September 10, 2025

Winners Revealed at the 2025 Americana Music Awards

See full list of winners and picture gallery below.

Once again the wild and disparate misfit toys that get cobbled together under the designation of “Americana” did their best to make themselves presentable, hitched a ride downtown, and took over the Mother Church of Country Music for the annual Americana Music Awards Wednesday night, September 10th.

Part of the greater AmericanaFest gathering happening this week in Nashville, Wednesday night’s AMA’s are definitively not the CMAs or the ACMs, with artists regularly overlooked by the mainstream country music industry getting their opportunity to be hailed in the spotlight.

Sierra Ferrell is who the spotlight shined the brightest on, walking away with Artist of the Year, making it the second year in a row she earned the designation. But this year, Sierra was not there in person to accept it. She was on tour playing a show in Raleigh, North Carolina. Comedian and actor John C. Reilly who is friends with Sierra was the host this year, and texted Sierra after the win. Sierra responded, “Thanks to God and Jesus” and how grateful she was to the award.

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats won Album of the Year for South of Here. “I’ve never won an award after all these years, and are rarely nominated, so this is a blessing,” Rateliff said, emphasizing how Americana awards artists who otherwise wouldn’t be, despite overwhelming success and critical acclaim.

Billy Strings fiddle player Alex Hargreaves won the night’s first award for Instrumentalist of the Year, and thanked his fellow members of the Billy Strings band, and his fellow nominees, calling the honor a win for all musicians “often under the radar, but doing their thing. I see this as a celebration of all of you.”

MJ Lenderman won for Emerging Act of the Year. Former Americana Emerging Act of the Year winners SG Goodman and Sunny Sweeney unveiled the award, but Lenderman was not there to accept it. Known mostly as an indie rock act, his 2024 album Manning Fireworks got some love in the roots and Americana world. His win symbolizes the continued emergence of indie rock in the “Americana” space.

Song of the Year went to supergroup I’m With Her for “Ancient Light.” Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, and Sara Watkins also performed “Ancient Light” during the presentation.

*I’m With Her accepting Song of the Year*

Duo or Group of the Year went to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings “We usually don’t win when we’re here,” Gillian Welch said.

You can see all the nominees and winners below.

The show was hosted by John C. Reilly, who also sang “Picture in a Frame” by Tom Waits about halfway through the presentation. Then after an extended presentation about Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger album, Reilly and Margo Price sang a sedated version of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”

Along with the annual winners were the special honorees and Lifetime Achievement Award winners.

For years The McCrary Sisters have been featured in the Americana Awards house band, along with numerous songs and albums from many of the most important names in Nashville and Americana. Only fitting they were finally recognized with the Legacy Award. The McCrary Sisters accepted the award by citing scripture, and thanking God and Jesus Christ. Sister Deborah passed away in 2022.

“You see four mics out here. But there’s only three of us singing. We put an extra mic out here because you might not see her in body, but [Deborah] is here in spirit,” they said before standing in front of those microphones to perform for the Ryman audience.

Before there was Americana, there was alt-country. From the alt-country era, few created as much thunder and lightning than the Dallas-based Old 97’s. Rosanne Cash offered a brilliant tribute and summation about the band before they took the stage to accept the award.

“And it’s still going. We got a gig this week!” said bass player Murray Hammond.

Front man Rhett Miller also thanked Waylon Jennings, who said was an important early supporter of them. “And if you’re going to sign to a major label, do it in the 1990’s. And if you’re going to be in a band, be in a band with your best friends,” Rhett exclaimed.

Hayes Carll paid tribute to Darrell Scott who was bestowed with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Scott recalled the very formation of the Americana Music Association, calling it a “Beautiful gathering of weirdo musicians … Thank you so much, and let’s keep being weird.”

But it wasn’t as much what Hayes Carll or Darrell Scott said. It was when Scott took the stage to sing the iconic “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” that made for arguably the night’s most memorable moment. Many have heard the song. But to hear the song in the Ryman Auditorium with the McCrary Sisters behind him, rafters were shaken, and souls were saved.

Some looked sideways when surging songwriter Jesse Welles was announced with the other “Lifetime Achievement” honorees since Welles really has just burst onto the scene in the last year or so. But his Free Speech Award is more about what he’s doing in the here and now as opposed to a lifetime’s body worth of work, even if he’s written just as much or more songs in that year than some songwriters do in a lifetime.

“Nobody is doing it better than Jesse Welles,” the great John Fogerty said introducing Welles for the award. Welles had already performed “War Isn’t Murder” earlier in the presentation as part of the Emerging Act of the Year performances. But now he had his opportunity at the podium.

“Folks don’t get into folk music because there’s awards. All that being said, it feels nice to get an award,” Welles said in his folksy manner. Then he said succinctly, “Life is too short to not say exactly what you mean all the time,” before walking off the stage.

When Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell came out to give the Lifetime Achievement Award to songwriter Joe Henry, Cash said to much laughter, “No, we’re not getting back together.” Rodney Crowell responded, “I’ve changed!” to even more laughter.

There was more laughter when Joe Henry said, “When they told me about this award, my first response was, ‘Oh no, they think I’m gonna die!'” He went on to say how he was told early on that he didn’t have an “act” to make it in music. But Henry decided that the song was the act. “Keep enduring, sing your song, and you can’t miss beauty.”

There were also many memorable performances on the night. SG Goodman opened the show covering Neil Young’s “Don’t Cry No Tears” from Zuma. Dawes singing “Time Spent in Los Angeles” that became a rallying cry after the L.A.-area was especially emotional, including for John C. Reilly, who lost his home in the fires, just like Taylor Goldsmith Reilly got emotional introducing Goldsmith to the stage. Joy Oladokun’s “I’d Miss The Birds” also received a deserved standing ovation. Emmylou Harris and Daniel Lanois also played a song from Emmylou’s landmark album Wrecking Ball.

The show ended with John Fogerty playing multiple Creedence Clearwater Revival songs, including “Up Around The Bend” and “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” before a bunch of performers from the night came out on stage to sing “Rolling On A River.”

There were a lot of great performers and deserving recognition on the evening, and the presentation was excellent as always. But it did feel a little like a indefinable year for the awards with a couple of the winners not present, and not really a big narrative or big winner to take from them. Indie rock was heavily represented, so was a little country. But it truly was the big camp nature of “Americana” that was on display, and the great performances that defined the night.