AmericanaFest Announces Initial 68-Band Lineup for 2016
One of the most fastest-growing and well-regarded offshoots and alternatives of country music holds its annual gathering of the tribes each September in Nashville, and this year promises to be another rousing shindig after the names of the first 68 performers have been released to the public. Eventually the festival and conference will swell to around 180 participants, and events and showcases will spread throughout Nashville’s downtown corridor as folks come from around the country to take in the sights and sounds of Americana.
Headlining this year’s event are The Lumineers, who will play Nashville’s premier outdoor venue, the Ascend Amphitheater on September 20th and 22nd. Other high-profile names include Americana Godfather Buddy Miller, Lee Ann Womack, Will Hoge, and Wynonna and the Big Noise, illustrating how Americana creates a soft landing place for artists sometimes unceremoniously let go from the mainstream. There will be plenty of fresh blood as well, with artists like BJ Barham of American Aquarium, Brent Cobb, and The Cactus Blossoms performing. A few artists from the Texas scene will also make appearances, like William Clark Green, and Green River Ordinance.
The anchor of the event is the Americana Honors and Awards held on September 21st at the Ryman Auditorium. The nominees for the 17th Annual awards will be announced on May 11th.
AmericanaFest will be held between September 20th and 25th. Festival wristbands are $60 and can be purchased here.
Initial AmericanaFest Lineup:
Amy Helm
Aubrie Sellers
BRUNS
Bart Crow
BJ Barham of American Aquarium
Brent Cobb
Brian Whelan
Brian Wright
Buddy Miller
Cedric Burnside Project
Charlie Parr
Ciaran Lavery
David Ramirez
Dead Horses
Derik Hultquist
Dietrich Strause
Dylan LeBlanc
Front Country
Grant-Lee Phillips
Green River Ordinance
Hollis Brown
Indianola
Indigo Girls
Infamous Stringdusters
Jay Nash
Jesse Malin
Joe Purdy
John Paul White
Larkin Poe
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams
LAU
Lee Ann Womack
Lori McKenna
Luke Bell
Lydia Loveless
Marlon Williams
Mindy Smith
Moonsville Collective
Parker Millsap
Penny & Sparrow
Peter Bruntnell
Phil Cody
Quiet Life
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Ruby Amanfu
Ruby Boots
Ruston Kelly
Ryan Beaver
Sammy Brue
Sara Watkins
Sarah Potenza
Shawn Mullins
Sons of Bill
Sunny Sweeney
SUSTO
Teddy Thompson & Kelly Jones
The Americans
The Ballroom Thieves
The Black Lillies
The Bottle Rockets
The Cactus Blossoms
The Handsome Family
The Last Bandoleros
The Pines
Will Hoge
William Clark Green
Wynonna and the Big Noise
Kross
May 7, 2016 @ 9:42 am
So far Medicine Stone has em’ all beat, except for that no ladies thing.
Jack Williams
May 7, 2016 @ 10:01 am
Headlining this year”™s event are The Lumineers
Audible groan.
Scott S.
May 7, 2016 @ 10:10 am
That’s a lot of bands. You would have to run around like a madman to catch the ones you like.
Jeb Barry
May 7, 2016 @ 10:27 am
Denied Alaina! Guess it’s off to Europe.
Ryan
May 7, 2016 @ 5:59 pm
So glad to see John Paul White on here. This, along with some recent tweets, has me anxious to hear what he’s been up to.
I’ve always thought he was the more talented half of the Civil Wars.
Trigger
May 7, 2016 @ 9:50 pm
test
lunchbox
May 7, 2016 @ 11:11 pm
i wish i could afford to see this. this looks like it would be a blast
Frank
May 8, 2016 @ 7:12 am
Actually, JIM LAUDERDALE is the godfather of Americana and along with Lucinda Williams was the genre’s shinning light WAAAAY before anyone knew who Buddy Miller was and before they even knew what to call the music. Back when we were using terms like AAA and Alt-country. Nothing against Buddy, he’s great! Just wondering why the KING of Broken Hearts and Americana isn’t listed?
Nelson
May 8, 2016 @ 7:48 am
Jim hosts the Awards Show every year, and usually has a showcase performance of some sort during the week.
Kent
May 8, 2016 @ 9:40 am
Have everyone forgot about Gram Parsons and the various band he was playing in. And Emmylou Harris…But I won’t go into a argument about it…. I don’t se the point since there doesn’t exist any clear definition of Americana
Frank
May 8, 2016 @ 11:08 am
Americana is a business more than a defined genre. Lauderdale, Lucinda, and others helped create a alternate income stream. Americana is to country music what East Nashville is to the Green Hills area of Nashville. Same type business folks finding a way to make money off of a different uniform on musicians. Now we’re also seeing it become a retirement plan for people like LeAnn Womack, Wynonna, Bonnie Raitt, and Robert Plant. Artist that helped make it are slowly being set aside for younger/hipper acts or washed up artists that have nowhere else to go. It doesn’t have anything to do with Gram Parsons or Emmylou or a particular kind of music.
Jack Williams
May 9, 2016 @ 7:32 am
Frank, I think you’re selling Buddy Miller a bit short. And as much as I love Jim Lauderdale (I think he’s the Renaissance Man of roots music and I have close to 20 of his albums), I think Buddy was more important in the early years of Alt-Country/Americana. The two go way back together as bandmates in NYC and started their recording careers at around the same time. I think Jim was trying to make it in the mainstream country genre until maybe the late ’90s. Buddy put out two great albums in between Lucinda’s Sweet Old World and Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (my favorite of the last 25+ years or so) and maybe his best (Cruel Moon) a year later. A year after that was the first Buddy and Julie album and then his Midnight and Lonesome a year later. He was the lead guitar player in Steve Earle’s Dukes for a while and then the lead guitarist and bandleader in Emmylou’s Spyboy band. I think Steve Earle was on an amazing run during this time (Train A Comin’ through Transcendental Blues), but I would put Buddy right with him with respect to quality of recorded output.
Frank
May 9, 2016 @ 8:10 am
You’re probably right Jack. I just think Buddy is shinning bright with all of his production work and Nashville tv show work right now and you don’t hear much about Lauderdale. Also, I think through Jim’s hosting work on the awards, music city roots, WSM has brought a lot of attention to Americana. I didn’t mean to sell Buddy short. Although, I will say as a songwriter Jim’s melodies took country music to a new place that neither Buddy or Steve Earle has accomplished… actually few have pushed the boundaries of traditional country while staying authentic the way Jim Lauderdale has.
Jack Williams
May 9, 2016 @ 9:03 am
I can’t find much to disagree with there, Frank. Also, as a big Buddy Miller music fan, I’ve been disappointed that there hasn’t been a solo album since 2005 nor does he seem to be touring on his own much anymore. The last time I personally saw him fronting a band was the Cayamo cruise in 2011. So, I had to go on a cruise to see him. I did see a “Buddy and Jim” show 2 or 3 years, which was very good. What was interesting was how empty seats there were at the 500 seat venue. When Buddy was a somewhat regular recording artist, he could pack that place. I remember Jim talking about an album he recorded with Nick Lowe and his band that was apparently in the can. Hope that comes out some day soon.
…actually few have pushed the boundaries of traditional country while staying authentic the way Jim Lauderdale has.
I could not agree more. I think his bluegrass albums are a perfect example of that.
gbkeith
May 8, 2016 @ 7:59 am
Aside from shelling out the cash to the right radio promoters, is Green River Ordinance really a part of the Texas scene? Have Mike McClure or Cody Canada contributed to their record, or have they jammed with Reckless Kelly or Jason Boland? For that matter, did they play at Steamboat or LJT?
Charlie
May 9, 2016 @ 4:35 am
So much for the trend of scaling back festival lineups????
Trigger
May 9, 2016 @ 8:41 am
AmericanaFest is a different animal. It’s more akin to SXSW where you have individual showcases in various venues instead of two or three huge stages in a massive field. This amount of participants is about what they’ve been averaging over the last few years.
Mike W.
May 9, 2016 @ 9:15 am
Speaking of Ryan Beaver, any plans to review his new album Trigger? I know you get swamped with album review requests from mainstream and indie fans/artists/whatever, but I think it’s interesting that Beaver is getting some attention from outlets like American Songwriter. After listening to the album, I am personally impressed, some of the tracks are weak, but a number of the other ones are pretty damn strong.
Trigger
May 9, 2016 @ 10:09 am
He’s on the list for sure.
Bold
May 10, 2016 @ 8:56 am
SUSTO is so good. Seeing them in Nashville tonight.