Many stars turned out to tribute Hank, including Lyle Lovett, Rodney Crowell, Suzy Boggus, and Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie McCoy. A healthy dose of independent and up-and-coming stars also appeared.
Australia has long been an overlooked enclave for quality country, and not just counting the artists who make a concerted effort to court the American market. Down Under is a great place to go rummaging around to find something new and fresh, with plenty of open landscapes and rugged characters ripe for inspiring country songs.
Participating in the auction are greats like Lee Ann Womack, who adorned her skull with a flower arrangement, Ray Wylie Hubbard who took to his skull with a bunch of “Screw You, We’re From Texas” stickers. Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly gave his skull a peacock paint job, and Matt Hillyer chose the Yellow Rose of Texas as his inspiration.
The 18th Annual Americana Music Awards transpired Wednesday night (9-11) at the Country Music Mother Church, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, with lots of love spread out among a diverse list of winners, but John Prine emerging as the biggest winner walking away with both Album of the Year for ‘Tree of Forgiveness,’ and Song of the Year
Without anyone left to please but himself, Pat Green is free to exorcise his demons, get some stuff off his chest, make the album he wants to, and hopefully reconnect with those grassroots in Texas country that once helped carry him to the top, and he once turned his back on. To some his name will continue to be mud, but that doesn’t mean his musical output will be.
The 2013 Americana Music Awards once again transpired in Nashville at the historic Ryman Auditorium as part of the week-long Americana Music Conference. Delbert McClinton lead off with Hank Williams’ “Hey, Good Lookin,'” leading into MC Jim Lauderdale giving a poignant introduction that included the line, “The past matters, traditions matter, even when we explore ways to have those traditions extended and expanded.”