AmericanaFest 2022: Friday Show Recommendations

For ticketing info, updates and the full lineup and schedule, check out americanamusic.org or the AmericanaFest app. And keep an eye on social media for info about other interesting events that aren’t officially part of the fest.

The festival hits its stride Friday night, and this year’s penultimate round of shows look poised to be some of the most engaging. For a spiritual communion with the tunes, head on over to Riverside Revival in East Nashville, a converted church on Riverside Drive with plans to preach the gospel of grit. Things kick off at 7 p.m. with Jobi Riccio, a Colorado songwriter mixing classic-country twang and touches of Rocky Mountain bluegrass using tender, almost transparent vocals. Those in the congregation may even hear a cover from her 2019 EP Strawberry Wine, on which Riccio pays tribute to the women of country she grew up emulating.

After Riccio comes singer-songwriter Michaela Anne at 8 p.m. Her 2022 LP Oh to Be That Free finds the roots-pop darling (and new mom) reflecting on more innocent times. Eighty-two-year-old swamp-pop legend Tommy McLain just released I Ran Down Every Dream, his first new album in more than 40 years; he takes the stage at 9 p.m., while former Nashvillian singer-songwriter Josh Rouse finishes the night at 10 p.m. with tunes from his COVID-born, bar-band-rollicking new album Going Places, which he recorded in Spain, where he’s lived for many years.

Starting at 5 p.m., Musicians Corner’s September Sundown in Centennial Park hosts top-notch songsmiths Joe Purdy, Emily Scott Robinson, Lilli Lewis and more. Likewise, City Winery has a colorful Friday lineup, starting with Cali-folk trio Rainbow Girls at 7 p.m. The father-son duo of Tim and Ruston Kelly follows at 8 p.m., celebrating hitmaker and “dirt emo” impresario Ruston convincing his dad to record his better-late-than-never debut Ride Through the Rain. Guatemalan transplant and musical polyglot Gaby Moreno is next at 9 p.m., with Australian country outlaw Henry Wagons starting last call at 10 p.m.

Looking for something familiar? Check out Americana founding father Jim Lauderdale in the 7 p.m. slot at Exit/In, and stick around for the edgy rocking country of Jaime Wyatt at 8 p.m. That’ll still leave time to head over to The 5 Spot for Hannah Juanita, who plays at 10 p.m.; the emergent honky-tonk queen recently followed her aptly titled 2021 album Hardliner with a loping new single, “Girl, Where You From?”

Margo Cilker will share her unique brand of Pacific Northwest storytelling at The Basement at 9 p.m., followed by a duo from the opposite side of the continent. Building complex soundscapes of folk and pop, Maine’s Oshima Brothers take the stage at 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, 3rd and Lindsley hosts one of the most talent-stacked, tried-and-true lineups of the whole fest. The overbooked night starts off with too-real-for-the-Row country star Sunny Sweeney at 7 p.m. Then at 8 p.m. comes a bluegrass-inspired duo with virtuosic skill and energy to spare: Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley combine dobro mastery with a one-two punch of guitar and vocals sent from hillbilly heaven. Their most recent album World Full of Blues came out in 2019, but with a high-octane acoustic mix, their repertoire of ’grass and gas is just as timeless as it is entertaining. Hard-hitting blues queen Bette Smith is on at 9 p.m., and — if you’re still upright and your ears aren’t ringing too much — Oliver Wood’s unmistakable vocals will slither and slide into your soul at 10 p.m. Wood, frontman of roots trailblazers The Wood Brothers, mixes a bit more of a bluesy strut and a heavy splash of voodoo swagger into his solo stuff.