Ameripolitan Awards Announce Return for 2023

Jesse Daniel winning 2019 Ameripolitan Award

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.

© 2023 Saving Country Music