Asleep at the Wheel and Sam Bush will be top honorees at this
year's Americana Honors & Awards event at the historic Ryman.
Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium will be the host site for the 8th Annual Americana Honors & Awards ceremony set to get under way Sept. 17 beginning at 7 p.m.
Presented by the Gibson Foundation, the awards will be overseen by host Jim Lauderdale, along with Buddy Miller and his all-star band.
Although Americana music is its own genre, its one that boasts many traditionally country fans as followers, thanks to artists such as the Belleville Outfit, Rodney Crowell, The Gourds, Nanci Griffith, Raul Malo, John Prine and many other artists--all of whom will be on hand at this year's event to help represent the best of Americana's best.
Among the highlights of this year's honors will be the presentation of Lifetime Achievement trophies to Austin-based Asleep At the Wheel, whose lineup will garner the award in the "Performance" category, and Sam Bush, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement for Instrumentalist.
Asleep at the Wheel's recent collaboration with Nelson, dubbed Willie and the Wheel, has both garnered critical acclaim and become a fixture on the Americana charts since its release earlier this year.
“I can’t think of a more deserving outfit for this award,” says Nelson, a past award recipient of the AMA’s Lifetime Achievement for Songwriting, referring to band leader Ray Benson and the Asleep crew.
The Americana Music Association, a professional trade organization whose mission is to provide a forum for the advocacy of Americana music and to promote public awareness of the genre, reports that some 2,000-plus artists, music-loving fans and entertainment industry executives typically attend the annual Americana honors each year. Also, the awards traditionally are broadcast internationally via Sirius/XM Radio, BBC2 and Voice of America.
This year's Sept. 17 honors/awards ceremony will serve as the capstone event of the 10th Annual Americana Music Festival & Conference, which will takes place Sept. 16-19 in Nashville. The conference offers seminars, panels and networking opportunities at the Nashville Convention Center by day, along with a stellar lineup of musical showcases each evening.
To learn more about the Americana Music Association, please access its Web site at www.americanamusic.org or call 615-386-6936.
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