The table was set on Thursday for this Fall’s 25th annual Americana Honors and Awards with nominations across the awards’ five categories. Those looking for patterns or breakout acts won’t find them, with recognition being widely spread.
Margo Price was the only musician getting the nod for both Album of the Year (for Hard Headed Woman) and Artist of the Year, but S.G Goodman saw her album Planting By The Signs and her song “Snapping Turtles” honored in their respective categories. Brandi Carlile, Artist of the Year in 2019 and 2021, might win again, and she’s also got a Song of the Year prospect with “Returning To Myself.”
Ken Pomeroy became a rare Emerging Act of the Year nominee to also have an Album of the Year contender in her acclaimed debut Cruel Joke. Liberia-born Mon Rovia was tapped as a fellow Emerging Act nominee while being included in the Song of the Year category for “Heavy Foot.” The much-awarded supergroup I’m With Her was tapped in Song list for the title cut of their Wild And Clear And Blue album, as well as in the Duo/Group category.
Which is to say that there’s a lot of top-shelf talent spread around these nominees and around the Americana category, and we’ll find out who the winners are on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The ceremony falls in the middle of Americanafest, which returns for its 26th year between Sept. 15-19. A full list of nominees follows:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Snipe Hunter, Tyler Childers; Produced by Tyler Childers, Rick Rubin & Nick Sanborn
Billionaire, Kathleen Edwards; Produced by Jason Isbell & Gena Johnson
Planting by the Signs, S.G. Goodman; Produced by S.G. Goodman, Matthew Rowan & Drew Vandenberg
Cruel Joke, Ken Pomeroy; Produced by Colton Jean, Dakota McDaniel & Gary Paczosa
Hard Headed Woman, Margo Price; Produced by Matt Ross-Spang
ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Brandi Carlile
Charley Crockett
Margo Price
Molly Tuttle
Jesse Welles
DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Flatland Cavalry
I'm With Her
Mumford & Sons
Turnpike Troubadours
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
EMERGING ACT OF THE YEAR:
Boy Golden
Crowe Boys
Kashus Culpepper
Ken Pomeroy
Mon Rovîa
SONG OF THE YEAR:
"Returning To Myself," Brandi Carlile; Written by Brandi Carlile
"Snapping Turtle," S.G. Goodman; Written by S.G. Goodman
"Wild and Clear and Blue," I'm With Her; Written by Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan & Sara Watkins
"Heavy Foot," Mon Rovîa; Written by Grant Averill, Eric Cromartie, Cooper Holzman & Andrew Lowe
"The World's Gone Wrong," Lucinda Williams (feat. Brittney Spencer); Written by Tom Overby,
Doug Pettibone & Lucinda Williams
