2016 Ameripolitan Awards Announce Performers / Open Voting
Rock and Rockabilly Queen Wanda Jackson, Outlaw legend Billy Joe Shaver, country trucker overlord Red Simpson, new generation honky tonk legend Whitey Morgan, and the King of Country and Western Troubadours, Unknown Hinson will all perform at the 3rd Annual, 2016 Ameripolitan Awards along with many others as the Dale Watson-helmed show transpires at the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Austin on February 16th, 2016.
Other announced performers include the venerable James Hand, daughter of George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Georgette Jones, the Rockabilly Filly Rosie Flores, Doyle and Debbie, Justin Trevino, fiddler Jason Roberts, Kim Lenz, The Country Side of Harmonica Sam, Charlie Thompson, and others.
Voting opens for the 2016 Ameripolitan Awards on Thanksgiving, Thursday Nov. 26th., and can happen one of two ways: on Ameripolitan.com, or through a new app designed by Ballot Blaster. The app will cost $1.99, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Fender Music Foundation.
READ: The Ameripolitan Awards Announce 2016 Nominees
Founded by Dale Watson three years ago after the “Old Farts & Jackasses” comments of Blake Shelton, the Ameripolitan Awards was Dale’s answer to the concern that so many artists doing their best to keep roots traditions alive were going unrecognized by the rest of the country music industry. Since the first year, the awards have grown from a ballroom in a hotel in Austin to the Paramount where people from around the country travel to take part in the festivities. The Ameripolitan Music Awards acknowledges “Artists whose music honors tradition while demonstrating exceptional originality, creativity, and musicianship,” and is a 501(c)3 organization.
The 2016 Ameripolitan Awards will be hosted by Western Swing legend Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel. Tickets can be purchased from the Paramount.
November 26, 2015 @ 9:50 am
Unknown Hinson?! Heck yes!!!
November 26, 2015 @ 12:14 pm
Woo-hoo! Great line-up! Really looking forward to travelling over from the UK to join in the fun!!
And Happy Thanksgiving to you guys and gals in the US of A! Hope you all have a great day!!
November 26, 2015 @ 1:08 pm
I loved Jason Roberts when he played in Don Walser’s backing band. Now THERE was Country and Western Swing done the right way. Such a shame (or sham) that Don Walser isn’t as revered as he ought be. and on some of his albums he’d have Jason Roberts sing and fiddle a tune or three.
Thank you for working on Thanksgiving to do this Trigger.
November 26, 2015 @ 4:02 pm
Unknown Hinson is worth the admission fee on his own, baby!
November 27, 2015 @ 8:16 am
I caught Unknown Hinson as an opener for Reverend Horton Heat a few years ago and was floored by just what an amazing guitarist he is. The last song of his set morphed into Hendrix’s “Manic Depression” and he absolutely killed it.
November 26, 2015 @ 4:19 pm
On a unrelated note, just watched half time of the Dallas game. First time ever to see Puke er I mean Luke. Just stuck his ass out and wiggled it, also said c’mon a lot. What a country talent.
November 26, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
I watched that too. I always thought his ass was the other end…
November 27, 2015 @ 2:06 am
Red Simpson???!!!!! Wow, wow, wow!!!!
November 27, 2015 @ 6:34 am
No Mojo this year ???
November 27, 2015 @ 11:03 am
I think if they brought back Mojo this year, it would be the end of Ameripolitan. I think the effort lost a tremendous amount of support by booking him a second time last year. I personally witnessed dozens of people leaving their seats because of Mojo on numerous occasions during last year’s presentation, and even without him Ameripolitan will have to do some significant bridge mending to get it back where it was. I like Mojo, but it was devastating to have him MC.
November 27, 2015 @ 10:42 am
voted yesterday.
November 29, 2015 @ 5:58 pm
Perhaps this topic was covered before (I have short attention span) but will there be any way to watch this show on the interweb? Id love to go to Austin to see the show in person but that just ain’t a happening.
November 29, 2015 @ 6:24 pm
If it will be broadcast, that information has not been announced yet. The first two years, there were cameras there, but there’s never been a formal broadcast of the festivities. The first year, my live blog was the only way to peer into what was happening. Same for last year, but they put me so far up in the balcony, it was hard for me to photograph the stage and keep up, and I had about 1/4 the amount of followers compared to the first year. Probably won’t do the live blog this year unless significantly better accommodations can be arranged and there’s obvious interest.