2015 Americana Music Awards LIVE Blog
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Saving Country Music’s 2015 Americana Music Awards LIVE blog! As the festivities stream live from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, we’ll tag along to leave our observations, keep up with the winners, discuss the performances, and share what happened with the folks who missed it. So get your refresh fingers ready, and feel free to share your thoughts below in the comments section.
Watch the Awards on SCM LIVE!
Set to perform on the night are:
” Ry Cooder and Sharon White ” Shakey Graves with Esme Patterson ” Rhiannon Giddens ” John Hiatt ” Houndmouth ” Jason Isbell ” Nikki Lane ” Jim Lauderdale ” The Lone Bellow ” The Mavericks ” Buddy Miller with Marc Ribot ” Keb Mo ” Robert Randolph with the Fairfield Four and the McCrary Sisters ” Doug Seegers ” Lucinda Williams ” Lee Ann Womack
Buddy Miller will lead the house band consisting of Don Was, Chad Cromwell, Fats Kaplin, Ian Fitchuk, The McCrary Sisters and Bill Payne.
The 2015 Americana Music Awards Nominees
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
WINNERS of the 2015 Americana Music Awards
- Album of the Year – Lucinda Williams “Down Where The Spirit Meets the Bone”
- Artist of the Year – Sturgill Simpson
- Song of the Year – Sturgill Simpson
- Emerging Artist of the Year – Shakey Graves
- Duo or Group of the Year – The Mavericks
- Instrumentalist of the Year – John Leventhal
10:37 – Another great presentation by the Americana Music Association for the 2015 awards. They felt about 30 minutes too long, which is only expected because they were, not finishing up until 10:30. That 30 minutes spaced throughout the presentation meant there were a few moments that dragged, but there were also some exceptional moments you won’t see on the mainstream award shows. Artists are given the time to try and capture “moments” and that exactly what Rhiannon Giddens did in her performance. Doug Seegers was another highlight, and the ending singalong with so many musical heroes on the stage at once is always a highlight.
Congratulations to Lucinda Williams on her Album of the Year win, and Sturgill winning Song and Artist of the Year seems richly deserved. Though Sturgill does not seem the awards show type, it did feel strange that he wasn’t there, especially since he was just playing another show on tour instead of being called away on a more important commitment. It could be to create some distance between Americana and where Sturgill wants to go, or it may have been Sturgill didn’t want to face the social awkwardness of receiving awards in public again. Either way, congratulations to him and all the winners.
10:28 – And that’s it folks! I will compose some final thoughts, run down the winners, and we’ll be out of here. THANK YOU to everyone who followed along!
10:26 – The Lone Bellow, Rhiannon Giddens, Raul Malo, Sean and Sarah Watkins all on the stage with Los Lobos.
10:23 – As one of the founding voices of Americana, Lucinda’s win for Album of the Year can’t be surprising. Though it felt like Sturgill’s night for a clean sweep, the honor is very deserved by Lucinda, and it’s good Americana continues to recognize both the young and old.
10:21 – Many of the performers and presenters from the night crowd on stage to join Los Lobos for one final song.
10:19 – WINNER – Lucina Williams’ “Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone” wins the 2015 Americana Award for Album of the Year.
10:14 – 86 the call for a sandwich to be delivered the Saving Country Music headquarters. I found some old Clif bars. Hope they’re not stale. This presentation felt like it has dragged a little bit so it makes sense were well past 10 p.m. Album of the Year still coming up. My prediction is Sturgill.
10:11 – Los Lobos accepting their Lifetime Achievement Award.
10:07 – Raul Malo comes out to present the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance to Los Lobos, but begins with a dissertation on immigrants, and their contributions to the American culture.
10:06 – WINNER: Sturgill Simpson wins the 2015 Americana Artist of the Year.
10:05 – Sean and Sara Watkins come out to present the Artist of the Year award.
10:04 – Man, if I knew we’d be slipping past 10 p.m. wile still having two major awards to give out, I would have eaten dinner before we started. Who wants to make me a sandwich?
10:01 – The delays could have been from the fact that Dave Rawlings Machine brought a full string section to the stage. Always loved the way David played with his guitar on his hip.
9:55 – As Dave and Gillian stall on stage as technical issues are resolve, they point out Willie Watson is joing them on stage. Willie knows Dave Rawlings because Dave produced some of those early Old Crow Medicine Show records.
9:52 – David Rawlings and Gillian Welch accepting their Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting. Gillian says it’s an honor to receive the award in the Country Mother Church. David says it’s the others singing their songs that allowed them to receive this distinction.
9:48 – Robyn Hitchcock comes out to present the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting wearing a polka-dot shirt, and spewing poetry.
9:42 – New father Jason Isbell leads wife Amanda Shires to the stage to sing “Something More Than Free.”
9:41- Jim Lauderdale talking about The Ryman’s recent $14 million renovation.
9:39 – Lucinda Williams playing “East Side of Town.”
9:33 – Jim Lauderdale introduces the recipient for the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting to the stage, Lucinda Williams.
9:31 – Marc Ribot and Buddy Miller come out to play Hank Williams’ “Cold Cold Heart.” Now the apology to Hank makes more sense.
9:27 – Jim Lauderdale introduces his buddy, Buddy Miller to the stage, who is accompanied by Marc Ribot. Miller admits Mark is really not known in the country world (but should be, apologizing to Hank Williams. But if anyone’s guitar sounds deserve to grace the Ryman’s walls, it would be Ribot’s.
9:23 – Ricky Skaggs, Ry Cooder, and The Whites.
9:18 – “The Lord has put so many great people in my life,” Skaggs says, who came up playing with Flatt & Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Bill Monroe, and others. He also thanks his wife of 34 years, Sharon White before taking the stage with Sharon, other members of the White family, and Ry Cooder.
9:15 – Ry Cooder comes out to present the Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist to Ricky Skaggs, calling him “The most awesome mandolin player on the planet today.”
9:12 – Back on the Sturgill Simpson topic, Song of the Year was the award I thought he had the hardest chance of nabbing. He could get a clean sweep of the big awards.
9:11 – The Milk Carton Kids introduce MC Jim Lauderdale to the stage to perform, quipping that he has “the hair of David Carradine.”
9:09 – Raul Malo: “I think we’re all in shock. Holy shit we won something!”
9:07 – WINNER The 2015 Americana Music Awards for Vocal Group or Duo of the Year goes to The Mavericks.
9:05 – The always entertaining Milk Carton Kids come out present the Vocal Group or Duo of the Year award.
9:03 – Raul Malo of The Mavericks.
9:01 – Saving COuntry Music Album of the Year alums The Mavericks take the Ryman stage. Jim Lauderdale credits frontman Raul Malo for getting the Americana Awards televised.
9:00 – Shakey Graves accepting his 2015 Emerging Artist of the Year award.
8:57 – WINNER The Americana Music Award for Emerging Artist of the Year goes to Shakey Graves.
8:53 – The Lone Bellow are like the Fun of Americana, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
8:48 – Jed Hilly introduces The Lone Bellow to the stage.
8:46 – As Jed thanks the sponsors, have to say mu faves so far have been Doug Seegers and Rhiannon Giddens. If you don’t know, Rhiannon is from the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Great stuff.
8:43 – The head honcho of Americana Jed Hilly comes out to speak. Sidenote: I accidentally called him “Jeb” in an email last week. I may never live that down.
8:42 – Wow wow. Rhiannon Giddens inciting goosebumps. She just stole the show folks at the Americana Music Awards. Two guns way up!
8:38 – Rhiannon Giddens comes out, first blazing on the fiddle, and then stunning with an a capella introduction. She may just have stolen the show so far.
8:35 – Jim Lauderdale takes a moment to remember a few on the Americana alum, including Billy Block, Ian McLagan, “Little” Jimmy Dickens, and others.
8:32 – I’ve always enjoyed Keb, but I’m not exactly what makes him more Americana than anyone else playing the blues. I guess that’s the eternal Americana paradox.
8:31 – So now that Sturgill has won one of the three major awards on the night, the scenario that he will be the night’s biggest honoree and won’t be on site to soak it all in is still alive.
8:29 – The sweet moment turns a little awkward when it appears the teleprompter screws up. But Keb keeps going. He then presents the 2015 President’s Award to B.B. King’s memory before finally breaking into a B.B. song.
8:26 – Cool moment! Keb Mo comes out, and introduces B.B. King’s guitar Lucille. She sits in honor on the stage, and before singing, Keb says some sweet words for B.B.
8:25 – WINNER – The 2015 Americana Music Award for Song of the Year goes to Sturgill Simpson for “Turtles All The Way Down.” Producer Dave Cobb comes up to accept the award for Sturgill.
8:23 – Abigail Washburn and Noam Pikelny come out to present the Song of the Year, comparing writing a song to butterflies with razor blades for wings.
8:20 – Nikki Lane comes out looking like a doll from a vintage shop. Only appropriate since she used to own (and still does, maybe?) a vintage store in Nashville. She’s been making a big name herself in the last year in the Americana scene. Singing “Right Time.”
8:18 – You don’t need to know Doug’s back story to appreciate his music. He’s the real deal folks. Excellent performance of “Angie’s Song” from Doug.
8:13 – Buddy Miller introduces the once homeless Doug Seegers as “the most seasoned Emerging Artist of the Year.” If you don’t know Doug’s music, or his story, it’s worth checking out. Doug comes out wearing a Hank-style baby blue note-embroidered cowboy suit.
8:11 – Buddy Miller introduces the house band: Billy Payne, Chad Cromwell, Fats Kaplin, Ian Fitchuk, and The McCrary Sisters. Don Was was supposed to be playing bass, but is apparently suffering from an ear infection.
8:07 – John Hiatt takes the Ryman Auditorium stage. I’ve always liked singers who set their mic’s too high for themselves. Ry Cooder accompanies on slide guitar.
8:02 – Nothing wrong with Houndmouth, but they didn’t feel like they belonged here.
8:01 – I think the Houndmouth drummer worked real hard to make his hair look that bad. And nothing says Millennial like having a Nord Electro 4 on stage.
7:59 – Emerging Artist of the Year nominee Houndmouth takes the stage. All of the Emerging Artist nominees are performing tonight, except for First Aid Kit … and we get the first taste of a bit of washed out sound in the feed. That;ll happen when you have a big band like this.
7:57 – John Leventhal accepting his Americana for Instrumentalist of the Year.
7:55 – WINNER – John Leventhal wins Instrumentalist of the Year.
7:54 – Rosanne Cash and Mark Ribot come out to present the Instrumentalist of the Year. If you’ve never heard Mark’s Cuban album, it comes highly recommended.
7:52 – I’d also be lying if I said I knew how her guitar makes sound without having a body.
7:50 – I’d by lying if I said I knew anything about Buffy Sainte-Marie’s music, but I do remember her on Sesame Street.
7:47 – Buffy Sainte-Marie being presented with the Freedom of Speech in Music Award.
7:43 – “Dearly Departed” is a little too hipster for me, especially in this setting. But Skakey and Esme Patterson did a good job.
7:42 – I remember watching Shakey Graves at Hole in the Wall and The White Horse in Austin before anyone knew who the hell he was.
7:40 – Introducing Shakey Graves, Jim Lauderdale talks about the importance of showcase new and emerging talent. “Let’s hear how the roots and branches of our music grows. ”
7:37 – This song reminds me a lot of Julie Miller’s “All My Tears” from Emmylou Harris’s “Wrecking Ball” album. It’s real good.
7:35 – Lee Ann is an interesting case study. Americana fully embraced her this last year, but then she still gets nominated for the CMA for Female Vocalist of the Year. The best of both worlds I suppose.
7:33 – The gorgeous and talented Lee Ann Womack takes the stage. “I always come and watch, so it’s nice to be a part of the show.”
7:31 – Really digging this song from Henley. I know he and the Eagles are a polarizing subject, but I think he’s doing this country record for the right reasons.
7:29 – Don’t know how it is for y’all out there, but the stream and audio is excellent here at the Saving Country Music headquarters.
7:27 – Done Henley accepts his Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Rodney Crowell before taking the stage to sing the title track from his upcoming solo record “Cass County.” He dedicates it to the Americana farmer, and the people affected by the wildfires out West.
7:24 – “Trailblazers are also curators of tradition.” — Don Henley
7:22 – I wonder if anyone has the guts to bring up the bad reviews the Hank Williams biopic “I Saw The Light” Rodney worked on backstage.
7:20 – Do we think it’s a coincidence Don Henley is receiving an Americana Lifetime Achievement Awards a few weeks before he releases his solo country record?
7:18 – MC Jim Lauderdale always has some insightful things to say in his introduction. “The crack house band! I mean the crack, house band!
7:17 – Just when I was about to say this performance needed more Robert Randolph, he blows out the eardrums out of everyone in the first six rows.
7:17 – Praise the Lawd!
7:12 – Slide guitar maestro Robert Randolph with the Fairfield Four and McCrary Sisters start of the festivities. Robert got his start playing steel guitar in churches accompanying gospel music, so this feels appropriate.
7:10 – Here we go folks!
7:08 – See, this is what separates independent music from the mainstream: it’s endearingly late and offbeat, and proud of it.
7:05 – While we’re waiting, if you missed it below, Sturgill Simpson, who may be the night’s biggest winner, is not in attendance. But Jason Isbell, Lee Ann Womack, Jim Lauderdale, Shakey Graves, and a bucnh of other cool cats are. Should be a great show.
7:02 – Looks like the festivities are just a few minutes behind folks! They just reset the countdown to the broadcast 5 minutes.
6:55 – Some pictures from the Americana Red Carpet, courtesy of the Americana Music Association’s Twitter feed:
Lee Ann Womack
The Maverics
Nikki Lane
Rodney Crowell
6:54 – Predictions? It could be a big night for Sturgill Simpson. He could walk away with Artist, Album, and Song of the Year, while his guitar player Laur Joamets has to be a favorite for Instrumentalist of the Year. But there’s a hitch: Laur Joamets won’t be there, and neither will Sturgill. They’re playing a show tonight at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, VA. Aside from that, I don’t have a good bead on who will win tonight.
6:50 – Lifetime Achievement Award honorees include Ricky Skaggs, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Don Henley, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Los Lobos.
6:48 – Presenters Include: ” Milk Carton Kids ” Rosanne Cash ” Abigail Washburn ” Noam Pikelny ” Ron Sexsmith ” Mary Gauthier ” Rodney Crowell ” Sara and Sean Watkins ” John Kay ” Ken Paulson ” Robyn Hitchcock
6:45 – A list of the nominees for those that haven’t seen them yet:
Artist of the Year: Rhiannon Giddens, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Lucinda Williams, Lee Ann Womack
Album of the Year: And The War Came Shakey Graves; Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone Lucinda Williams; Metamodern Sounds In Country Music Sturgill Simpson; The Way I’m Livin’ Lee Ann Womack; Tomorrow Is My Turn Rhiannon Giddens
Song of the Year: “Dearly Departed” Shakey Graves; “East Side Of Town” Lucinda Williams; “Terms Of My Surrender” John Hiatt; “Turtles All The Way Down” Sturgill Simpson; “You’re The Best Lover That I Ever Had” — Steve Earle
Duo/Group of the Year: Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, The Lone Bellow, The Mavericks, Punch Brothers, Shovels & Rope
Emerging Artist of the Year: First Aid Kit, Houndmouth, Nikki Lane, Doug Seegers, Shakey Graves
Instrumentalist of the Year: Hubby Jenkins, Laur Joamets, Greg Leisz, John Leventhal, Stuart Mathis
September 16, 2015 @ 5:14 pm
yee haw!
September 16, 2015 @ 5:24 pm
yeah… Henley probably deserves the award (or, at least the Eagles as a whole do), but the timing… Oy.
September 16, 2015 @ 5:33 pm
Yes, deserved. But the timing sort of exposes how the biz works.
September 16, 2015 @ 5:36 pm
Who dropped the ball about sturgill not being in Nashville. Seems he would have got a save the date. lol
September 16, 2015 @ 5:47 pm
Yeah, I don’t know. It’s a little awkward, but Sturgill’s got to do what he thinks best for him.
September 16, 2015 @ 5:48 pm
I know this has a lot of variables and is person to person but someone the size of sturgill/isbell how much do they tend to make in a year? How about the band members?
September 16, 2015 @ 8:50 pm
Judd,
Sturgill is doing just fine. Have no idea what he makes, but the word is his Atlantic deal was worth a king’s ransom.
September 17, 2015 @ 9:00 am
Sturgill just posted on Facebook that the shows this week were makeup shows from some he had to cancel because of illness a while back. I kind of respect him putting the fans first in this situation. I’m sure he put a lot of thought into the decision.
September 17, 2015 @ 9:52 am
I hope it’s not coming across that I am criticizing Sturgill for his decision. I respect it 100%. I was just pointing out that it is sort of awkward that the biggest winner on the night wasn’t there, because it kind of was. I think it would have been even more awkward if he’d won Album of the Year because that’s Americana’s biggest award. But he didn’t, and in the end, I don’t think many people are thinking too much about it outside Sturgill’s inner fan base.
September 17, 2015 @ 1:01 pm
I didn’t think you were criticizing him! I was just letting you know that he’d posted an explanation.
September 16, 2015 @ 7:21 pm
He’s playing a show tonight – saw sound check on his FB. He doesn’t impress me as the award going type.
September 16, 2015 @ 7:27 pm
yea he is in charlestsville. I saw him in Asheville sunday.
He just knocked out songs left and right. Maybe said 3 sentences all night. I agree. he isn’t the awards type but his music sure is!!
September 16, 2015 @ 5:38 pm
and yep, LeeAnn deserves awards in both country & Americana, though I expect neither. She is one of the best out there.
September 16, 2015 @ 5:50 pm
I am glad that the Americana Music folks take the time (and the risk of attention loss) to recognize their founders/innovators with more than a quick camera shot or two as is the custom at other award shows.
September 16, 2015 @ 5:55 pm
7:42 – I remember watching Shakey Graves at Hole in the Wall and The White Horse in Austin before anyone knew who the hell he was.
7:43 – “Dearly Departed” is a little too hipster for me, especially in this setting. But Skakey and Esme Patterson did a good job.
I love how you followed up a comment about seeing shakey before he was popular with a minor criticism of his music being too hipster.
September 16, 2015 @ 6:15 pm
“8:07 – John Hiatt takes the Ryman Auditorium stage. I”™ve always liked singers who set their mic”™s too high for themselves. Ry Cooder accompanies on slide guitar.”
Elizabeth Cook does this all the time, which is funny since she is so tiny, but it definitely enriches her sound when she wails.
September 16, 2015 @ 6:22 pm
Doug Seeger, an amazing back story and a more amazing storyteller.
September 16, 2015 @ 6:26 pm
TURTLES TURTLES TURTLES
September 16, 2015 @ 6:46 pm
Following your live blog while watching the stream on npr.org…the quality so far has been amazingly good, both the sound and picture and the music. Only 12 comments? Nothing to argue about here!
September 16, 2015 @ 8:51 pm
Quality was pretty good all night. Yes, a lot less action compared to the big mainstream award shows, but we got to take the time to focus on the good stuff too. Apparently I make a hell of a lot better gadfly than a pom pom waver.
September 16, 2015 @ 6:53 pm
LOVE The Lone Bellow!
September 16, 2015 @ 6:58 pm
I love how obviously not smooth and shiny the presenters are… not even a pretense of not reading the intros off the cards/prompters.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:53 pm
Yes, but some of the skips and starts in the presentations got a little hard to handle. They had that same problem last year with faulty teleprompters. It’s endearing . . . to a point.
September 17, 2015 @ 4:27 am
True. Might have bothered me more with a couple of folks, but I was also getting some work done and not necessarily listening to every word. It is just a nice change from the usual slickness of award shows.
September 16, 2015 @ 7:50 pm
They should have invented an award for this year just to honor David Letterman for his support of so many of these artists over the years.
September 16, 2015 @ 7:58 pm
Good idea. Or at least give him a shout out.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:43 pm
On that note, have you seen Colbert appears to have picked up where Letterman left off? Toby Keith, Willie Nelson and Chris Stapelton. All in the first week and a half.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:53 pm
Yes, hopefully Colbert will carry on that tradition.
September 17, 2015 @ 9:29 am
I think the reason Toby Keith made an appearance during Colbert’s opening week is that the two are friends, oddly enough. Keith appeared in a comedy skit in the early days of Colbert’s old show and apparently the two hit it off, because he was invited back on the show several times after that. A lot of Colbert’s guests so far have been people he had previous relationships with from his old show, including musical guests such as Willie Nelson, Jack White, TV on the Radio, and so on. I believe Chris Stapleton tonight will be the first musical guest for whom that is not the case. Anyway, Colbert has hired the same music producer from Letterman’s show for his rendition of the Late Show, so we should be in for some quality music in late night again.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Fallon, who used to have a diverse mix of musical talent on his show, has switched music producers since bumping up an hour, and mostly only has mainstream pop, country, and rap acts on his show now. I believe Florida Georgia Line were on the other night.
Edit: That was intended as a reply to musicfan’s comment.
September 17, 2015 @ 5:57 pm
Thanks for the explanation and the news that Colbert retained Letterman’s music booker. I’ve really missed that show since it ended in May, and the musicians who appeared are one of the main reasons.
September 17, 2015 @ 6:28 am
I missed that he had Chris Stapleton; once I saw that Toby Keith was among his first week’s musical guests, I got discouraged and didn’t pay attention after that.
September 17, 2015 @ 8:10 am
Chris Stapleton is on tonight (Thursday night). So, you haven’t missed it.
September 17, 2015 @ 8:30 am
Thanks!
September 16, 2015 @ 8:02 pm
“7:37 – This song reminds me a lot of Julie Miller”™s ‘All My Tears’ from Emmylou Harris”™s ‘Wrecking Ball’ album. It”™s real good.”
I take it Lee Ann did “Don’t Listen to the Wind” (also written by Julie Miller)? 🙂
Sounds like this was a pretty awesome show overall.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:55 pm
Yes, I think we made that connection when I reviewed Lee Ann’s album to. I was about to call someone out on stealing a melody, and then I was like, “Wait, they have the same songwriter.” Sister songs let’s call them. I like them both a lot.
September 16, 2015 @ 9:01 pm
Yeah, I do too. 😀 I was just glad that, although I missed the show, I was able to guess what song LAW did based only on your description.
September 17, 2015 @ 4:32 am
Julie is definitely an under appreciated talent. I would love to see more of her, and the Buddy/Julie albums are favorites of mine. It is too bad illness restricts her. (Can’t remember what her issue is, something like fibromyalgia, I think.)
September 17, 2015 @ 6:14 am
Yes, it’s fibromyalgia.
I miss her, too. I loved her two solo albums and the two Buddy and Julie albums and of course, she has been an important part of Buddy’s solo career as a songwriter and supporting vocalist. With no more solo work from her and with no Buddy solo album in 10 years, we hardly ever get to hear her voice anymore.
I saw two Buddy and Julie shows in the early aughts. Terrific shows.
September 17, 2015 @ 11:25 am
I regret I never got to hear her live, with or without Buddy. I had hoped she would keep writing for him and others, even if she can’t play or tour.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:23 pm
Would have liked to see Sturgill’s or Rhiannon’s album win. Oh well.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:46 pm
Or it could be that Sturgill didn’t want to cancel on Charlottesville, VA again after getting sick on tour in February and canceling a number of shows at the time. He got a lot of backlash for that when it happened.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:55 pm
Could be. Good point.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:47 pm
I’m a Lucinda Williams fan, but DWTSMTB is unlistenable. It’s more like a collection of B-sides and rarities than an actual album. Terrible.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:57 pm
It didn’t really speak to me either, but I did like the song she played on the show, “East Side of Town.”
September 16, 2015 @ 8:49 pm
I really like this real country/Americana award show better than CMA and ACM.
September 16, 2015 @ 8:56 pm
“Album of the Year ”“ Lucinda Williams ‘Down Where The Spirit Meets the Bone’”
Sweet! My favorite of 2014. 😀
September 16, 2015 @ 9:14 pm
Who would’ve thought Los Lobos was Americana I always assumed it was Chicano Rock. And Buffy Sainte-Marie… DAMN! Haven’t heard that name in AGES glad she’s still kicking it on the stage.
September 17, 2015 @ 6:03 am
Roots rock, blues, country, soul, folk and then traditional Mexican as a bonus. Sounds like Americana to me. 🙂
September 17, 2015 @ 4:05 am
Regarding Sturgill not being there I bet he didn’t want to cancel the VA show. I applaud him for that and could care less if artists show up for awards. I saw him over the weekend for probably the 7th time and the guy continues to get better. There is simply no one else out there doing what the guy does. You have incredible artist like Isbell doing one side and then bands like MMJ and others on the other, but he has found this rock-country-alt-jam-ballad space like no other I know of. The word on the row is you don’t want Sturgill opening your show…. just ask OCMS! I’ve seen a lot of artist. I think he is hands down the best live performer I’ve seen. Congrats on the awards Sturgill. Joe and Miles have put a shit load of work in too so congrats guys.
September 17, 2015 @ 8:28 am
Funny you mentioned OCMS. I saw Sturgill open for them in July. Sturgill was what I expected – awesome, but OCMS blew my freakin mind. I’m heading to Chicago for Farm Aid this weekend and seeing OCMS again (albeit an abbreviated set) is what I’m most excited about.
Sturgill said one thing to the Pittsburgh crowd: “God damn, it’s Humid.” It was very humid. Usually, I could give two shits if an artist says anything or even acknowledges the crowd, but preceding the very charming and personable OCMS, I did take notice.
OCMS knew there shit and history of Pittsburgh. It wasn’t just changing city names in lyrics it was knowing about Hienz ketchup, steel unions and about the dirty girls crossing the border from West Virginia attending the show. They light the stage on fire with outstanding musicianship and burnt it down, then unplugged their instruments and put away their mics for a mini set accoustic set. I was always a fan, but they are in my top ten now.
Going into that concert, OCMS was an after thought for me because I was so excited to see Sturgill. But I left the show a bigger OCMS fan.
September 17, 2015 @ 8:45 am
That’s cool; everyone has their own opinions. I’ve seen OCMS quite a bit and really like them. That point was more to the popularity of an opening artist. Secor has told folks it back fired on them with 25% or more of the crowd leaving shows during their set after Sturgill. I too have seen them together.
There is no debating which artists are drawing the most ticket sales. Sturgill is selling out and having to add shows in half the major cities he is booking. OCMS seems to be on a downward trend of ticket sales while Simpson on a major upward trend. That can all change on a dime. Love both acts.
September 17, 2015 @ 9:20 am
I wonder if he’s less chatty now that he’s playing bigger venues. I last saw him at the 9:30 Club in DC (big rock club) and he was less talkative than he was the previous two times I had seen him (Hill Country BBQ DC and The Birchmere. Two cozier venues). But he and the band was all business on the stage. I think they upped their game considerably.
I’m seeing him next week at the Lincoln Theatre in DC (capacity 1,250). He is playing two sold out shows there. Less than two years ago, I saw him play a free show at Hill Country BBQ DC.
September 17, 2015 @ 4:18 am
Not a big fan of Americana , but this is a show that treated these artists with great respect.Nice to see Ricky Skaggs & Rodney Crowell and many other greats in an awards show.
September 17, 2015 @ 4:56 am
Did Isbell not perform?
September 17, 2015 @ 6:14 am
Yes, he performed “Something More Than Free” with his band and Amanda.
September 17, 2015 @ 9:56 am
Sorry, tried to get a picture, but the stream got really fuzzy on me during his set.
September 17, 2015 @ 6:23 am
Hey Trigger, I was at Sturgill’s show in Charlottesville last night and thought you might be interested in how things went down here. He was supposed to play here back in February, but apparently the whole band got sick and they had to cancel the show. Needless to say, having never seen him before, I was extremely disappointed, along with a lot of other folks. But the show was rescheduled for last night. I’m not exactly clear on when the reschedule date was selected relative to when the date for the Americana awards was announced. In any event, last night after the first two songs Sturgill paused and said something to the effect of: “We’re really sorry about February, but we all got really sick. And I want you to know that we could be at the Americana awards tonight, but we’re here instead. Because all the trophies in the world don’t mean shit without you all.” The insinuation was that he had a decision to make, and because he knew that we had been disappointed in February, he had to make this rescheduled show a priority. Obviously all of us in Charlottesville appreciated that, and I think a lot of other folks would really have to give him credit for that too. He played “Turtles All the Way Down” toward the end of the show. At the end of it, you could see him looking down toward someone in the front row, who I think was holding up their phone. Then he said: “That’s cool. Apparently we just played the Americana song of the year.” Looking at your time stamp above, I definitely think he was learning that in real time right there on the stage after having just played the song. That made for a very cool moment, and resulted in by far the biggest cheer of the night, with foot-stomping and all. So, I think the crowd here gave him a pretty good celebration for his victories.
September 17, 2015 @ 7:39 am
Thanks for the account DMI. Heard from a couple of other folks this morning who gave similar accounts. I respect Sturgill’s decision not to be there, and honor his commitment to Charlottesville. I’m just more pointing out the obvious that it’s a little awkward for Americana that one of their big winners was not present, but Sturgill didn’t look comfortable at all last year, and I don’t blame him for doing what he wants to do.
I may have something more on this later.
September 17, 2015 @ 8:40 am
Every time he opens his mouth I respect the man a lot more… Especially given how the current crop of boy-band rejects act… Jason Al-d-wad complains that he isn’t nominated, Sturgill passes up the awards show to make up a concert… Not only a real musician but a real man…
September 17, 2015 @ 9:42 am
Great story, DMI.
Thanks for sharing that.
September 17, 2015 @ 8:35 am
Is americana the “artisinal” version of mono-genre?
September 17, 2015 @ 9:28 am
Well, I won’t say I’m glad that Sturgill didn’t win best album, as it was my favorite of the nominated albums, but I’m glad the winner was in the building. I personally think Lucinda’s album was her second strong one in a row after some hit or miss efforts before that.
September 17, 2015 @ 12:28 pm
Had the pleasure of seeing The Chocolate Drops a few years back before Dom Flemons left the band and was blown away. Rhiannon Giddons may be the most talented musician/singer on the planet. She steals every and any show she is a part of. Some people are just born at the wrong time as I think she would’ve been a huge star decades ago.
September 17, 2015 @ 12:59 pm
Is there somewhere where I can watch the whole show online? Missed it last night and would live to be able to watch it in its entirety.
September 18, 2015 @ 9:08 am
thanks a lot for this