Pictured are (l-r): AMA Executive Director Jed Hilly, Benmont Tench, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Rosanne Cash, Levon Helm, Joy Williams, T Bone Burnett,
John Paul White, Jim Lauderdale, Byron Isaacs (photo by Taylor Hill)
Robert Plant & Elizabeth Cook Lead Nominee Class of ’11
Americana Music Honors & Awards Announced
Rosanne Cash Reveals Elite List at Reception in NYC
NEW YORK, May 23, 2011-The Americana Music Association saluted the year’s best today as Rosanne Cash announced the list of 2011 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards nominees during a moving and emotional event at the Gibson/Baldwin Showroom in New York City.
Live music anchored the revelry: gripping performances by The Civil Wars, was followed by a plush set from Levon Helm and His Dirt Farmer Quartet featuring Jim Lauderdale and then Cash, with Benmont Tench on keys. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean also joined the New York celebration, offering praise of the Music City-Americana Music Association. T Bone Burnett, also on hand, gave a poignant statement saluting the artists for “telling the truth” through their music.
A cultural crossroads of groove and grit, Americana music is the home of spit-polished tradition and original risk takers, and the artists tapped for the 2011 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards reflect the genre’s multi-generational emphasis on story and soul.
Elizabeth Cook and Robert Plant lead the pack with three nominations each: Cook’s Welder was tapped in the Album of the Year field, while her “El Camino” earned a Song of the Year nomination. Robert Plant and the Band of Joy will compete for Duo/Group of the Year, while their effort Band of Joy received an Album of the Year nod. Both Cook and Plant are also up for Artist of the Year.
Two recent New/Emerging Artist of the Year honorees are fulfilling that award’s prophecy: 2009 recipient Justin Townes Earle garnered two nods, including Album of the Year for Harlem River Blues and Song of the Year for the album’s title track, while last year’s winner Hayes Carll received taps for Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for “Kmag Yoyo.”
The Civil Wars and Mumford and Sons each earned nominations in both the New/Emerging Artist and Duo/Group of the Year categories, while Buddy Miller also secured two nods: Artist and Instrumentalist of the Year.
The Album of the Year field also includes Lucinda Williams’ Blessed, while the Song of the Year category is rounded out by The Decemberists featuring Gillian Welch’s “Down by the Water.” The Avett Brothers are up for Duo/Group of the Year—an honor the band took home in 2010—while Sarah Jarosz, Will Kimbrough, Gurf Morlix and Kenny Vaughan will all also compete for Instrumentalist of the Year.
THE 2011 AMERICANA MUSIC ASSOCIATION HONORS AND AWARDS NOMINEES:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Band of Joy, Robert Plant
Welder, Elizabeth Cook
Harlem River Blues, Justin Townes Earle
Blessed, Lucinda Williams
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Elizabeth Cook
Hayes Carll
Robert Plant
NEW/EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
The Civil Wars
Mumford And Sons
The Secret Sisters
Jessica Lea Mayfield
DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Avett Brothers
The Civil Wars
Mumford And Sons
Robert Plant and the Band Of Joy
SONG OF THE YEAR
Decemberists with Gillian Welch- “Down By The Water”
Elizabeth Cook – “El Camino”
Hayes Carll – “Kmag Yoyo”
Justin Townes Earle – “Harlem River Blues”
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Gurf Morlix
Kenny Vaughan
Sarah Jarosz
Will Kimbrough
The cornerstone of the Americana Music Conference and Festival, the 10th Annual Americana Music Association Honors & Awards ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, October 13 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Americana music has always been about cherishing history even as it pushes boldly forward, and the Americana Music Association’s decade of song and camaraderie embodies that balance.
Slated for Wednesday, October 12 through Saturday, October 15, 2011, the 11th Annual Americana Festival and Conference offers daily seminars, panels and networking opportunities at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel. The event brings more than 100 stacked musical showcases to key venues throughout Nashville.