New faces, veteran talent fuel the 2009 AMA showcases

There are a quarter more AMA showcases this year—and a lot of the new slots have gone to all-girl bands, bands fronted (or co-fronted) by women and female singer-songwriters. They make up twice as big a piece of the pie as they did last year—a full third. Considering that the alt-country branch of Americana has been pegged as male-centric, that ain't peanuts.

There are those with bite, like Amy Cook, a subtly fierce singer-songwriter, and Mary Gauthier, an intense storyteller who'll appear in-the-round with lighter-voiced, no-less-gifted foils Elizabeth Cook and Nanci Griffith. Those Darlins are back, too, after conquering the world beyond Nashville with fun-loving, empowered hillbilly hedonism—and they're not even the only female country-punk trio this year. Baskery is a mini-string band comprised of Swedish sisters who attack dark, dire Appalachian sounds with bright, Dixie Chick-like harmonies.

There are bodily singers, like Australian Kara Grainger and local Sarah Siskind. Grainger's blues-pop phrasing feels at times almost as easy and sensual as Bonnie Raitt's. (She's a slide guitarist, too.) Siskind reaches deep for her plunging, red-blooded vocal runs. Besides Jarosz, Samantha Crain (a singer and songwriter of entrancing, otherworldly folk vignettes) and the Lovell Sisters (a sharp, newgrassy trio from Georgia) are notable new faces. Nickel Creek's Sara Watkins isn't exactly a new face, but she made her solo debut this year as a wistfully fetching writer and interpreter of proto-country, folk and fiddle tunes.

Of course, the bills most places, most nights are co-ed, featuring Americana ambassadors like Sam Bush (who's getting Lifetime Achievement honors as an instrumentalist) and Buddy Miller—who, along with his wife, Julie, is up for awards in just about every possible category. Proven frontmen like Radney Foster and Chuck Mead, who's got a fresh batch of honky-tonk boogie on Journeyman's Wager appear along with veterans like J.D. Souther, who reemerged last year fronting a jazzy combo.

As usual, there's a veritable buffet of country-rock. Some of the best is bluesy and organ-stoked (Band of Heathens), leavened with Southern soul (Stone River Boys), angsty and gothic-shaded (Elliott Brood) or tough and muscular (The Bottle Rockets). The WPA collective isn't rock so much as earnest acoustic pop with seasoned rockers in the rhythm section, and the Boston Boys aren't strictly rock or bluegrass, but occasionally sound like acoustic virtuosos attacking a rollicking Sun Records side.

Which brings us to another sort of groove that isn't played straight—Western swing. Three acts from Austin have it covered: Bob Wills standard-bearers Asleep at the Wheel, swanky supper club trio Hot Club of Cowtown and the gypsy jazz-loving Belleville Outfit, another New and Emerging Artist nominee.

Email music@nashvillescene.com.