As soon as WMOT’s Roots Radio format was up and running eight years ago, the station leaned hard into Americanafest. This longstanding event brings together our music and our people in our home market of Music City, so how could we not? Our well-connected program director Jessie Scott began booking long days of live sets by some of the top shelf artists in the field. In 2017, we were in a variety of venues, including the famous temporary tent at 6th & Peabody. In 2018, we became partners with NPR Music and World Cafe, setting up at The Local on West End with such illustrious stars as Richard Thompson, Alejandro Escovedo, and Amy Helm. We became, if we may say so, an Americanafest institution.
A few years ago, we found a hip and comfortable home with acres of free parking at Eastside Bowl in Madison, so that’s where we hope to see you this week. Our Day Stage 2024 runs from Wed., 9/18 to Friday, 9/20 from noon to five. It’s free for all WMOT members and Americanafest pass holders. All manner of beverages are on sale. You can bring your own folding festival chair (with the understanding that if we reach capacity we may have to clear standing room in front of the stage). And if you can’t make it in person, we’ll be broadcasting the sets with excellent sound and picture via our YouTube channel or the player embedded here. Please link to this page as you share this event with friends. To become a member, go HERE.
So with that, here are some notes about this year’s lineup, because it’s like a microcosm of the festival showcases going on all over town, and you won’t have to take an Uber between sets.
Wednesday opens with Lizzie No, one of the most uncategorizable voices and stylists among the wave of African American indie artists of the past five years. A harpist, guitarist, singer and songwriter, Lizzie draws on whatever sound she needs to bring her righteous and personal messages home, across an impressive catalog and her newest album Halfsies. Oliver Wood feels like an old friend of Nashville Americana after so many projects with the Wood Brothers and his relaxed and grooving solo projects, the latest being the slinky Fat Cat Silhouette, produced by rhythm shaman Jano Rix. The day ends with Cris Jacobs, profiled here as a kingpin of roots rock in and around Baltimore, MD who made a brilliant reboot album called One Of These Days with a bluegrass attitude and help from the Infamous Stringdusters. Paul Thorn and Shemekia Copeland are much beloved by our listeners.
Thursday gets going with some authentic Arkansas hillbilly vibe as singer, songwriter and bass player Melissa Carper shared the country soul she’s laid down on a trio of solo albums cut at Nashville’s all analog Bomb Shelter. The latest of those bombshells is the swinging but gritty Borned In Ya. The title cut celebrates the influence of Hank Williams, Leadbelly and Hazel Dickens, with whom Carper has much in common. Uncle Lucius, the Austin band led by Kevin Galloway, has been on a tear since regrouping this year after a hiatus and releasing the joyful, danceable Like It’s The Last One Left. Chris Smither is a blues legend with 60 years on stage and no end of kindly soul and intelligence. Leyla McCalla brings a wide ranging awareness of world folklores, string arranging, and Caribbean rhythms to her utterly unique and beguiling sound. Country rocker Sam Morrow wraps the day.
Melissa Carper returns to our stage on Friday when she joins the Wonder Women of Country, the surprising but now indispensable trio with Kelly Willis and Brennen Leigh. The chemistry and songwriting prowess here is a true triple threat. This day starts with bilingual singer-songwriter Alisa Amador, winner of the 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Contest. To close out, a run of artists I’m especially looking forward to. Roots music star Amy Helm has stepped in for Ruth Moody, who had to postpone due to illness, and our fans know what that means - silk and soul from the brilliant New Yorker behind a string of magical recordings, including this July's Silver City. Then Minneapolis brother band Cactus Blossoms will show us why they’re so much more than an Everly Brothers copycat. Their new Every Time I Think About You is rich in atmosphere and warmth.
Then we wrap the week with an act that feels to me as momentous as last year’s finale with Lyle Lovett. California roots rocker and folk singer Dave Alvin will be an official Americana Lifetime Achievement Award winner by the time we see him take the stage on Friday with his old friend, the Texas icon Jimmie Dale Gilmore. They made the collaborative album Downey To Lubbock (their hometowns) in 2018. This year they reunited for Texicali, a collection of mostly original songs backed by Alvin's Band The Guilty Ones. They’re “still here,” as they sing on the co-written closer, and we couldn’t be more grateful that they’ll be there with us later this week. Update on 9/20: Jimmie Dale Gilmore reports an illness, so the 4 pm show will feature Dave Alvin & The Guilty Ones.
Here’s the complete schedule of artists for our 2024 Day Stage. See you there or online.
Wednesday, September 18th
12:00 PM - Lizzie No
1:00 PM - Paul Thorn
2:00 PM - Shemekia Copeland
3:00 PM - Oliver Wood
4:00 PM - Cris Jacobs
Thursday, September 19th
12:00 PM - Melissa Carper
1:00 PM - Uncle Lucius
2:00 PM - Chris Smither
3:00 PM - Leyla McCalla
4:00 PM - Sam Morrow
Friday, September 20th
12:00 PM - Alisa Amador
1:00 PM - Wonder Women of Country
2:00 PM - Amy Helm
3:00 PM - The Cactus Blossoms
4:00 PM - Dave Alvin & The Guilty Ones
