Ameripolitan Awards Announce Return for 2023
One of the very last events that took place in the country and roots world right before the world was turned upside down by COVID-19 was the 2020 Ameripolitan Awards on February 24th, capping off a weekend of festivities in Memphis surrounding the Dale Watson-imagined alternative to the ills of mainstream country music and Music Row.
Charley Crockett won the award for Best Honky Tonk Male. Sweden’s Country Side of Harmonica Sam won for Best Honky Tonk Group. Other winners were Sarah Vista, Georgia Parker, and The Farmer and Adele. The show was opened with a performance by the now deceased James “Slim” Hand as he’d done since the very first Ameripolitan Awards in 2014. In fact, it was in Memphis for the Ameripolitan Awards that Charley Crockett discovered the magic of James Hand, and ended up tributing him on an album.
But with COVID-19 making gatherings and live events prohibitive, Ameripolitan has been mothballed for the last couple of years, with a few fearing if it would ever return. Well just announced, the Ameripolitan Awards, as well as a weekend full of events will return to Memphis February 17th to 19th, 2023, and nominations are now open for the awards.
Fans can nominate their favorite honky tonk, rockabilly, and Western swing males, females, and groups, along with their favorite venues, festivals, musicians, and DJs at ameripolitan.org/nominate .
Dale Watson defines Ameripolitan as original music with a prominent roots influence. He’d been using the term for years to separate himself from the corrupted industry in Nashville, but in 2013 after Blake Shelton referred to classic country music fans as “Old Farts and Jackasses,” Watson stepped up to form the Ameripolitan Awards. Held for the first few years in Austin, Ameripolitan made the move to Memphis along with Dale in 2018.
Along with the awards, there will be events, showcases, and tributes also transpiring over the three days in local Memphis venues, culminating in the awards that also honor country music legends, with Charley Pride, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ralph Mooney, and many more having received Lifetime Achievement awards from the organization in the past.
For more information, check out ameripolitan.org.
June 1, 2022 @ 6:46 pm
Dale has shouldered quite a load. He bought and renovated Hernandos Hideaway, turning it back into the ultimate rockabilly honky-tonk. And then he opens it a month before the pandemic. Yikes. Imagine how hard it was to keep it afloat. In fact he nearly went under, but a local like-minded restaraunteur helped save it with a cash infusion and a marketing strategy. Dale livestreamed weekly for a year from Hernandos until he could start touring in Texas to survive. His fans and his savings kept him alive. Now hes reviving the Ameripolitan awards, good on him. That thing is a blast, and it offers awards to music artists working in genres like rockabilly and western swing. Win for the little people. Thats the kind of stuff that endears him to so many of us!
June 1, 2022 @ 10:22 pm
Dale Watson and Wayne Hancock and Hank 3 are the best things to happen to country music since it started going to shit with Kenny Rodgers and John Denver. Hank 3 revived it for my generation but from what I saw Dale was the one that spread the word first. I wish him all the success in the world he deserves it as much as anyone
June 1, 2022 @ 8:56 pm
This is so so so so exciting. I think it’s time to start educating people about what ameripolitan is again, there are a lot of people who have gotten into traditional country it’s just since the pandemic who have no idea about this event’s past, or places to hear this music, etc
June 2, 2022 @ 8:23 am
“Ameripolitan Music” ^THIS^ is me, it’s what I’ve been striving for musically all my life. I’ve been a songwriter for many, many years. Born in the midwest, with midwestern values, hometown boy, educated on rock-n-roll, the classic stuff. Inspired by everything from the Church Choir – to Farming/Ranching – to Detroit rock, and it’s all blended and melded into who I am, why I write, what I write, and how I sing. Bluesy, Country-fried, with an Edge. http://www.AndrewDean,US culminates all of these genres and musical styles along with my love for the coastal regions: Country, Western Swing, Outlaw Country, Trop-Rock, Bluegrass, Christian Country, Gospel.
June 4, 2022 @ 4:24 pm
Hey Kyle, why are you keeping this guy’s post up? Can we write our own ads now? I’ve got a ’98 Civic I’m selling. High mileage and no transmission, but the a/c blows ice cold. No low ballers, I know what I’ve got!!
June 4, 2022 @ 5:03 pm
Look, I try to keep this an open forum, and only delete or edit comments as a last resort. That doesn’t mean I condone or endorse everything posted. If this type of self-promoting behavior became problematic, perhaps I would police it more. But this is basically harmless.
Good luck selling your Civic.
June 2, 2022 @ 12:26 pm
If Charley Crockett is the best they got, hard pass for me.
June 2, 2022 @ 4:40 pm
Have you… Done any research besides seeing his name? There are something like 20 awardees and 4x that many nominees every time this event happens.
..
June 2, 2022 @ 5:42 pm
I’ve listened to a few hours of his music. That was enough. A post card from Dale Watson himself wouldn’t change my mind.
June 2, 2022 @ 7:13 pm
I don’t think this article is about Charley Crockett
June 3, 2022 @ 3:53 am
Ok Comment Police
June 2, 2022 @ 1:40 pm
Not to steal anyone’s thunder- but these guys keep popping up on my face book page
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMjdo2yD4Hg
June 2, 2022 @ 4:42 pm
That has nothing to do with the Ameripolitan sound.
June 2, 2022 @ 6:02 pm
You trying to “steal thunder”? Or you just can’t bother to learn to read?
June 6, 2022 @ 11:48 am
Dang the bad luck, I was looking forward to continuing as a fan of Charlie’s career and checking out this event in future years. No way in hell either one will survive now without Eric’s approval.