Ameripolitan Awards Announce 2018 Nominees

ameripolitan-music-awards

The Ameripolitan Awards have just announced the nominees for their 2018 distinctions, and once again they have clearly honored their founding commitment to shining a light on artists with a strong roots influence that otherwise get overlooked by the rest of the industry.

“I’m excited about this year’s nominees and as I’m sure you will find as well, there are some folks I’ve heard of and some folks I haven’t,” says Ameripolitan founder Dale Watson. “I’m very glad it’s the fans’ job to decide the winners, as this is an amazing list of nominees. They should all be considered winners to be nominated with such worthy, talented peers.”

New this year to Ameripolitan’s special awards categories is the Legend Award, added in honor of the move to Memphis and being posthumously awarded to rock’n’roll pioneer Sam Phillips. Rounding out the special awards slate will be Brian Setzer (Master Award), Lloyd Green (Founder of the Sound) and Jim Heath (Keeper of the Key).

The 5th Annual Ameripolitan Awards will be held at the Memphis at Graceland’s Guesthouse Hotel on February 13th, 2018. This is the first year the awards won’t be held in Austin. Early scheduled performers include east Nashville throwback country maven Nikki Lane, the Godfather of Psychobilly The Reverend Horton Heat, the “Kang” of Country and Western Troubadours Unknown Hinson, Western Swing legacy keepers Asleep At The Wheel, and James “Slim” Hand. It had been previously announced that rockabilly god Brian Setzer would also be performing, but it has since been clarified that he will not be able to attend.

Along with these performers, it has also been announced that the 2018 installment will once again be hosted by Ameripolitan founder Dale Watson, along with help from co-host of The History Channel’s American Pickers, Danielle Colby.

Founded by Dale Watson after the “Old Farts & Jackasses” comments of Blake Shelton, the Ameripolitan Awards is Dale Watson’s effort to keep roots traditions alive and celebrate artists going unrecognized by the rest of the country music industry. Since the inaugural year, the awards have grown from a ballroom in a hotel in Austin, to Austin’s Paramount where people from around the country travel to take part in the festivities, to now moving to Memphis. The Ameripolitan Music Awards acknowledges “Artists whose music honors tradition while demonstrating exceptional originality, creativity, and musicianship,” and is a 501(c)3 organization.

Tickets for the event are now on sale.

– – – – – – – –

Honky Tonk Male

Luke Bell
Tilford Sellers
Zephaniah Ohora
Casey James Prestwood
Charley Crockett

Honky Tonk Female

Brennen Leigh
Kristina Murray
Tommy Ash
Whitney Rose
Emily Nenni

Honky Tonk Group

The Country Side of Harmonica Sam
The Rhyolite Sound
The Lawrence Peters Outfit
Green Line Travelers
The Reeves Brothers

Outlaw Male 

James Carothers
Scott H. Biram
Prag Padilla
Steve Griggs
Cody Jinks

Outlaw Female

Summer Dean
Andrea Colburn
Rebecca Jed
Nikki Lane
Sarah Gayle Meech

Outlaw Group

Bucksnort Beauties
Whitey Morgan and the 78s
Barnyard Stompers
Ryan Chrys & The Rough Cuts
Jenny Don’t & The Spurs

Rockabilly Male

Levi Dexter
Bloodshot Bill
Josh Sorheim
Al Dual
Art Adams

Rockabilly Female

Rockin’ Bonnie
Bailey Dee
Lindsay Beaver
Anita O’Night
Lily Locksmith

Rockabilly Group

The Go Getters
Matt & The Peabody Ducks
The Kokomo Kings
Don Diego Trio
The Twilight Drifters

Western Swing Male

Jason Roberts
Billy Mata
Kyle Eldridge
Keenan Wade
Bobby Flores

Western Swing Female 

Sophia Johnson
Wendy Newcomer
Carolyn Sills
Grace Adele
Stacey Lee Guse

Western Swing Group

Mike Penny & His Moonshiners
The Farmer and Adele
The Carolyn Sills Combo
The Western Toneflyers
The Railhouse band

Venue

Don the Beachcomber, Huntington Beach CA
American Legion Hall Post 82, Nashville TN
Southgate House Revival, Newport KY
Lee’s Liquor Lounge, Minneapolis MN
The Nashville Palace, Nashville TN
Skinny Dennis, Brooklyn, NY
Knuckleheads, Kansas City MO
The White Water Tavern, Little Rock AR
4 Corners Music Hall, Untermeitingen Germany
Sportsmen’s Tavern, Buffalo NY

D.J.

Colonel Paco Chaos, 88.1fm WRFL
W.B. Walker, Old Soul Radio Show Podcast
Bailey George, 105.7fm WBCM
Woody Adkins, 89.5fm KOPN
Jimi Palacios, 102.3fm WHIV

Festival

Screamin’ Festival, Calella, Spain
The Rockabilly Rave, England UK
Summer Jamboree, Senigallia Italy
New England Shake Up, Sturbridge MA
Rockin’ Race Jamboree, Torremolinos-MálagSpain

Musician

Chris Scruggs
Mike Bernal
Peter Andersson
Rose Sinclair
Katie Shore

© 2023 Saving Country Music