Saving Country Music’s 2017 Ameripolitan Awards LIVE Blog
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the 2017 Saving AMERIPOLITAN Music LIVE blog from Austin, TX and the historic Paramount theater. Since the awards will not be broadcast or televised, the will be the live portal into the festivities for the folks who can’t be here. We’ll keep you informed of the winners, performers, doings, photos and other observations as the evening transpires.
Artists scheduled to perform include Junior Brown, Johnny Bush, Leona Williams, Bonnie Montgomery, Jake Penrod, Carolyn Martin, Marti Brom, Jessie Dayton, Rosie Flores, James Intveld, Jason Roberts, Charlie Thompson, Lance Lipinksy, Wayne Hancock, Ray Benson, Dale Watson and others. To see the list of awards and nominees, CLICK HERE.
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2017 Ameripolitan Winners:
- Honky Tonk Female – Leona Williams
- Honky Tonk Male – Jake Penrod
- Honky Tonk Group – Gary P. Nunn and the Bunkhouse Band
- Rockabilly Female – Lara Hope
- Rockabilly Male – Lance Lipinsky
- Rockabilly Group – The Silvershakers
- Outlaw Female – Darci Carlson
- Outlaw Male – Hank3
- Outlaw Group – Dallas Moore Band
- Western Swing Female – Kristyn Harris
- Western Swing Male – Pokey LaFarge
- Western Swing Group – The Western Flyers
- Venue – Lil’ Red’s Longhorn Saloon
- Festival – Nashville Boogie
- DJ – James Riley
- Musician – Chris Casello
11:30 – Thanks everybody for following along with the 2017 Ameripolitan Awards LIVE blog! Overall I thought it was a very slick year, Dale and Ray really killed it and had the chemistry going great. It would have been great to see more of the star power that received awards show up, but that is always hit and miss. They put on a great presentation. I’m going to recap the winners and get out of here.
11:26 – Some Pictures of the 2017 Ameripolitan Finale – Jerry Lee Lewis video, Lance Lipinsky, Chris Casello, Dale Watson, and the presenter girls dancing.
11:19 – Now they’re breaking into “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On” as Dale Watson and others saunter on stage.
11:18 – In lieu of Jerry Lee Lewis, Lance Lipinsky takes the stage again to play “Great Balls of Fire” with Chris Casello and the house band.
11:13 – Ameripolitan founders come out to present the Master Award. Unfortunately, Jerry Lee Lewis is not able to be here, so a video of him being presented to award at his piano in Memphis plays.
11:07 – The final piece of business tonight is to award Jerry Lee Lewis with the 2017 Ameripolitan Master Award. Currently a video presentation is playing in tribute to Jerry Lee.
11:05 – The Silvershakers accepting their Rockabilly Group award.
11:01 – Lance Lipinsky says “The higher the hair, the closer to God!” He also gives an impassioned acceptance speech about the importance of independent music, including citing the 1996 Telecommunications Act that basically destroyed American radio. Lance may be the biggest takeaway of the 2017 Ameripolitan Awards.
10:59 – The Winner of the 2017 Ameripolitan Award for Rockabilly Group is The Silvershakers!
10:55 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Rockabilly Male is Lance Lipinsky!
10:52 – Laura Hope accepting her Rockabilly Female Award, and Jason Roberts on the Ameripolitan stage.
10:48 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Award for Rockabilly Female goes to Lara Hope!
10:47 – Jason Roberts takes the stage to perform, and now we’re heading into the Rockabilly categories.
10:45 – Pokey LaFarge accepting his award via video, and the Western Swing Flyers.
10:41 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Award for Western Swing Group goes to The Western Flyers!
10:38 – Pokey is on the road, so a video accepting the award plays in his stead.
10:37 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Award for Western Swing Male goes to Pokey LaFarge!
10:36 – Western Swing Male coming up, presented by Jason Roberts and Dale Watson.
10:32 – Kristyn Harris says Western Swing is her life as she accepts her Ameripolitan Award.
10:30 The 2017 Ameripolitan for Western Swing Female goes to Kristyn Harris!
10:28 – Now we’re moving into the Western Swing awards. Carolyn Martin comes out to present Western Swing Female.
10:26 – Junior Brown takes the stage, and you can probably guess the song. “Highway Patrol” of course.
10:22 – Junior Brown accepts his award and then takes his guit-steel to perform.
10:20 – “Rarely someone comes by and changes the face of music,” says Steve Wertheimer of the Continental Club, explaining how Junior Brown was able to get people who hated country music—punks and metalhead—to listen up.
10:16 – Ameripolitan DJ winner James Riley, and two guys (sorry, didn’t give their name) accepting the Ameripolitan award for Best Festival for The Nashville Boogie.
10:13 Keeper of the Key award is up next, presented by Steve Wertheimer. Junior Brown is the recipient. Keeper of the Key is like a Lifetime Achievement award.
10:11 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Award for DJ goes to James Riley WXNA 101.5 FM!
10:09 – Dallas Wayne comes out to present the Ameripolitan DJ of the Year.
10:06 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Festival of the Year is the Nashville Boogie!
10:05 – “It’s about damn time. It’s the best beer joint in the world!” says Lil’ Red’s Longhorn Saloon owner.
10:00 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Venue of the Year is Lil’ Red’s Longhorn Saloon in Ft. Worth, TX!
9:58 – Johnny Knoxville comes out to present the Ameripolitan Venue of the Year.
9:56 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Ralph Mooney Musician of the Year is Chris Castello!
9:54Â – Jason Roberts and Redd Volkaert comes out to present the Ralph Mooney Musicians Award.
9:53– Things have resumed at the 2017 Ameripolitan Awards with hosts Dale Watson and Ray Benson taking the stage.
9:44 – Folks, the 2017 Ameripolitan is in a very brief intermission at the moment. Things should resume very shortly.
This is a good time to apologize to any performers, winners, red carpet walkers, or anyone else that we miss covering. With no commercial breaks, the awards go by super fast, and I do the best I can to keep up with as much as I can. Please don’t be offended if we miss your favorite performer.
9:41– Shout out to all of the folks following along at home. Quite a few of you out there this year.
9:37 – Rita Ballou of KOKE-FM, and Johnny Knoxville come out to present the Outlaw Group Award. Dallas Moore Band on stage accepting.
9:32– Wayne “The Train” Hancock on the Ameripolitan stage with one of the best steel guitarist in the business.
9:29 –Â The 2017 Ameripolitan winner for Outlaw Group is the Dallas Moore Band!
9:28 – Rita Ballou and Johnny Knoxville come out to present the Outlaw Group award.
9:24 – Wayne “The Train” Hancock has taken the stage, singing his recent title track, “Slingin’ Rhythm”
9:23 – Hank3 accepting his award via video at the 2017 Ameripolitan Awards.
9:20 – Hank3 is not here, but he did send a video in to accept the award. “Thank y’all, and I’ll be seeing y’all on the road real soon.”
9:18 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Award for Best Outlaw Male goes to Hank Williams III!
9:17 – Jesse Dayton comes out to present Outlaw Male Award with Tito from Tito’s Vodka.
9:14 – Bonnie Montgomery laughs as Darci Carlson gives her impassioned acceptance speech for Outlaw Female. Then Bonnie Montgoery takes the stage to perform.
9:08 – Darci Carlson is crying, and thanks for recognizing a little girl from the Northwest. She gives and impassioned speech, and thanks her other nominees.
9:07 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Award for Outlaw Female goes to Darci Carlson!
9:06 – Bonnie Montgomery comes out to present the Outlaw Female award. Notice in Ameripolitan, ladies come first.
9:05 – Jesse Dayton on the Ameripolitan Stage:
9:03 – Jesse Dayton takes the stage to play his George Jones tribute “Possum Ran Over My Grave”
9:01 – Dale introduces the lovely ladies to handle the awards, and Gary P. Nunn accepts his Honky Ton Group award for his Bunkhouse Band.
8:59 – Ray Benson just said “David Alvin Crow.” You had to be here, but it was hilarious. Here comes the Outlaw portion of the show.
8:57 – Gary P. Nunn is thanking all of the great musicians he’s played with over the years.
8:54 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Award for Honky Tonk Group goes to Gary P. Nunn!
8:53 – Between everything, Dale Watson and Ray Benson are cracking jokes. Wish I had time to transcribe them all, but they’re doing a great job.
8:52 – Jake Penrod accepts his Honky Tonk Male award, and Marti Brom singing on the Ameripolitan stage.
8:47 – Lisa Pankratz has slid behind the drums for the next performance. One of the best honky tonk drummers out there.
8:46 – Seriously folks, check out Lance Lipinsky. The 2nd coming of Jerry Lee Lewis.
8:44 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Award for Honky Tonk male goes to Jake Penrod!
8:43 – James Hand and Charlie Thompson come out to hand out the Honky Tonk Male award.
8:37 – Lance Lipinsky has taken the stage, is doing head stands on his keyboard, and the crowd is going crazy. Then Paramount comes to its feet. This dude’s a live wire!
8:36 – Leona Williams accepts her award, and Jake Penrod:
8:31 – The closest thing to a living Hank Williams – Jake Penrod takes the stage.
8:30 – Dale & Ray, and Charlie Thompson:
8:29 – The Ameripolitan Award for Honky Tonk Female goes to Leona Williams!
8:27 – Rosie Flores and James Infeld come out to present the Honky Tonk Female award.
8:24 – Now Leona Williams has taken then stage!
8:22 – Hosts Dale Watson and Ray Benson come out cracking jokes. “We were attached at birth but I got most of it,” says Benson. Charlie Thompson takes the stage.
8:20 – Rosie Flores and James Infeld:
8:16 – Rosie Flores and James Inveld have taken the stage as the first performers.
8:10 – Vintage footage of Rosie Flores, Dwight Yoakam, The Stray Cats, Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys and others is playing in montage form on the big screen. The crowd goes crazy each time another vintage great is shown.
8:06 – A video introduction of the Ameripolitan Awards is playing on a big screen center stage, including a video of Charlie Rich famously burning the John Denver Entertainer of the Year envelope in 1975. The crowd goes crazy.
8:05 – The 2017 Ameripolitan Music Awards have started!
8:02 – Folks have been told to find their seats, and we should be starting momentarily.
7:58: The 2017 Ameripolitan House Band is Chris Crepps on Bass, Mike Bernal on Drums, Don Pawlak on Pedal Steel, Jason Roberts on Fiddle, Redd Volkaert on Guitar, Joey Colarusso on Saxophone, Rick White on Trumpet, Ken Mills on Trombone, and Danny Levin on Piano.
7:45: Some scenes from the red carpet. Vintage cars are delivering tonight’s dignitaries to the Paramount theater. The vintage duds are definitely out. I will try to update with names when I get a free moment.
Jacob W
February 15, 2017 @ 7:20 pm
Rooting for Luke Bell and Scott H. Biram. Does HANK III have a lifetime nomination for outlaw, not that I know the nominees from last year, but he didn’t release anything recent did he?
So you actually are attending huh? That’s awesome if that’s the case.
Charlie
February 16, 2017 @ 5:19 am
Hank III simply takes Outlaw to the next level. He is so outlaw he doesn’t even exist in the normal sense. A true fugitive at large–a Wanted Man, on the lamb.
Or, is it shades of Justin Moore? Perhaps??
Corncaster
February 15, 2017 @ 7:37 pm
love Biram. Charlie T is a great singer. as a word, “Ameripolitan” is going nowhere. these are some crack musicians.
Celine
February 19, 2017 @ 8:23 pm
And who the hell are you ? My corncaster? ????????
FeedThemHogs
February 15, 2017 @ 7:41 pm
Leona Williams is everything country music should be
Paul Peterson
February 15, 2017 @ 7:50 pm
Great to see Ameripolitan getting pumped up and getting its dues! Good job and congradulations everyone!
Biscuit
February 15, 2017 @ 8:14 pm
This is something I would love to watch on TV so I find it incredible that among hundreds of satellite/cable tv channels and the internet, this cannot be viewed, but cake wars and Wives of Some City are everywhere. What the hell?
Tommy Ash, nice picture there.
Glad you are there covering it Trigger, thanks!
Trigger
February 15, 2017 @ 8:39 pm
Apparently the problem is broadcast rights for the music. Basically it is financially unfeasible.
Jackie Treehorn
February 15, 2017 @ 8:21 pm
Got my fingers crossed for Luke Bell and Tony Martinez! I’d love to get to this someday, I envy you for getting to be there.
Lil King
February 15, 2017 @ 8:39 pm
Glad to see my Dallas Moore Band family won Outlaw Group!!
Rhonda
February 15, 2017 @ 8:46 pm
On pins and needles waiting for the DJ Award recipient …
Aaron
February 16, 2017 @ 12:44 am
I’m surprised Hank3 won anything. He has been a ghost in the last years. I’m a big fan. But there are other artists out there that were present that the award could have been awarded to. I don’t see why he couldn’t have accepted it in person. I’m glad to hear Jake Penrod won Honky Tonk.
That man is amazing. The real deal.
Kevin Smith
February 16, 2017 @ 4:54 am
I love the idea of Ameripolitan. Dale has come up with a way to make awards possible for largely marginalized genres of music. So I’m all aboard the concept. That said it’s an uphill climb particularly with funding. Currently the event is on life support with a Go Fund Me page. Nobody’s getting wealthy in these genres they are making a living at best. So support these artists!
Robert St
February 16, 2017 @ 8:27 am
I’ll definitely took up some of these. I voted for some who didn’t win, too, but happy for any recognition any of these folks can get. Western swing is a lot of fun. Bluegrass is much the same way. Most aren’t making much dough. I know that one of the better selling bluegrass albums last year is from a guy who doesn’t tour much because he has a full time “real job.”
Coaltrain
February 16, 2017 @ 6:24 am
I had never heard anything by Jake Penrod before, so I checked out his Out of Control EP from this past year and I’m diggin’ it! Great stuff! So much new music to check out after reading this live blog. Thanks Trigger!
Trigger
February 16, 2017 @ 7:30 am
Jake Penrod and so many of the artists for this evening have been doing this thing for a long time and are worth checking out, Jake Penrod included, if not especially.
DJ
February 16, 2017 @ 6:54 am
Lance Lipinsky does an excellent rendition of Fats Domino too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtR4sLuKwXk
Very talented and energetic
Jack Williams
February 16, 2017 @ 7:13 am
I was hoping for a win for local girl Karen Jonas, but given that Leona Williams was listed as a performer, I figured it was a foregone conclusion that she would win. No knock on her. Don’t know her stuff. I’m sure she’s very good.
Brandy D Jubilee
February 16, 2017 @ 8:21 am
Another successful Award show and all the winners were fantastic, it was a houseful of some of the best talent in the word. I hope I can be there for 2018 awards from Brandy Jubilee Ft Myers Florida
hoptowntiger94
February 16, 2017 @ 9:46 am
I was excited about payday tomorrow. But, Trig, like me ex-wife, done spent it all!
Chris
February 16, 2017 @ 8:19 pm
My God you have a great job, amigo.
I was at the office until late last night grinding out legal documents, while you were out among the stars.
Great thread also.
This is a really cool event.
There is hope after all.
Thanks for the Jerry Lee picture.
I’m not a huge rockabilly fan, but Jerry Lee is a great country singer (think: 39 and Holding).
Biscuit
February 16, 2017 @ 9:44 pm
You know, if RFD TV wanted a new show to replace Marty Stuart’s defunct show, they should give Dale Watson a show filmed in Texas in one of his honky tonks. He could have guests be many of the artists from the Ameripolitan awards who drop by as his guests. Maybe Lone Star and Fender could foot the bill as sponsors?
Deke Tempest
February 18, 2017 @ 6:41 am
Your 3 Rockabilly winners has made the Rockabilly category look like a flippin’ joke!
Frankie C
February 19, 2017 @ 3:48 pm
First, there have been four winners. all of which have gone through growth in both their sound and lineups, in order not to sound like every other rockabilly band out there while staying true to Roots Music.
Secondly, How have they made rockabilly a joke? Please elaborate. With such a powerful statement, a person of your intellect would have an opinion on how to make the category better.
Everyone nominated, everyone who won, they deserve to be there because they’ve earned it.
Redheaded Gal
February 19, 2017 @ 4:10 am
Rockabilly?! Elvis, Carl Perkins and Matt Curtis are probably spinning in their graves with disgust!
Frankie C
February 19, 2017 @ 4:28 pm
It’s possible, not likely, but possible. I noticed you only selected three artists. Perhaps you could research other artists who performed rockabilly music over the years.
I’ve helped you by making a small list.
Ricky Nelson, Buddy Holly, Charlie Feathers, Bill Haley/Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent, Roy Orbison, Wanda Jackson, Eddie Cochran, Janis Martin, Johnny Burnette, Brenda Lee, Narvel Felts, D.J. Fontana, Scotty Moore, Bill Black, James Burton, Everly Brothers, Jack Scott, Duane Eddy, Rosie Flores, Dave Edmunds, Glen Glenn, Barbara Pittman. Dale Hawkins, Johnny Horton, Billy Lee Riley, Buddy Knox, Sleepy LaBeef, Sam Phillips, Lou Hobbs, Billy Swan, Ritchie Valens, Alvis Wayne, Rockin’ Roary, Link Wray, Malcolm Yelvington, Hayden Thompson, Eddie Bond, The Crickets, Collins Kids, Sonny Burgess, Paul Burlison, Ray Campi, Johnny Carroll, Sanford Clark, Ronnie Dawson, Billy Adams, Mac Curtis, Col. Robert Morris, Ray Condo, Stray Cats, Johnny Powers, Huelyn Duvall, Ray Smith, Robert Gordon, Charlie Gracie, Rudy Grayzell, Ronnie Haig, Jordanaires, Matt Lucas, Warren Smith, Bob Luman, Lonnie Mark, Carl Mann, Burl Boykin, C.W. Gatlin, Ray Harris, Grady Martin, Bob Moore, Johnny Preston and Gene Summers.
Celine
February 19, 2017 @ 8:29 pm
As opposed to what’s on country radio?? Gtfoh redheaded gal
Twangy McLovin's
February 19, 2017 @ 3:25 pm
Rockabilly purists are boring and sound like broken records. Open your minds and have a little fun. The genre can and will take twists and turns while still retaining a backbone rooted in the pioneers…just like any genre. It doesn’t always HAVE to sound 100% like it did 60 years ago. I find it interesting that many modern rockabilly greats have commented during interviews about purist whiners giving them flack for not fitting a mold.
Darryl ...(the Arizona rose man)
February 22, 2017 @ 2:46 am
I agree w/ Biscut! Wish we could catch the awards somewhere on the tele. It’s a shame when there’s so much junk awards, but not the Ameripolitan Awards. Ray Benson had it right, referring to the CMAs. Congratulations to all the winners! Even those that didn’t win…are winners !! I was rooting for Tommy Ash for the Outlaw Female
award. She’s still a big winner in my book ! Hopefully there’s next year. (Great picture too Tommy !!)