19 December 2018
Newsdesk
British Americana fans will be flocking to Hackney, East London for 3 days celebration of the genre in January as AmericanaFest UK returns for its 4th year. The coveted UK Americana Awards 2019 will be the cherry on the top of the three days of showcases and conferences.
Americana Music Association UK are proud to announce another incredible line up for their annual gala UK Americana Award Show on the 31st January. The star-studded evening, that follows two nights of showcases, will include special performances from celebrated nominees and special guests Graham Nash, Rhiannon Giddens, Ethan Johns, Israel Nash, Yola Carter, Jade Bird, Curse of Lono, Mary Gauthier, Ben Glover, Bennet Wilson Poole, Seth Lakeman and Chris Hillman.
This year the After Party will be open to everyone who has an awards show ticket (entry on a capacity basis, one in one out) and is hosted by Visit Tennessee and Americana Music Association Nashville. The party will be presented by East Nashville band Wild Ponies and Special Guests (expect lots of brilliant surprise appearances)
AMA-UK recently announced two guest hosts for the showcase festival; Thirty Tigers and Canadian Music Export. On the 30 January renowned Nashville label Thirty Tigers will host a stellar line up at the Moth Club. AmericanaFest UK and Thirty Tigers are excited to today announce a 50/50 UK to US line up comprising of new global Thirty Tigers signing Ida Mae, acclaimed guitarist and singer-songwriter John Smith and folk-rock royalty The Rails from the UK along-side multi-talented music legend John Oates, Ray Benson & Katie Shore of country music group Asleep At The Wheel and Red Dirt singer-songwriter Wade Bowen from the US.
President and Co-Founder of Thirty Tigers David Macias commented:
“The UK market is particularly important to Thirty Tigers, because it is the second biggest market for most of our acts. It’s imperative that if we’re going to serve artists of the calibre of John Prine, Jason Isbell and Lucinda Williams, we need to be able to answer their needs around the world. The AMA-UK organization provides Thirty Tigers a community of like-minded music business professionals that help us spread the word for our beloved family of artists.”
Thirty Tigers’ distinguished line up is in addition to Canadian Blast at The Empire Bar on January 29 hosted by Canadian Music Export which will showcase Leeroy Stagger, Oh Susanna, Harrow Fair, Kaia Kater, Madison Violet and Pretty Archie. Also performing as part or the Southern Comfort & Bluegrass Situation event will be Chance McCoy (from Old Crow Medicine Show) and Rachel Baimen (from 10 String Symphony).
As Americana evolves and the charts reflect the popularity of the genre, The Americana Music Association UK’s (AMA-UK) membership has grown rapidly and therefore the event has grown too. The conference venue is bigger, the talks will take place over 3 days and there will be an incredible 48 artists showcasing at 5 venues over 2 days! To top it all, the Awards show has moved to the iconic Hackney Empire. Bands attending the showcase also reflect the pull of the genre and are truly trans-Atlantic, coming from here in the UK and also the USA and Canada.
50 acts will showcase over two nights across four venues, all within walking distance, in the days preceding the Awards.
AmericanaFest UK is open to non-members who want to just attend the showcase gigs.
Awards Show performances:
Graham Nash (Life Time Achievement recipient)
Rhiannon Giddens (Key Note Speaker)
Ethan Johns (UK Artist of the Year Nominee)
Israel Nash (International Song of the year nominee)
Yola Carter (Special Guest to AMA-UK)
Jade Bird (UK Song of the Year Nominee)
Curse of Lono (Emerging Artist Award recipients)
Mary Gauthier (International Artist of The Year nominee)
Ben Glover (UK Album Of The Year nominee)
Bennett Wilson Poole (UK Album and UK Artist of The Year nominees)
Seth Lakeman (UK Instrumentalist nominee)
Chris Hillman (UK Instrumentalist nominee)
Other acts confirmed to play so far are Bennett Wilson Pool, Smith & Brewer, Amber Rubarth, Sam Morrow, Nicki Bluhm, Mike Farris, Ethan Johns and The Black Eyed Dogs, The Hanging Stars, Neilson Hubbard, Carson McHone, The Hungry Mothers, William The Conqueror, Michaela Anne, Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou, Caleb Caudle, Amy Speace, Martha L Healy, Noble Jacks, Caroline Spence, The Blue Highways, Lucas and King, Wild Ponies, Birds of Chicago, Jamie Freeman, Police Dog Hogan, Austin Lucas and Martin Harley.
This year’s artist spotlight interview will be conducted by BBC Ulster’s Ralph McLean chatting with Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel. Bob Harris will be in conversation with the venerable John Oates, whose recent album Arkansas pays tribute to American music’s roots. Following her incredibly well-received Guest Curatorship of Cambridge Folk Festival, US musician Rhiannon Giddens will be giving the keynote speech.
Day one of the conference includes ‘AMA-UK AmericanaFest UK Welcome & Board Q&A’ followed by panels on 30 January which encompass many talking points within the genre - ‘Diversity in Americana: Breaking Down The Barriers’, ‘Oh Sister, Where Art Thou: Women in Americana Music’, ‘Americana in Film, TV & Games’ and ‘Are You Export Ready?’. On 31 January, there will be a song writing workshop, film and presentation, as well as the final panel of AmericanaFest UK, ‘Honing Your Craft At Songwriting Camps’. Panellists will include Ian Neil (Film Music Supervisor), Samantha Carew (Sky TV Music) and Ben Summer (Music Supervisor at Feel For Music), Matt Biffa (Music Supervisor at Air Edel), Emily Barker (Artist/composer) and Angela Penhaligon (Film, TV & Ads Music Supervisor) amongst other artists and music industry professionals.
AMA-UK are delighted to welcome Bluegrass Situation to AmericanaFest UK 2019 who will be hosting a pre-showcase networking event (open to all wristband holders) with Southern Comfort on the 29 Jan at Night Tales - presenting amazing artists Rachel Baimen and Chance McCoy.
Full List of Awards Nominees:
Trailblazer Award
Selected by the board members, this special award celebrates a UK artist, duo or group that has taken an exceptional path, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps in developing the Americana genre. The 2019 recipient will be Joe Boyd.
Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award
Selected by Bob Harris OBE, this special award celebrates the breakthrough artist, duo or group that has particularly impressed the legendary music broadcaster throughout the year. The 2018 recipient will be Curse Of Lono.
Best Selling Americana Album
AMA-UK works with The Official Charts Company to create the UK Americana Album Chart. This Award is given to the bestselling Americana Album by a UK Artist. The 2019 recipient will be announced in January.
Grass Roots Award
Selected by the board members, this special award celebrates the sometimes un-sung heroes of the UK Americana scene. It is presented to individuals working in the industry (in a capacity other than as artists) who have made outstanding efforts to support Americana music from the grass roots up. The 2019 recipients are Immy Doman and Risa Tabatznik of The Green Note
UK Album of the Year
• All On Red by Orphan Colours (produced by Steve Llewellyn, Fred Abbott and Rupert Christie)
• Bennett Wilson Poole by Bennett Wilson Poole (produced by Tony Poole)
• Shorebound by Ben Glover (produced by Neilson Hubbard and Ben Glover)
• Treetop Flyers by Treetop Flyers (produced by Reid Morrison, Sam Beer and Laurie Sherman)
International Album of the Year
• By The Way I Forgive You by Brandi Carlile (produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings)
• Let Your Kindness Remain by Courtney Marie Andrews (produced by Mark Howard and Courtney Marie Andrews)
• Ruins by First Aid Kit (produced by Tucker Martine)
• The Tree of Forgiveness by John Prine (produced by Dave Cobb)
UK Song of the Year
• Be More Kind by Frank Turner (written by Frank Turner)
• Chicago by Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker (written by Josienne Clarke)
• Southern Wind by Dean Owens (written by Dean Owens and Will Kimbrough)
• Uh-huh by Jade Bird (written by Jade Bird)
International Song of the Year
• Hold Your Head Up High by Darlingside (written by Auyon Mukharji, Caitlin Canty and Donald Mitchell)
• Mockingbird by Ruston Kelly (written by Ruston Kelly)
• Rolling On by Israel Nash (written by Israel Nash)
• The Joke by Brandi Carlile (written by Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth)
UK Artist of the Year
• Bennett Wilson Poole
• Ethan Johns
• Robert Plant
• The Wandering Hearts
International Artist of the Year
• John Prine
• Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
• Mary Gauthier
• Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
UK Instrumentalist of the Year
• CJ Hillman
• Gwenifer Raymond
• Martin Harley
• Seth Lakeman
