Tonight’s Americana Music Awards show sent two clear messages about the Americana Music Association: 1. The genre is inclusive, embracing young and old, rock, folk and country. 2. Forget all that. We love Buddy Miller. Miller, an extraordinary guitar player and tonight’s awards show bandleader, won both the artist of the year and instrumentalist awards, and is a member of…
Will Kimbrough at the Rutledge
Tonight’s Americana Music Festival midnight show at the Rutledge features Will Kimbrough, voted 2004 Instrumentalist of the Year by the AMA and a repeat nominee in the same category in subsequent years. Kimbrough is also a fine singer-songwriter and this is a great opportunity to see his solo set. Kimbrough is just off the road with Emmylou Harris and earlier toured…
Celebrating the music of Muscle Shoals
The 2011 Americana Music Festival began last night with an event that illustrates the genre’s greatest strengths: outstanding performances and a respect for what has come before. The 90-minute concert celebrating the Muscle Shoals sound was equal parts energy and nostalgia, with legendary figures like Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, Jimmy Johnson and David Briggs sharing the stage with some of…
Jayhawks, Will Hoge headline Americana Music Showcases
Tonight’s Americana Music Festival in Nashville kicks off with the week’s highlight, the 10th Annual Americana Honors and Awards show. Performers include Lucinda Williams, the Civil Wars, Elizabeth Cook and Buddy Miller, plus many more. Club showcases begin at 10 p.m., with the reunited Jayhawks (currently in the top spot in Americana radio with “Mocking Bird Hill”,) headlining the Cannery Ballroom…