On Sept. 11–16, the Americana Music Association and the city of Nashville will be hosting the 19th annual AmericanaFest: The Americana Music Festival & Conference. The organization announced the first 74 artists participating in this year's festivities — including GRAMMY winners John Carter Cash, Jerry Douglas, The Earls of Leicester, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Lee Ann Womack — 200 more artist announcements are promised soon. GRAMMY nominees expected to perform at the festival this fall include Brandy Clark, Tommy Emmanuel and John Oates.
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The associated Americana Honors & Awards will be held on Sept. 12 at the Ryman Auditorium, and hundreds of performances will take place across Nashville's many beloved and historic music venues. Headline names such as American Aquarium, Drivin N Cryin, Alejandro Escovedo, Mary Gauthier, Ron Pope, and Joe Purdy are all well regarded exemplars of this growing genre that celebrates and displays its deep roots and profound ability to haunt the imagination.
It's a good thing Nashville has proven its ability to host all that talent, but attendees should be prepared to be not only overwhelmed, but also uplifted and inspired by how much the Americana community cares.
For instance, Jerry Douglas donated his time to meet with lawmakers about creators' rights as part of GRAMMYs on the Hill on April 18. The acknowledged master of the dobro has 14 GRAMMY wins. His most recent was at the 57th GRAMMY Awards as part of the the band lineup on the Earls of Leicester's 2014 self-titled debut album.
Also, on April 24, Lee Ann Womack's Nashville performance at A.J.'s Good Time Bar is raising funds for MusiCares, helping to deliver vital assistance and services to musicians in need.
At a recent visit to Recording Academy headquarters, Brandy Clark sat down for our One Take rapid-fire questions and shared that her favorite place to eat in Nashville is Monell's. Like the lineup for AmericanaFest, there is a lot to choose from, many of the choices are historic, and it seems reasonable to anticipate having a very good time.
AmericanaFest 2017 drew more than 50,000 aggregate attendees to its 500 performances. Festival wristband and conference registration sales are online at AmericanaMusic.org.
