Americana Music Festival announces initial showcase lineup

[Above: Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell perform at the 2007 Americana Honors & Awards Show]

Strap on that acoustic guitar and tie up that bandana, y'all. It's time to start planning for the 9th Annual Americana Music Festival and Conference, which takes place Sept. 17-20 in Nashville, and will feature everyone who's anyone in the Americana genre. The Americana Music Association recently announced the initial list of performers, but promises that many more will be added before September. The vanguard includes Jim White, The Belleville Outfit, James McMurtry, Paul Thorn, The Snake The Cross and The Crown and The SteelDrivers.

In a release, the organization anticipated an attendance of 900 artists, record execs, managers, agents and all sorts of other musical types at this year's event, which culminates in the Americana Honors & Awards show Sept. 18 at the Ryman Auditorium. This year, the ceremony will be hosted Jim Lauderdale, who has himself won awards there twice. The house band will be led by Buddy Miller, 2007's Instrumentalist of the Year.

About a month ago, AMA Executive Director Jed Hilly also announced that the recipient of this year's Americana Lifetime Achievment in Songwriting Award will be none other than John Hiatt, the man Paste's swimwear-sporting editor-in-chief interviewed on a lido deck aboard this year's Cayamo cruise. “It’s a privilege to honor John Hiatt,” Hilly said in a release. “He is the essence of what the Americana Songwriter award is all about; a true artist, a performer and songwriter whose work is steeped with integrity.” Other genre giants that have won this recognition in the past include Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark and Billie Joe Shaver, among many more.

Tickets for the Honors & Awards show can be purchased for $45 at AmericanaMusic.org (where you can also complete early conference registration) or by calling (615) 321-3836. In the coming weeks, tickets will be made available through Ticketmaster and the Ryman box office. Wristbands for the showcases run at $35 and are available at the website or at Grimey's New and Preloved Music in Nashville.

Related links:
AmericanaMusic.org
Review: Various Artists - This Is Americana [Americana Music Association]
Feature: John Hiatt: Beneath His Gruff Exterior

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