Nominees in six categories have been named for the 2020 Americana Honors and Awards. The winners will be recognized on Sept. 16 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.
The Highwomen, Brittany Howard and Tanya Tucker lead the nominees with three nods each. In addition, Brandi Carlile, a member of The Highwomen, was nominated for Artist of the Year and also co-produced Tanya Tucker’s album While I’m Living and co-wrote two of the nominated numbers for Song of the Year: “Bring My Flowers Now” (with Tucker and Phil & Tim Hanseroth) and “Crowded Table”(with Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna) for The Highwomen. Black Pumas, Drive-By Truckers, Nathaniel Ratliff and Aubrie Sellers each received nominations in two of the six Americana Music Association member-voted awards categories.
The Highwomen – comprised of Carlile, Amanda Shires, Maren Morris and Natalie Hamby – burst on the country-Americana scene during last summer’s Newport Folk Festival. The much-heralded quartet’s self-titled debut release received a nomination for Album of the Year, while one of its tracks (“Crowded Table”) is up for Song of the Year and The Highwomen are among the nominees for Duo/Group of the Year.Here’s a link to view the official video for “Crowded Table”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNY-CPAp_I.
Singer-Songwriter Brittany Howard, who formerly was the lead vocalist and guitarist for Alabama Shakes, is among the nominees for Artist of the Year and also received nominations for both Album and Song of the Year for her debut release Jaime and “Stay High,” respectively. Here’s a link to view the official video for “Stay High”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfizQsGWOxI.
Tanya Tucker, who won two Grammy Awards earlier this year for Best Country Album and Song and has 10 additional Grammy nods to her credit, received nominations for Artist, Album (While I’m Livin’) and Song of the Year (“Bring My Flowers Now”). The singer-songwriter first drew attention at age 13 with her hit country song “Delta Dawn” in 1972.
Click on the video link below to watch Tanya Tucker and Brandi Carlile perform “Bring My Flowers Now”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oR5OZ-egXw.
Brandi Carlile, a folk-rock and Americana singer-songwriter, who was named Artist of the Year in 2019, also was the big winner in the American Roots Music Field during the 61st annual Grammy Awards presented by the Recording Academy in February 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.
In addition to Carlile, Howard and Tucker, Artist of the Year nominees include the late revered John Prine and Yola, Prine, a songwriter’s songwriter, who died April 7 at the age of 73 from complications of the coronavirus (COVID-19), 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. Yola, a rootsy British singer-songwriter, was selected by AMA-UK members as UK Artist of the Year in January, while her critically acclaimed debut album Walk Through Fire was voted UK Album of the Year. She also was nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2019.
Here’s a listing of the nominees:
Album of the Year:
And It’s Still Alright, Nathaniel Rateliff, Produced by James Barone, Patrick Meese and Nathaniel Rateliff
Country Squire, Tyler Childers, Produced by David Ferguson and Sturgill Simpson
The Highwomen, The Highwomen, Produced by Dave Cobb
Jaime, Brittany Howard, Produced by Brittany Howard
While I’m Livin’, Tanya Tucker, Produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings
Artist of the Year:
Brandi Carlile
Brittany Howard
John Prine
Tanya Tucker
Yola
Duo/Group of the Year:
Black Pumas
Drive-By Truckers
The Highwomen
Buddy & Julie Miller
Our Native Daughters
Emerging Act of the Year:
Black Pumas
Katie Pruitt
Aubrie Sellers
Billy Strings
Kelsey Waldon
Instrumentalist of the Year:
Ellen Angelico
Annie Clements
Brittany Haas
Zachariah Hickman
Rich Hinman
Song of the Year:
“And It’s Still Alright,” Nathaniel Rateliff, Written by Nathaniel Rateliff
“Bring My Flowers Now,” Tanya Tucker, Written by Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker
“Crowded Table,” The Highwomen, Written by Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna
“My Love Will Not Change,” Aubrie Sellers featuring Steve Earle, Written by Billy Burnette and Shawn Camp
“Stay High,” Brittany Howard, Written by Brittany Howard
“Thoughts and Prayers,” Drive-By Truckers, Written by Patterson Hood.
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. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the professional not-for-profit trade association will not be hosting it this fall. However, the newly formed Americana Music Association Foundation will be presenting its first initiative at that time. More information will be posted on https://americanamusic.org as details become available.
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