AmericanaFest

For the second year in a row, bluegrass guitar innovator and live roots phenom Billy Strings was named Artist of the Year at the 22nd annual Americana Honors and Awards. Unlike last year, Strings was on hand to accept his custom trophy and then join the night's huge cast of assembled artists to play a snapping guitar solo on the show finale jam on "Cripple Creek," a salute to The Band's great songwriter and singer Robbie Robertson, who died in August.

Tune into WMOT's broadcast of the 2023 AmericanaFest Day Stage from 12 PM to 5 PM this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for live coverage of every performance.

AmericanaFest is a controlled explosion, a circus maximus, an idea so crazy that it just might work. The Americana Music Association has been pulling this thing off for 23 years, so it’s got staying power. It’s grown from a handful of shows at a few bars to a sprawl of 220 artists playing at 40+ venues from the far West End to far East Nashville, so it has drawing power too. And it’s back, between Tuesday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 23. We’re as ready as we can be (including three afternoons of loaded Day Stage performances). How about you?

Husband and wife duo Goldpine talk about their sophomore album, Two, out today. Their Americana Fest debut is Friday, September 22nd at The Five Spot in East Nashville.

Charley Crockett, a new era Texas troubadour, and Margo Price, the East Nashville indie country phenom, will lead the pack into the 2023 Americana Honors and Awards with three nominations each for Artist, Album and Song of the Year. This year’s selections were announced Tuesday afternoon at the National Museum of African American Music by Americana Music Association board member Gina Miller.

For the second year, WMOT took over the Wash at East Side Bowl in Madison to host three days of hand-picked master musicians that told the story of AmericanaFest 2022. Nashville's award-winning photographer John Partipilo was on hand to capture the sights while WMOT broadcast the sounds.

The 21 years since the birth of the Americana Music Association’s annual fall convention and festival have been rough on the American people but good for America’s music. It recalls the breakthroughs and beauty that came from the grassroots during the Great Depression. Hard times inspire art. As I traversed the city during my own 21st AmericanaFest, I saw a vibrant community, full showcases, exciting special events and optimism about the business.

Photos by John Partipilo from the first day of the AmericanaFest Day Stage presented by WMOT, NPR Music and World Cafe.

A bluegrass artist won the Americana Music Association's Artist of the Year award for the first time, as guitarist, singer, songwriter and bandleader Billy Strings took the final prize of Wednesday night at the 21st Honors and Awards. As with his 2021 IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award, Strings was on the road entertaining, but bluegrass star instrumentalist Jerry Douglas presented and accepted on his behalf. By contrast, much of the energy of the evening inside the Ryman Auditorium came from two women who've dominated the Americana conversation for the past couple of years, Allison Russell and Brandi Carlile.

Photos from our WMOT Wired In AmericanaFest Edition by photojournalist John Partipilo.