The 19th annual AmericanaFest is set to take over Music City Sept. 11-16, with dozens and dozens of performers playing showcase concerts at venues all across town. The initial lineup announcement is already packed with top Nashville players, like sophisticated songsmiths Erin Rae and Mary Gauthier, country champions Lee Ann Womack and Brandy Clark and rising soul ace Devon Gilfillian.
And there's plenty more to get excited about, whether they're locals or traveling from far away: Alejandro Escovedo, Dom Flemons, Drivin N' Cryin, Mount Moriah's H.C. McEntire, Jerry Douglas, John Oates, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, Ron Pope, Phil Madeira Shemekia Copeland and ... well, you can see the entire list below. No word yet whether we'll see 2017's Emerging Artist of the Year Amanda Shires there (she's just announced that her new album will be out on Aug. 3), but there are always several rounds of artist announcements, so there's plenty of opportunity.
Passes are already available as well. Conference registrations run $199-$499 — currently, that's the only way to ensure that you can purchase tickets to the Honors and Awards concert at the Ryman on Sept. 12 — and are on sale at the Americana Music Association website. You can also buy a wristband there for $75, and you can also pick one of those up at Grimey's (they'll still be at their Eighth Avenue South location until they move this fall) or The Groove, an extra incentive to swing by this Saturday for Record Store Day (here's our roundup of events).
AmericanaFest 2018 Initial Lineup
* Alejandro Escovedo
* American Aquarium
* American Folk
* Animal Years
* The Black Lillies
* Brandy Clark
* Caitlin Canty
* Carolina Story
* Catherine Britt
* Cedric Burnside
* Chance McCoy
* The Commonheart
* Courtney Hartman
* Dawn Landes
* Dead Horses
* Devon Gilfillian
* Dom Flemons
* Drivin N’ Cryin
* The Earls of Leicester
* Emily Scott Robinson
* Erin Rae
* The Ghost of Paul Revere
* H.C. McEntire
* Hayley Thompson-King
* Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs
* Holly Macve
* Ida Mae
* Israel Nash
* Jade Jackson
* Jaime Wyatt
* Jamie McLean Band
* Jeffrey Foucault
* Jerry Douglas
* Jill Andrews
* Joe Purdy
* John Carter Cash
* John Craigie
* John Oates
* Josh Rennie-Hynes
* Katie Pruitt
* Kim Richey
* Lee Ann Womack and Friends
* Lindsay Lou
* Liz Brasher
* Lucky Lips
* Luke Winslow-King
* Lula Wiles
* Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear
* Mary Gauthier
* The McCrary Sisters
* McKenzie Lockhart
* Mountain Heart
* Nicholas Jamerson
* Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
* Phil Madeira
* Prinz Grizzley and His Beargaroos
* Ron Pope
* Ruston Kelly
* Sam Lewis
* Scott Mulvahill
* Shemekia Copeland
* Shook Twins
* The Small Glories
* Sons of Bill
* Southern Avenue
* Sunny War
* Them Coulee Boys
* Tommy Emmanuel
* Vandoliers
* The War and Treaty
* Whiskey Wolves of the West
* William Crighton
* William Prince
* Worry Dolls
