As luck would have it, I'm in New York City this week for a number of reasons. But, today, it just so happened that the Americana Music Association was holding an event at the Gibson Showroom uptown, just west of the south end of Central Park, to announce the nominees for its 2011 Americana Music Awards.
The event was really fantastic. In case you didn't have a chance to watch the live stream (which Kyla posted here earlier), it was just a small gathering of industry folks in a recording studio uptown. T Bone Burnett swung by to accept an overdo award. Levon Helm sat in with an all-star band of past Americana Music Award winners. Benmont Tench accompanied on piano, Jim Lauderdale did some tunes on guitar, and Rosanne Cash delivered a terrific rendition of "Long Black Veil" from her 2010 AMA Award-Winning album The List. The Civil Wars were also on hand to play a couple songs, although I was running late and unfortunately arrived just as they were finishing up. Then, all the artists got together to perform "The Weight." This was, no doubt, the most incredible moment of the event, with Helm dropping his natural soul on one of the verses, before handing the next one to Cash.
Once the nominees were announced, everyone gathered for cornbread and drinks in the control room, while the artists posed for a photo op. In all, a wonderful kickoff event to what will, no doubt, be an even more memorable week this fall in Nashville. The 2011 Americana Music Honors & Awards will be handed out during the Americana Music Festival and Conference this Oct. 12-15 in Nashville Tenn. For more information, visit the AMA Website.
Now, without further ado, this year's nominees:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Band of Joy - Robert Plant
Welder - Elizabeth Cook
Harlem River Blues - Justin Townes Earle
Blessed - Lucinda Williams
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Elizabeth Cook
Hayes Carll
Robert Plant
NEW/EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
The Civil Wars
Mumford & Sons
Secret Sisters
Jessica Lea Mayfield
SONG OF THE YEAR
"Down by the Water" - The Decemberists
"El Camino" - Elizabeth Cook
"KMAG YOYO - Hayes Carll
"Harlem River Blues" - Justin Townes Earle
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Gurf Morlix
Kenny Vaughan
Sarah Jarosz
Will Kimbrough
DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Avett Brothers
The Civil Wars
Mumford & Sons
Robert Plant & the Band of Joy
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