From Sept. 13 through 17, a huge variety of artists will once again gather in Music City under the big tent that is Americana for AmericanaFest. The portion of the official showcase lineup released so far runs the gamut from fixtures like revered and venerable songsmith Jim Lauderdale to an installment of the Black Opry Revue to spotlight up-and-coming Black talent.
The keystone event of the whole shebang is the annual Honors and Awards Ceremony, set for Wednesday, Sept. 14, at the Ryman. In a livestream from the National Museum of African American Music on Monday, superb husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty announced this year’s nominees; they were recognized in 2019 as Emerging Act of the Year, and they appear again on this year’s list of nominees for Duo/Group of the Year.
The full list is packed with folks who’ll be familiar to Scene readers. In the Aritst of the Year category, Allison Russell, Billy Strings and Yola are up against previous winners Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell. Black women make up a substantial portion of the nominees, including Russell (whose album Outside Child is up for Album of the Year and song “Persephone” for Song of the Year) and Yola (whose Stand for Myself is an Album of the Year nominee and whose “Diamond Studded Shoes” is a Song of the Year contender).
Blues queen Adia Victoria also has an Album of the Year nomination for A Southern Gothic, and she’s on the slate of Emerging Act of the Year nominees with Morgan Wade, Neal Francis, Sierra Ferrell and Brittney Spencer. (Victoria and Spencer have already been having a pretty delightful convo about coordinating stage wear for the event.) Longtime local-scene MVP Larissa Maestro, who has been touring as part of Russell’s band (you can catch them at The Basement East on Sunday, by the way), is among this year’s Instrumentalist of the Year nominees.
Check out the complete list below, and visit the ticketing site for your AmericanaFest pass options. A basic Festival Pass (which gets you into most shows, excepting the Honors and Awards ceremony) starts at $175.
AmericanaFest Honors and Awards 2022 Nominees
Album of the Year
Brandi Carlile, In These Silent Days, produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings
Allison Russell, Outside Child, produced by Dan Knobler
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raise the Roof, produced by T Bone Burnett
Adia Victoria, A Southern Gothic, produced by Mason Hickman and Adia Victoria, executive produced by T Bone Burnett
Yola, Stand for Myself, produced by Dan Auerbach
Artist of the Year
Brandi Carlile
Jason Isbell
Allison Russell
Billy Strings
Yola
Duo/Group of the Year
Big Thief
Los Lobos
The Mavericks
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
The War and Treaty
Emerging Act of the Year
Sierra Ferrell
Neal Francis
Brittney Spencer
Adia Victoria
Morgan Wade
Instrumentalist of the Year
Ethan Ballinger
Brian Farrow
Larissa Maestro
Shelby Means
Justin Moses
Song of the Year
James McMurty, “Canola Fields,” written by James McMurtry
Yola, “Diamond Studded Shoes,” written by Dan Auerbach, Natalie Hemby, Aaron Lee Tasjan and Yola
Sturgill Simpson feat. Willie Nelson, “Juanita,” written by Sturgill Simpson
Allison Russell, “Persephone,” written by Jeremy Lindsay and Allison Russell
Brandi Carlile, “Right on Time,” written by Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth
