Tuesday, Sept. 11
The festivities start off with a bang on Tuesday. Once you’ve picked up your wristband at City Winery or your conference registration badge at The Westin, the adventure begins at noon with the NPR Music, World Café and WMOT Kickoff Party at The Local off West End Avenue near Centennial Park. The show, broadcast live, runs through the early evening and features Ruston Kelly, The Black Lillies, Nicki Bluhm and more. The Brother Brothers take over at 7 p.m. with their superb displays of blood harmony, and Dead Horses, Caleb Caudle and more keep the show going.
John Prine
John Prine, whose phenomenal new record The Tree of Forgiveness has topped Americana charts and helped him earn another nomination for Artist of the Year at Wednesday’s Americana Honors and Awards, brings a stellar lineup of friends to City Winery at 7 p.m. He’ll be joined by I’m With Her (a supergroup consisting of Americana veterans Sara Watkins, Aoife O’Donovan and Sarah Jarosz), Jerry Douglas and Mandolin Orange.
At the same time, two more great shows will be happening on Cannery Row. There’s a rainbow of rock, pop and folk at Mercy Lounge, with former Port O’Brien frontman Van William, Neighbor Lady, Jill Andrews and locals My Politic, plus a surprise headliner at 11:30 p.m. Downstairs at Cannery Ballroom, blues-and-soul ace Fantastic Negrito showcases a different section of the Americana spectrum, with support acts including country- and blues-infused singer-guitarist Samantha Fish as well as Ruen Brothers, who look like rockabilly revivalists but sound something like a stripped-down version of post-punk.
At 8 p.m., the The Basement East gets fired up with Better Together: Show Up and Sing!, featuring songwriter’s songwriter and Album of the Year nominee Mary Gauthier (more on her below) along with Will Hoge, Jade Jackson and surprise guests. At the O.G. Basement, rock polymath Ian Moore plays with Old Crow Medicine Show’s Chance McCoy, Nashville rock outfit Blank Range and champion fiddler and songwriter Lillie Mae.
As a tribute to producer and Fame Studios founder Rick Hall, who died in January, 3rd & Lindsley hosts the showcase Muscle Shoals: Small Town, Big Sound starting at 8 p.m. It’s your chance to see some of the artists featured on the upcoming tribute album of the same name, including rock and gospel hero Mike Farris, soul man Eli “Paperboy” Reed and Shinedown singer Brent Smith. —OL
Wednesday, Sept. 12
Wednesday brings the keystone event of the festival, the Americana Honors and Awards Show at the Ryman at 6:30 p.m. Standard-issue wristbands won’t score a bench seat at the Mother Church, as the awards ceremony is ticketed separately, but don’t fret: The official viewing party is at City Winery starting at 6 p.m. If the vino and grub get you feeling a bit sedentary, stick around for Molly Tuttle, an Instrumentalist of the Year nominee. The California-born picker’s virtuosity earned her the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitarist of the Year award in 2017 following her debut solo EP Rise, which expertly blends high lonesome with singer-songwriter folk. Next, Mary Gauthier makes her second of several appearances this week. Expect cuts from her latest Rifles & Rosary Beads, which highlights songs written with veterans and their families, mixed in with her classics, like cuts from two of the best albums of the Aughts: 2005’s Mercy Now and 2010’s The Foundling.
Amy Helm
But there’s plenty to see before all the awards-show hubbub, so don’t sleep in. Kick off with Tales & Ales at InDo Nashville’s office on Fogg Street at 3 p.m., where anthemic Southern-rockish strummer Paul Thorn will trade tales with Lagunitas Brewing co-founder Tony Magee, as the duo discusses the common ground between craft brewing and songwriting. Drinking and singing are promised. Stumble (or Lyft) down to Grimey’s at 5 p.m. for an in-store with former Ollabelle frontwoman (and, yes, Levon’s daughter) Amy Helm, performing cuts from her latest This Too Shall Light. As always, space is limited, so drop by early and flip through the stacks.
It wouldn’t be AmericanaFest without Drivin N Cryin, so if you’re up for a late night, head to Mercy Lounge at 10 p.m. The deep-fried hard-rockin’ standard-bearers recently released a remastered version of their self-titled 1997 album under the new name Too Late to Turn Back Now. There’s a surprise set downstairs at Cannery Ballroom at 10:30 p.m. — no idea who, but listen for the screams, or lack thereof — followed by rising country ace and Emerging Artist of the Year nominee Tyler Childers (read our interview with him on p. 11) at 11:30 p.m. Back upstairs at Mercy, there’s also a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute led by local impresario and Instrumentalist of the Year nominee Jerry Pentecost and featuring a host of local Americana favorites.
Paul Cauthen
If all the up-and-down at Cannery is too much, there are other quality choices. Canadian country upstart Colter Wall brings his rich baritone to The Station Inn at midnight. If you like your folk a little punky or your punk a little folky, Austin Lucas headlines a strong night at The Local that includes Austin, Texas’ high-energy bluegrassers Wood & Wire and throwback bluesmen Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons, who kick off the night at 10. Alt-country’s current resident preacher man Paul Cauthen brings his Big Velvet Revue (with guests including Aaron Lee Tasjan and Erin Rae) to The Basement East at 10, following an 8 p.m. set from Whiskey Wolves of the West. —JRL
Thursday, Sept. 13
AmericanaFest shows off its cultural, geographic and musical diversity on Thursday, traditionally the day when things really get cooking during this roots-crazy gathering. You have three chances to see one of the genre’s iconic artists, Alejandro Escovedo, who drops into Grimey’s for a 2 p.m. in-store appearance to play songs from his new full-length The Crossing, a concept album about immigration and American identity in the Trump era. Escovedo is the Americana equivalent of John Cale — a shape-shifting artist at home with various styles of post-Velvet Underground rock. Catch him again at The Local at 5 p.m., and later with a full band at 12th & Porter — Escovedo plays at 11 p.m., but there are also sets from Will Hoge, Nicki Bluhm and The Bottle Rockets starting at 8 p.m.
Over at The Nashville Palace, a special installment of Music City Roots kicks off at 7 p.m. Check out the East Nashville power pop of Aaron Lee Tasjan, whose new album Karma for Cheap shows off the jazz-trained guitarist’s evocations of Badfinger, The Records and, yes, The Beatles. It’s a tongue-in-cheek delight. For contrast, see English folk-pop singer Yola Carter, who has been touted as a country-soul avatar. That may be, but her 2016 EP Orphan Offering sports the excellent tune “Heed My Words,” which sounds like the late-’60s psych-folk of Traffic.
Yola Carter
Violinist, singer and songwriter Amanda Shires is an innovator who likes to experiment, and her new Dave Cobb-produced album To the Sunset combines electronics and non-folk song forms in fascinating ways. Shires is one of the brightest stars at this year’s AmericanaFest, and she tops a bill at The Basement East that also includes Liz Brasher and Kelsey Waldon and starts at 7:30 p.m.
A few other notable Thursday shows include the Queer Roots Party, beginning at 5 p.m. at The Crying Wolf, featuring gay country pioneer Patrick Haggerty, Nashville’s Little Bandit and more. Also look for songsmiths Chris Gantry and Erin Rae at Third Man Records (8 and 10 p.m., respectively), as well as country champ Mandy Barnett and keepers of the Western swing flame Asleep at the Wheel (9:30 and 11:30 p.m., respectively) at Mercy Lounge.
You’ll hear first-class bluegrass picking at The Station Inn starting at 7:30 p.m. At the top of the bill, going on at 11:30, mandolinist Frank Solivan leads his quartet Dirty Kitchen, and they do it all, from rollicking instrumental tunes to a cover of Wayne Carson Thompson’s “The Letter.” Also on the bill is proto-New Wave tunesmith and singer John Hiatt, whose new album The Eclipse Sessions explores the all-American darkness that Americana artists sometimes make light of. Coming from the archival side of Americana is multi-instrumentalist and singer Dom Flemons, formerly of roots group The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Flemons styles himself a “songster,” and he’ll perform tunes from his new album Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys, a collection that delves deeply into the roots of Americana. —EH
Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen
Friday, Sept. 14
Greetings, tourists, and welcome to your Authentic Nashville Friday Night™. Live like the locals as you experience the paralytic joy of having to choose from too many awesome shows and debate the metaphysical challenges posed by existing in multiple locations at the same time! Complain about bachelorette parties while dodging pedal taverns as you run from one soon-to-be-legendary set to the next! Or, y’know, just camp out in one locale, because AmericanaFest is a marathon, not a sprint.
For a vintage early-2010s experience, complain loudly about the omnipresence of “Wagon Wheel” while trying to score guest list spots to Old Crow Medicine Show’s separately ticketed 8 p.m. show at the Ryman. Ye Old Crow’s latest album Volunteer finds the high-energy string band as ferocious as ever while pushing their songwriting in new dimensions, so expect a typical scorcher of a set from the punk-upstarts-turned-Americana-elder-statesmen.
Other options for totally townie moves: Flash that badge and get yourself into Third Man Records’ Blue Room early for Rosanne Cash’s 6 p.m. set (open only to conference registrants), or take a trip back to the Nashville rock scene of the ’80s for a writers’ round hosted by Webb Wilder with Will Kimbrough and Bill Lloyd, also at 6 p.m., at the The Bluebird Cafe. Maybe you need to let your freak flag fly? Open up your plaid chakra and head to 3rd & Lindsley for freak-scene founding father Richard Thompson, who plays at 9:30 p.m. Seeking top-grade songs and voices in intimate spots? Look for Lera Lynn, Dawn Landes and others at The Anchor on Third Avenue South starting at 7:30 p.m., or Ashley Monroe, Andrew Combs and more at The Station Inn starting at 8 p.m.
Need a little soul in your life after three straight days of industry networking and other questionable life choices? Might we suggest making a beeline for 12th & Porter to catch certified R&B legend Candi Staton at 11 p.m. Or pop into Cannery Ballroom for gospel-rock duo The War and Treaty, who had a breakout set at last year’s fest and just dropped their fiery new full-length Healing Tide, as they jam alongside Americana stalwart Buddy Miller with Austin, Texas, icon Kinky Friedman and lovable local Jim Lauderdale. (That show starts at 8:30 p.m.) For a peek at rising talent in R&B and soul, slip upstairs to The High Watt at 10 p.m. for Nashville’s own Devon Gilfillian. —SLM
Saturday, Sept. 15
Get ready to rally for Saturday, as outdoor parties (which are free to the public, no credentials required) take over the daylight hours and the indoor gigs go late. One spot you’ll want to load into the GPS is 919 Gallatin Ave., a collection of studios and office spaces being referred to as The Compound, where the Campfire Propaganda Day Party offers everyone a chance to see Aaron Lee Tasjan, Mary Gauthier, Will Hoge and more, starting at 11 a.m. Another is The Groove Records at 1103 Calvin Ave., where Tasjan, Ida Mae, The Wandering Hearts and others play the Bootleg BBQ, highlighting artists from the U.K., beginning at noon. Also starting at noon is The Basement’s 11th annual Americanarama party — though the lineup wasn’t announced at press time, historically it has been strong. Tommy Emmanuel, Ruby Boots and others play the Aussie BBQ at The 5 Spot, which kicks off at noon as well.
Once the sun goes down, you could head for 3rd & Lindsley for a more country angle: Honky-tonk-schooled songster J.P. Harris shows off tunes from his forthcoming Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing at 9 p.m. On the more soulful tip, Charley Crockett plays Mercy Lounge at 10 p.m., while Phil Madeira (whose recent Providence offers masterful soul-jazz) headlines City Winery at 11:30 p.m., with The McCrary Sisters and more in support. Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs bring country and blues meditations on beasts of burden (per their new album Clippety Clop) to The Basement at 11 p.m., while Lucie Silvas closes down The Basement East with an 11:30 p.m. set featuring songs from her incisive and rock-leaning new LP E.G.O., with support from Lilly Hiatt and others. —ST
Sunday, Sept. 16
If you have an ounce of energy left, there are plenty of ways to spend it on Sunday. If you have a conference registration badge, The War and Treaty headlines the Eighth Annual Gospel Brunch, beginning 11 a.m. at City Winery. J.P. Harris’ Sunday Morning Coming Down party starts at noon at The Compound at 919 Gallatin Ave., doesn’t require a credential and offers a shedload of country-schooled talent including Kristina Murray, The Watson Twins and Erin Rae. Prefer more rock? The Sundown Social (starting at noon and also free) at Fond Object’s East Nashville location has you covered with Blackfoot Gypsies, Blank Range and more.
Finally, you’ve got three separately ticketed options to round out your week: Country-inclined Foo Fighters guitarist (and ace podcaster) Chris Shiflett at 3rd & Lindsley (8 p.m.); k.d. lang at the Ryman (7:30 p.m.); or Woofstock, a benefit for animal welfare organizations at Ascend Amphitheater, headlined by Emmylou Harris and featuring Jamey Johnson, Margo Price and lots more (music starts at 5 p.m.). —ST
