Billy Strings
On Wednesday, the spectacular display of wide-ranging talent doubling as the 22nd annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards ceremony headed to the Ryman.
Among those recognized were the previously announced lifetime-achievement honorees, including soul and blues icon Bettye LaVette (who received the Legacy Award, presented in conjunction with the National Museum of African American Music) and country ace Patty Griffin, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting. Folk-roots-and-pop champions The Avett Brothers and Nickel Creek were each honored with a Trailblazer Award, while the Lifetime Achievement Award for Executive went to New West Records co-founder George Fontaine Sr.
A couple of the winners in the member-voted categories repeated their feats from 2022. Rocking bluegrass songsmith and phenomenal picker Billy Strings claimed a second consecutive Artist of the Year title, while The War and Treaty — who are also nominated as Vocal Duo of the Year at November’s CMA Awards — are once again Duo/Group of the Year. Both wins are well-deserved, though one wonders what Artist of the Year nominee Charley Crockett — an outstanding and prolific songsmith who was 2021’s Emerging Artist of the Year — has to do to take home that trophy.
Tyler Childers’ Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven? — an inventive record that presents three different interpretations of the same set of eight gospel songs — won Album of the Year in a crowded field that included Margo Price’s Strays. On Sept. 8, Childers and Allison Russell both released new LPs — Rustin’ in the Rain and The Returner, respectively — that are already strong contenders for next year’s awards; like Price, Russell had multiple nominations this year but no wins.
SistaStrings
While Adeem the Artist, who kindly spoke with us for our AmericanaFest preview, did not take Emerging Act of the Year honors, an also-excellent and thoughtful artist did: That’s S.G. Goodman, whose Teeth Marks was a highlight of 2022. However, the wide-traveling sibling duo of Chauntee and Monique Ross, aka SistaStrings (who also spoke with us), were recognized as Instrumentalist of the Year. Living legend Bonnie Raitt won two Grammys for “Just Like That,” the titular song of her most recent LP, and she took home Song of the Year on Wednesday as well.
Update, 9/21/2023: Allison Russell was recognized with the lifetime-achievement Spirit of Americana Award at Wednesday's ceremony.
Ahead of AmericanaFest, check out our conversations with Adeem the Artist and SistaStrings, our show recommendations and more
