty Griffin, A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no c) by Ray Wylie Hubbard

Ray Wylie Hubbard (r.) with AcousticMusicScene.com's Michael Kornfeld in Austin, Texas (2006)

Artist of the Year: Ryan Bingham, Patty Griffin, Levon Helm, Steve Earle, Ray Wylie Hubbard

Duo/Group of the Year: The Avett Brothers, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Band of Heathens, Dave Rawlings Machine

Instrumentalist of the Year: Buddy Miller, Dave Rawlings, Will Kimbrough, Sam Bush

New & Emerging Artist: Sarah Jarosz, Ryan Bingham, Hayes Carll, Corb Lund, Joe Pug

Song of the Year: “The Weary Kind,” written by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett, and performed by Ryan Bingham; “Drunken Poets Dream,” written by Hayes Carll and Ray Wylie Hubbard, and performed by Hubbard; “Ruby,” written by Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch, and performed by Dave Rawlings Machine; “I and Love and You,” written and performed by The Avett Brothers

The 2010 New & Emerging Artist Nominees

The Honors & Awards ceremony will also recognize Lifetime Achievements. Jim Lauderdale, a two-time Americana Honors & Awards and Grammy Award recipient, will host the awards show that also will feature a band led by Buddy Miller, an acclaimed singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and much sought-after collaborator and sideman, who was last year’s big winner — with awards for artist, album and song of the year.

The Honors and Awards ceremony is a highlight of the 11th Annual Americana Festival and Conference, a four-day and night event (September 8-11) that will feature plenty of learning and networking opportunities at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel and more than 100 music showcases at various venues throughout Nashville.

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