Nashville may have a few drawbacks as host city—not the least of which are traffic and parking—but with some planning, trial and error, and a good dash of serendipity, music lovers of all tastes can find more than enough entertainment during AmericanaFest each year. Indeed, for many the curse of FOMO hangs heavy.
Whether taking an Uber from venue to venue or finding a spot and settling in, attendees had a full fare of roots music. WMOT Roots Radio, long a presence during the festival, set up shop for their Day Stage this year at Riverside Revival in East Nashville. With a new act each hour, they featured a range of acts. They opened day one with ethereal sounds of bluegrass trio I’m With Her. Husband and wife due John Cowsill and Vickie Peterson played a number of songs written by his late brothers and former bandmates Billy and Barry and closed out their set with upbeat nostalgia, performing the Cowsills’ 1969 hit “Hair” and “Just Another Monday” from her days with the Bangles. Robert Randolph and his band performed songs from their latest album Preacher Kids. Singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, returning to the stage after a hiatus, performed as well.
City Winery hosted “Other Voices: Songs for Nanci Griffith,” a tribute to the late Texas singer-songwriter with performances by Aaron Lee Tasjan and Elizabeth Cook (“Gulf Coast Highway”) and Amethyst Kiah (“Across the Great Divide”) and some newer acts such as Presley Haile and Alex Amen. Bluegrass duo Darin & Brooke Aldridge delivered a stunning performance of “Trouble in the Fields.” Robert Earl Keen, looking slimmer and more casual in his semi-retirement, performed “From Clare to Here.” Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss traded quips as they performed together to close out the set with “Outbound Plane.”
Once again this year, City Winery hosted a viewing party of the awards ceremony held at the Ryman Auditorium. While attendance was light, the venue provides a comfortable option with full food and beverage service, the next-best thing for Americana fans opting not to spring for tickets to sit on the revered pews for the event.
The iconic Station Inn, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has made its mark as one of Nashville’s most popular bluegrass venues. During AmericanaFest week, they featured a number of acts heading to IBMA World of Bluegrass the following week—Sister Sadie, Wyatt Ellis, Mason Via, Tim O’Brien, and Don Flemons, while including acts from the broader circle of Americana—Robert Randolph and the Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, playing country blues.
Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge in Madison continues as an Americana Week favorite. Sam Sumpter hosted the recording series Bands do BK Sessions featuring such artists as Cat Clyde, The Wood Brothers, Henhouse Prowlers, Southern Avenue, and Jack Van Cleaf.
Performances popped up at other venues across town. Martin’s BBQ played host to “Muscle Shoals to Rocket City,” featuring a variety of FAME artists from North Alabama. Skinny Dennis, a newer venue in East Nashville also hosted shows daily. Competing with the wristband-access shows were several high-profile ticketed shows as well—The Secret Sisters and Maggie Rose at the Nashville Symphony, Dwight Yoakam at Ascent Amphitheater, and two shows by The Daniel Lanois Trio.
The crowd at 3rd & Lindsley included several nightly repeaters. On Thursday, Troubadour Blue opened. With a couple of the band members out of the Belmont University Bluegrass Ensemble, they showcased tight harmonies and strong songwriting. They opened for Hayes Carll, who pleased the crowd with his standard “Drunken Poet’s Dream,” and went on to play songs from his recently album We’re Only Human, many with a particularly positive message.
Southern Avenue finished the night with a high-energy, high-heeled performance with the three Memphis sisters at its core.
AmericanaFest would not be the same without Jim Lauderdale. He played 3rd & Lindsley on Friday with his band The Game Changers, his set dipping into all phases of his career—“The Road Is a River,” “It Blows My Mind,” and his classic “The Kind of Broken Hearts.” He also played his current single “Artificial Intelligence,” a pure country take on new technology, as well as “Hoggin’ My Mind,” a song he says he wrote when considering, “What would Conway and Loretta sing?”
Sunny Sweeney followed Lauderdale, offering “some country music, y’all.” With more than 77 Opry appearances under her belt, Sweeney had the audience fully engaged with her songs of classic country themes—pills, ex-husbands, and honkytonks. Lauderdale came out and joined her as she closed with a cover of Lucinda Williams’ “Can’t Let Go.”
Ensuring the audience had a wide-ranging musical experience, DK Harrell, Louisiana bluesman followed. A big man with a supersized voice to match, Harrell moved the show to the dance floor, joining fans in front of the stage, promising to stick around after the show and “talk to every person after the show—what real artists do.”
Harrell’s lively set had the audience warmed up for The War and Treaty, who had sparks flying with their musical and personal dynamics, closing with “Can I Get an Amen?” The duo acknowledged the impact on their career, noting, “Buddy Miller invited us to play on his stage when nobody knew who we were.” Since their selection as 2019 Emerging Artist of the Year by the Americana Music Association, that is no longer true.
On Saturday, a very pregnant Liz Longley, who relocated from Memphis to Nashville, opened for Rodney Crowell and Friends on Saturday, mixing in her new songs with her back catalog of “break up songs,” finishing with “We’ve Got It So Good,” which she called “the happiest song I’ve ever written.”
Crowell appearance coincides with his recent album release Airline Highway, produced by Tyler Bryant, who played guitar on the set. Friends who joined Crowell on some of his newer tracks as well as his classics included Jade Bird (on “Bluebird Wine”), Thomas Gabriel, Carlene Carter, and Rumer Willis (daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore). The power due Larkin Poe, who played on several tracks of the new album, also joined Crowell on stage, joining him for “Louisiana Sunshine Feeling Okay” from the new album. Crowell rocked the room with a rousing singalong of “Like a Rolling Stone,” which he called the “best rock and roll song of all times.” Sarah Jarosz joined him to close with his “first ever keeper”—“A Song for the Life.” Texas rockabilly singer Rosie Flores closed out the night, celebrating her 75th birthday.
The annual event hosted by the Americana Music Association, with industry-focused sessions, a star-studded award show, and performances spread across Music City, may be a source of frustration, since no ordinary mortal can possibly attend all there is to offer. Without question, though, the experience of seeing old favorites and discovering new stars on the rise makes the ticket price pay off handsomely.