The Americana Music Awards Announce 2020 Nominees
AmericanaFest has been officially cancelled for 2020. But the crown jewel of the event—the Americana Music Awards—will move forward at the Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday, September 16th as scheduled. Nominees in the six respective categories have been announced, with the emphasis on diversity the Americana Music Association has been touting for some time clearly evident in the nominees, as well as the quality of the artists, songs, and albums selected.
Those wondering where Jason Isbell is since he normally cleans up at these awards, the eligibility period cuts off at March 31st, making his most recent record Reunions released on May 8th not eligible until next year. Though it’s a bit of a shame to not see some of the critically-acclaimed risers from 2019 such as Emily Scott Robinson and Mike and the Moonpies get a nod, the AMA did expand all categories to five nominees this year so more artists get an opportunity for attention. Song of the Year even expanded to six nominees due to a tie.
Artists receiving multiple nominations include Brittany Howard, The Highwomen, Aubrie Sellers, Nathaniel Rateliff, and the Drive-By Truckers. One interesting storyline is that the album Country Squire by Tyler Childers is nominated for Album of the Year, even with the strong criticism Childers has given to the term Americana. Don’t be surprised if Tyler doesn’t show up in 2020.
Winners will be announced on September 19th, and the event will likely be streamed online. The Americana Music Association is still waiting to see if the health situation warrants having no crowd, and limited crowd, or a full crowd for the event. Any ticketing information will be made available in the future.
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
June 15, 2020 @ 7:10 pm
Does anybody else find Aubrie Sellers’s music unbearable? Big fan of her mom though.
Yola should win Artist of the Year
June 15, 2020 @ 9:15 pm
I enjoyed Aubrie’s first album for what it was, kind of a garage rock vibe with a bit of a concept to it and some memorable tracks. The second album didn’t really land with me. I’d be surprised if she wins either of those awards, and especially can’t see how she’s “emerged” more than Billy Strings this year.
A part of me wants Country Squire to win just to see what Tyler does or doesn’t do about it.
June 15, 2020 @ 11:28 pm
Yola should win Artist of the Year, but the sympathy vote will be strong for Prine.
June 15, 2020 @ 8:22 pm
Not sure why Billy Strings isn’t nominated in every category….he’s that badass…but anyway…back to your previous scheduled program…..
June 15, 2020 @ 9:51 pm
Glad to see these. A lot of people I voted for.
June 15, 2020 @ 11:18 pm
Also interesting:
That Country Squire got a nod over Traveling Mercies, despite the latter being a superior album in literally every way.
(Plus, Emily’s a genuinely awesome human, and would benefit far more from a nom than Tyler will).
June 15, 2020 @ 11:32 pm
Labels have strong influence at the AMA’s because they make up the majority of the voters. Without a big label, it’s hard to get a nomination. But she’s exactly what the Americana Music Awards are set up for, and was a strong critical favorite, not just here.
June 16, 2020 @ 12:01 am
Yeah, I know she Kickstarted her album to cover all the post-recording costs, rather than rely on a label…but that’s even more reason that she’s PRECISELY the type of artist this sort of event should be focusing on.
Especially since, y’know, she’s ACTUALLY AMERICANA, unlike Childers, who’s strictly country.
(I’ve also enjoyed her “RV Sessions” live-streams more than the Childers show I saw in person, but that’s neither here nor there)
June 16, 2020 @ 12:26 am
Yeah, as the strongest album I have heard in years, the lack of Emily sort of makes makes me doubt the calibre of the awards.
Seems like just another award show to show off the most vocal of the Americana scene.
Oh well, it generally all sounds pretty good. If anyone is listening from the Americana in crowd: you all make good music, but you aren’t really as important as you think you are.
June 16, 2020 @ 7:56 am
Looks like Traveling Mercies was released in Feb 2019, which is six weeks too soon. Still, an Emerging Artist nod would have been nice. She is thoroughly unknown, though. I checked her Facebook page and it has 2.8K likes. Katie Pruitt, who I haven’t heard of, got a nomination. She weighs in at 6.4K Facebook likes and released her debut album in Feb 2020. But she’s signed to Rounder. And I wonder if Kelsey Waldon gets a nomination if she didn’t sign with John Prine’s Oh Boy Records. Glad she got one, though. Overdue.
June 16, 2020 @ 9:24 am
Rounder, Thirty Tigers, Oh Boy which is affiliated with Thirty Tigers, New West, these are the loudest voices in the room in Americana. They also make up the lion’s share of Americana releases, so it makes sense. But it would be cool to see more outside input so someone like Emily Scott Robinson could rise. She’s perfect for the Americana audience.
June 17, 2020 @ 3:38 pm
Yawn.
June 17, 2020 @ 5:25 pm
Stunning rebuttal, mate.
June 18, 2020 @ 2:25 pm
It wasn’t a rebuttal. It was a value judgement.
June 19, 2020 @ 10:53 pm
Ah, fair play!
After all, the vocals, music, and lyrics really aren’t all that close!
Anyone who prefers Country Squire doesn’t know all that much about music…and definitely isn’t very familiar with Tyler’s talent!
June 18, 2020 @ 10:37 pm
Idk, Country Squire was one of my favorite albums in recent memory. It’s more than deserving of a nomination, if not a win.
June 19, 2020 @ 11:03 pm
See, for my blood, Country Squire sands off everything good, smart, and interesting about Tyler’s voice and sound…in order to produce an album that still hasn’t surpassed Purgatory in sales.
He got bodied by his openers (The Local Honeys) when I saw him, largely because his set was based on Country Squire, rather than his good albums.
Main difference between Country Squire and something like Hebert Island is that WCG knew that he was making a “pay the band” album, and doesn’t pretend otherwise.
June 16, 2020 @ 3:41 am
John Moreland? Anybody?
June 16, 2020 @ 3:50 am
I second that. There should be a criminal investigation.
June 16, 2020 @ 9:33 pm
Oh shit! LP5 is a sight above Country Squire, as well…and, again, Moreland IS Americana.
(I don’t hate Country Squire, to be clear…but it’s not a Top 5 album of the year for me, across ALL genres, and it’s definitely not Americana, either)
June 16, 2020 @ 5:22 am
So, if Tyler would win, without showing, maybe they can replay his “ain’t no part of nothing” speech, just so everyone can have a surreal moment. Not that I think Country Squire was AOTY, although it was a good one..
June 16, 2020 @ 6:33 am
Why are they nominating country artists at an Americana Music award show (e.g., Tyler Childers)
June 16, 2020 @ 8:55 am
Good question Bobcephus. Tyler made it clear where he stands on the matter. I think the Americana folks still want to claim him regardless.. ive weighed in on Tyler before.. I agree he makes country music, no doubt about it. But, he has this kinda hippie trippie vibe that seems to resonate more with non traditional fans. Not sure he’s ever gonna be mainstream..
Personally I have mixed feelings on the Tanya Tucker nominations. I believe Tanya to be one of the greatest and most significant female country music singers alive. In my mind shes on a short list that includes Loretta and Dolly. I probably put them ahead of Tanya on the merits of their songwriting but Tanya is certainly in the top 10 all time. I was happy she won Grammys. But I don’t see her as an Americana artist. Brandi, her producer however, wishes to market her that way. A shame. The CMA ought to be honoring Tanya Tucker. And she belongs in the hall of fame. But I suspect she will win in the Americana realm because of 3 factors.
1. Shes a true legend
2. Her newest album is strong
3. Brandi Carlisle
So, if she does im happy for her. But, her true home is country music. Finally, not to be forgotten, the early origins of Americana as an organization were purportedly to give a home for alt country artists as well as legends who were put out to pasture by the mainstream industry. Its morphed dramatically since its beginnings into a different thing entirely.
June 16, 2020 @ 7:23 am
Nothing for Allison Moorer’s Blood album or any of the songs on it (e.g., Heal). Feels wrong. Very wrong. I know it’s a companion piece to a great book, but it stands on its own as an artistic triumph. First album of hers that I’ve loved since 2004’s The Duel.
June 16, 2020 @ 7:34 am
I’ve been a Billy Strings fan for a while, but the more I listen to his album, the more and more I find something new to love about it.
June 16, 2020 @ 8:55 am
That’s a sign of sincerity.
June 16, 2020 @ 7:51 am
Instrumentalist of the Year should go to Zachariah Obadiah Book of Revalations Hickman
June 16, 2020 @ 8:13 am
This ain’t no part of nothin
June 16, 2020 @ 8:33 am
These nominations look like they were crowdsourced from my local baristas.
June 16, 2020 @ 8:50 am
Now that’s funny.
June 16, 2020 @ 10:58 am
Don’t give a bad name to baristas.
June 16, 2020 @ 11:49 am
He’ll probably have to wait his turn, but I was hoping “Between the Country” would get a nod.
Did anyone really put that Nathaniel Ratliff album on repeat?
June 16, 2020 @ 1:48 pm
Welp. This feels predictable and, to me at least, looks like a lot of decisions won’t be made because of the quality of the music. Looks like they will more-so be about the lyrical content of the songs or the identity of the artist.
You know good and well what kind of stink Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell will raise if the Highwomen don’t go home with some hardware.
June 16, 2020 @ 6:15 pm
Good Lord, are you still pissed at Jason Isbell?
June 16, 2020 @ 6:24 pm
Nah, I think he’s a great songwriter and I agree with his politics.
I just know he is vocal about his beliefs, and if he believes the Highwomen got slighted due to sexism that we are going to hear about it.
Never was pissed at him either, so I’m not sure where that accusation comes from.
June 16, 2020 @ 9:37 pm
Eh. Isbell’s smart enough to recognize how much more power/pull Brandi and Maren have than just about anyone else nominated.
I say this as someone who discovered Isbell THROUGH Amanda Shires, haha.
June 17, 2020 @ 10:33 am
I wasn’t an Amanda Shires fan before an Isbell fan. I’ve been a DBT fan since Southern Rock Opera and I became an Isbell fan the first time I heard Outfit and Decoration Day on the follow-up album of the same name. I did see a very young Isbell playing with DBT in 2002 when they toured on SRO. A very overweight hayseed guitarslinger much younger than the rest of the band was the impression I got. The band picture in the booklet with the CD pretty much shows what he looked like.
I was a Amanda Shires before I knew that she and Isbell were an item. Trigger reviewed her Carry Lightning album from 2011. Back then, the SCM community LOVED Amanda Shires, but it was a different community. More of an underground country community where folks sometimes fought viciously over artists instead of politics (Hank3 vs Shooter, Jamey Johnson lovers vs Jamey Johnson haters, etc.). Overall, I still think she’s a more adventurous artist than Isbell. Or Brandi Carlile, for that matter. Not saying I prefer her to Isbell, although she is my favorite of the Highwomen.
June 17, 2020 @ 12:51 pm
Yeah, I heard her version of “Detroit or Buffalo” (off Carrying Lightning) on a college radio station back in 2013 or 2014, and needed to know everything about the person singing…which led to a lot of articles about Isbell and Southeastern…which led to the first time I heard Cover Me Up.
June 17, 2020 @ 3:30 am
First off, they’re probably going to win. If not them, then maybe Tanya Tucker or Brittany Howard. Carlile, Tucker and Howard are all nominated for Artist of the Year, too.
Second, I don’t see Isbell (The King of Americana) teeing off on the Americana Music Association. And both Brandi Carlile and Amanda Shires have won AMA awards in the past.
June 17, 2020 @ 7:24 am
Americana is fastly becoming a political rather than artistical organization. Matter of fact, they are.
June 17, 2020 @ 6:45 pm
great music has always been socio-political. What did you think the machine Woody Guthrie was referring to was?
June 16, 2020 @ 11:04 pm
Amen ps ps yes 2 comments is this ps ps tanya tucker can do it all country blues rock America and gospel ps ps shes the real deal god bless you all
June 17, 2020 @ 10:00 am
I’m sorry but Lauren Mascitti’s version of “my love will not change” is way better than Aubrie’s.
June 20, 2020 @ 8:42 pm
Lauren doesn’t have Steve Earle on hers, though.
June 18, 2020 @ 7:01 pm
Interesting list of nominees. If they would have asked me….
Joe Pug – The Flood In Color
John Moreland – LP5
Lilly Hiatt – Walking Proof
The Lone Bellow – Half Moon Light
Josh Ritter – Fever Breaks
I own all the albums they nominated and I really like them and they deserve to be nominated.
BUT
I have given away many copies of each of the albums I would nominate to friends and have made sure many of my musician friends have listened to them.