Well, as the old saying goes, sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug. The Americana Music Association held the 10th edition of their awards ceremony last night, honoring the best the genre had to offer in 2010/2011. The show itself was outstanding, a true celebration of the finest music created in the world today. There were many highlights which backed up the reason I love Nashville so much. There are things that you see on stage in this town that only happens in Nashville, Tennessee. If you have never been to Nashville, get your butt down here soon, this place is a gem.
Anyway, back to the show. Yesterday I made my predictions as to how the chips would fall during the proceedings, and honestly, I would stand by them today. This doesn't mean that my predictions were right ... I only connected on two of them. However, I feel this demonstrates the depth and quality of the talent and the projects that were up for consideration this year. I could have written another entire article with entirely different selections and made a great case for those other selections. Then, I could have written another, and another and so on ... all justifying why each of nominee deserved to win their respective awards. In the years I have been following music, I have never witnessed the depth of talent and quality that was up for consideration. The Association will be hard pressed to top the nominee list next year, but I feel the challenge can and will be met.
The Instrumentalist of the Year went, to the surprise of no one I'm sure, to Buddy Miller. Buddy was once again the band leader for the Awards show and had ample time to showcase why he wins this award year after year.
Justin Townes Earle received the honor of Song of the Year for "Harlem River Blues", the title track to his latest Bloodshot Records release. All of the artists nominated in this category performed their song with the exception of The Decemberists with Gillian Welch as they were not present at the ceremony.
In what I felt was the first big surprise of the evening, The Avett Brothers picked up the award for Duo/Group of the Year. This isn't to say they are not deserving recipients. Everyone in this category had an excellent year, and The Avett Brothers are no exception. When I was making the call as to who would win this award, I felt that overall Mumford and Sons topped the other nominees over the course of the year. The Civil Wars have exploded on the scene and have brought new fans to the genre. They can look forward to a very long career in Americana.
The next surprise was in the New and Emerging Artist category. While I was convinced that The Civil Wars would pick up this award, as they clearly have emerged in a big way this year, the same argument can be made for the winner Mumford and Sons. Mumford and Sons were not present to accept the award but they did have their good friend Jerry Douglas accept on their behalf and read a statement from the group thanking everyone for their support. It is worth noting that Mumford and Sons' album "Sigh No More" is closing in on double-platinum status in the United States with sales approaching 2,000,000 copies. Mumford and Sons are currently on tour in North America.
The surprises in my mind kept coming for the next two awards. Yesterday, I said in this space that this would be the year of the Cook. The Association, while I'm loves Elizabeth Cook, decided otherwise. The Album of the Year was awarded to Robert Plant and the Band of Joy for their album "Band of Joy". Again, a deserving win as a great case could be made for this album to receive this award.
The final award of the evening was also the most interesting choice. Buddy Miller walked away the big winner of the night with the Artist of the Year award, giving him a total of 3 awards for the evening when you include his participation in the Band of Joy album.
Receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards for their extensive careers and contributions to music are the following:
Executive -- Rick Hall
Instrumentalist -- Jerry Douglas
Songwriter -- Lucinda Williams
Trailblazer -- Bob Harris
Performer -- Gregg Allman
With the last award of the evening being presented to Gregg Allman for Lifetime Achievement, one of the most poignant moments of music (and I'm speaking personally here) followed with Gregg Allman performing the great Allman Brothers classic "Melissa" on center stage at the Ryman Auditorium. Mr. Allman sounded in fine form and the backup band sounded outstanding. Following this performance and at the invitation of Awards show host Jim Lauderdale, several artists took the stage to close the show out with a track from Gregg Allman's "Low Country Blues" album. Most notably, joining Gregg onstage was Robert Plant. Only in Nashville, Tennessee, and at the Mother Church of Country Music the Ryman Auditorium, could one witness two legends of the music world come together and close out a show.
I'll say it again. Man alive ... I love this town.
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