Along with the heat, AMERICANAFEST 2026 returned to Nashville, Tennessee, the Americana Music Association gathered its members and fans at the Ryman Auditorium last night to hand out its Americana Honors & Awards. The Milk Carton Kids also returned to host the awards, which is always a great show packed with heartfelt acceptance speeches and memorable performances.
This year featured performances by Lifetime Achievement Honoree Robert Plant, Brandi Carlile, I’m With Her, Jesse Welles, Kathleen Edwards, Ken Pomeroy, Margo Price, Molly Tuttle, S.G. Goodman, a Heartbreakers reunion with Chris Stapleton, and more.
In addition to the scheduled tributes to Dolly Parton and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, there two unanticipated ones: Elizabeth Cook and Hayes Carll performed Tod Snider's “Play a Train Song,” and the final song of the night was Raul Malo's “Dance the Night Away.”
Again, the Americana Music Association spread the wealth around as no nominee took home more than one award. However, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings were awarded the Duo/Group Award for the second consecutive year. A full list of nominees and recipients (in bold) is below. Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Dolly Parton, Robert Plant, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
