Day two of the AmericanaFest Day Stage was full of discovery including Rising Appalacia and Che Apalache and ended with a legend Tanay Tucker who performed songs from her most recent album, While I'm Living. 

In between Della Mae and Aubrie Sellers performed songs from albums soon to be released, as well guitar phenom Molly Tuttle. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSBORNE) -- Ken Burn's 16 hour long documentary focusing on Country Music debuts on PBS this Sunday.

The series is getting rave reviews from Marty Stuart, Vince Gill and other Music City stalwarts, but not everyone is a fan.

NPR music critic Ken Tucker is out with  a scathing review of the new Burns docuseries. One of Tucker’s complaints is that the series relies on interviews with Country Music stars, rather than music scholars.

WMOT and our partners NPR Music and World Cafe kicked off the AmericanaFest Day Stage from the War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville, Tenn with Robert Randoplph and the Family Band, The Mavericks, Tami Nielson, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Shawn Colvin and The Record Company.

The Day Stage continues Sept. 13 and 14 live from the War Memorial. You can watch the live video stream at VuHaus.com or here on WMOT.org.

  MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (OSBORNE) -- The State of Tennessee is reportedly willing to take the deal offered this week by Purdue Pharma to settle opioid epedemic lawsuits against the pharmacuetical giant.

However, the Associated Press reports only about half of the roughly 2,000 state and local governments pursuing the lawsuit favor the deal. Detractors say the agreement on offer doesn't sufficiently punish the company's owners, the Sackler family, for their part in causing the opioid crisis.

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — John Cooper has won the election for Nashville mayor, giving the growing southern city its third mayor in less than two years.

The metro councilman defeated incumbent Mayor David Briley in Thursday's runoff election, continuing his momentum from an Aug. 1 general election in which he outpaced Briley by about 10 percentage points. Briley conceded Thursday night.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked Tennessee's new restrictions for registering voters from taking effect on Oct. 1, saying Thursday that any benefit of the law won't likely outweigh its potential harm.

The ruling, for now, sets aside a law that goes beyond other states by fining groups that pay workers when too many incomplete registration forms are submitted. The law would also criminalize intentional infractions of a new set of rules, exposing voting advocates to misdemeanor charges.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Election Day has arrived in the runoff race for Nashville mayor.

Incumbent Mayor David Briley faces Councilman John Cooper in Thursday's election. The contest follows an Aug. 1 general election in which Cooper outpaced Briley by about 10 percentage points.

Briley began serving as mayor in March 2018 after former Mayor Megan Barry pleaded guilty to a felony and resigned over an extramarital affair with her bodyguard. Briley won a special election in May 2018 to serve the rest of Barry's term.

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. (AP) — A nonprofit that advocates for the separation of church and state has filed a formal complaint about baptisms on the football field of a Tennessee high school.

The Tennessean reports the Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote to the district last week and said Springfield High coaches must stop promoting and endorsing religion to students.

WMOT’s 2019 AmericanaFest programming kicked off in the midst of a couple of notable anniversaries. The year 2019 marks the 20th year of the Americana Music Association, launched by a group of music industry visionaries in 1999, paving the way for the annual AmericanaFest and Honors & Awards Show. This year also marks the third birthday for WMOT Roots Radio; WMOT has broadcast on 89.5 FM from the campus of Middle Tennessee State University since 1969 and officially flipped to an Americana format in September 2016.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton is warning Nashville officials that he might attempt to withhold state funding due to the city's recent executive order discouraging local cooperation with immigration officials.

Sexton, a Republican, first made the comments while talking to a local radio show Tuesday morning. A House GOP spokesman later confirmed Sexton's comments to The Associated Press.