The nominees for the 2020 Americana Music Honors and Awards are in and leading the pack is Tanya Tucker along with Brandi Carlile, the Highwomen and more, who each have multiple nominations.
The ceremony itself will be held on September 16th at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, however the exact structure in light of Coronavirus situation is yet to be determined. The typically awards coincide with AmericanaFest, however since that has been canceled, the jury is still out on whether or not tickets will be sold to the general public.
So without further ado, the nominees are…
Artist of the Year
Brandi Carlile
Brittany Howard
John Prine
Tanya Tucker
Yola
Album of the Year
“And It’s Still Alright,” Nathaniel Rateliff, Produced by James Barone, Patrick Meese and Nathaniel Rateliff
“Country Squire,” Tyler Childers, Produced by David Ferguson and Sturgill Simpson
“The Highwomen,” The Highwomen, Produced by Dave Cobb
“Jaime,” Brittany Howard, Produced by Brittany Howard
“While I’m Livin’,” Tanya Tucker, Produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings
Song of the Year
“And It’s Still Alright,” Nathaniel Rateliff, Written by Nathaniel Rateliff
“Bring My Flowers Now,” Tanya Tucker, Written by Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker
“Crowded Table,” The Highwomen, Written by Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna
“My Love Will Not Change,” Aubrie Sellers featuring Steve Earle, Written by Billy Burnette and Shawn Camp
“Stay High,” Brittany Howard, Written by Brittany Howard
“Thoughts and Prayers,” Drive-By Truckers, Written by Patterson Hood
Duo/Group of the Year
Black Pumas
Drive-By Truckers
The Highwomen
Buddy & Julie Miller
Our Native Daughters
Emerging Act of the Year
Black Pumas
Katie Pruitt
Aubrie Sellers
Billy Strings
Kelsey Waldon
Instrumentalist of the Year
Ellen Angelico
Annie Clements
Brittany Haas
Zachariah Hickman
Rich Hinman
And that being said, who could forget Tyler Childers’ acceptance speech at the 2018 Americana Music Honors and Awards ceremony back in 2018?
Tyler Childers was presented with the award for Emerging Artist of the Year, however after Anthony Mason mispronounced his name (Child-ers, instead of Chill-ders), Tyler took the stage and let the crowd know how he really feels about the term “Americana.”
“As a man who identifies as a country music singer, I feel Americana ain’t no part of nothin. It is a distraction from the issues that we are facing on a bigger level as country music singers. It kind of feels like ‘Purgatory’.”
He recently doubled down on his comments in an interview with World Cafe, so I can only imagine what he would say if he won this. One thing is for sure however, they definitely pronounce his name correctly…
