The 2012 Americana Music Awards were handed out last night, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. The awards celebrate performers in the Americana music genre, which can be loosely described as a spin-off from American roots music. Even the artists on the show have a hard time defining “Americana,” a running joke that has become a tradition in the event.
On hand to perform for the evening were such diverse artists as Bonnie Raitt, Alabama Shakes, Booker T. Jones, John Hiatt, Justin Townes Earle, Tom T. Hall, Richard Thompson and Canada’s The Deep Dark Woods, who were nominated in the emerging artist of the year category. That category was won by Alabama Shakes – the only non-Nashville-based artist to win an award.
The show opened with Buddy Miller’s All Star Band, along with several nominees, performing Booker T. & the MG’s iconic tune “Green Onions.” The event closed with the performers and nominees joining onstage for “The Weight” – a tribute to Levon Helm, who died earlier this year. As well, three artists were honoured with lifetime achievement awards: Raitt was honoured as a performer, Jones as an instrumentalist and Thompson for his songwriting. Here’s the complete list of winners:
Album of the year
This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (various artists)
Song of the year
“Alabama Pines” by Jason Isbell, from Here We Rest
Emerging artist of the year
Alabama Shakes
Artist of the year
Gillian Welch
Instrumentalist of the year
Dave Rawlings (Gillian Welch’s guitar accompanist)
Duo/group of the year
The Civil Wars
Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance
Bonnie Raitt
Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting
Richard Thompson
Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist
Booker T. Jones
Related:
Canadian country artists shine at CCMAs alongside American stars
Neil Young’s Americana returns to his folk roots
How I write: Joy Williams and John Paul White of the Civil Wars
The Civil Wars perform 'Barton Hollow' in Studio Q