americana music

The 24th Americana Music Honors & Awards took place Wednesday night at the Ryman Auditorium. Powerhouse vocalist and songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff won a surprise Album of the Year. Sierra Ferrell accepted Artist of the Year in absentia. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings returned to the winner’s circle. And Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Darrell Scott, Joe Henry, the Old 97’s, and the McCrary Sisters, who delivered the most emotional performance of the night.

The Americana Music Association was born at a series of meetings by roots music executives and advocates in 1999. As the AMA wraps up its 25th anniversary year, the scene it’s helped foster is bigger and more star-studded than its original organizers might have predicted. The 4,000-member organization has achieved many goals, from Grammy recognition to a more diverse and inclusive artist community. It has launched an educational foundation. To find out what’s next, Craig Havighurst and a team of MTSU student reporters surveyed members and sector veterans to find out what AMA might do next to maintain its momentum.

Americana artists Michael Trotter, Tanya Trotter (The War and Treaty), and Todd Snider launched podcasts from quarantine in recent weeks. Michael and…

Before last weekend’s Pilgrimage Festival was wiped out by heavy rains, for a bustling six hours on Saturday, the Americana Music Triangle Experience told…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CRAIG HAVIGHURST) -- Fans of classic country music have complained for years that the CMA Awards and CMA itself give short shrift to the…