The fifth annual UK Americana Awards were presented in London, England on January 30. The awards show, presented by the Americana Music Association UK, capped AmericanaFest UK 2020 –- a three-day conference with two evenings of showcases featuring more than 75 artists at various venues in the London borough of Hackney.
Yola, a 35 year-old rootsy British singer-songwriter, was selected by AMA-UK members as UK Artist of the Year, while her critically acclaimed debut album Walk Through Fire (produced by Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach) was voted UK Album of he Year. Yola — who showcased her talents at the Newport and Philadelphia Folk Festivals, SXSW, AmericanaFest and Farm Aid, as well as such notable venues as the Hollywood Bowl during 2019 – also was recently nominated for four Grammy Awards.
Here’s a link to view the official video for “Faraway Look,” a rack on Yola’s debut album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWTwuQ3LeH4.
Other recipients of AMA-UK member-voted awards included:
International Album of the Year: The Highwomen. The self-titled, Dave Cobb-produced debut album by the Nashville based all-female group of the same name that features Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires.
International Song of the Year: “Me and The Ghost of Charlemagne,” written and performed by Nashville-based singer-songwriter Amy Speace. Here’s a link to the official video for the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvQqHCguhQU
International Artist of the Year: Brandi Carlisle, an American folk-rock and Americana singer-songwriter, who also was the big winner in the American Roots Music Field during the 61st annual Grammy Awards presented by the Recording Academy last February during which she was recognized for Best Americana Album (By The Way, I Forgive You), while one of its tracks (“The Joke”) was named both Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song.
UK Instrumentalist of the Year: Sian Monaghan, a session drummer who has played with a number of artists and tours with UK country band The Wandering Hearts.
In addition to he AMA-UK member-voted awards, board members of the professional trade association that represents and advocates for the voice of American roots music in the United Kingdom, honored a number of folks with special awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Joan Armatrading, a British singer-songwriter whose recording career spans nearly 50 years and who also keynoted the conference. Nick Lowe — an English singer-songwriter (“Cruel to be Kind,” among others), multi-instrumentalist and producer (Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Pretenders) — received the Trailblazer Award; while Mark Whitfield from Americana-UK.com received the Grassroots Award. The Legend Award recipient was Lonnie Donegan, the late influential British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician.
The Outstanding Contribution Award was presented to Bob Harris OBE — a longtime program host on BBC Radio and former host of The Old Grey Whistle Test on BBC-TV, who also hosted the awards show and has been a passionate advocate of Americana music on both sides of the pond. Harris himself selected and presented the recipients of the Emerging Artist Award – Ferris & Sylvester, a British duo whose music fuses Americana, folk, blues and rock.
22 year-old London-based singer-songwriter Jade Bird’s eponymous debut album was the Best-Selling Americana Album by a UK Artist.
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