There is nothing quite like AmericanaFest week in Nashville. The festival continues to prove itself as one of the most unique and entertaining festivals in the country, bringing together both artists and fans from across the globe to celebrate an often overlooked and under-appreciated scene that is thriving now more than ever. This collection of both national and local musicians and fans is truly unique and diverse, and the natural bond over the passion for great music and storytelling is obvious and inspiring.
For those unfamiliar with the genre, it may seem like a week full of acoustic guitars and non-radio country, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The genre is incredible expansive, ranging from rock, folk, roots, country, bluegrass, blues and much more. The festival makes a point to be diverse, celebrating all who continue to expand and grow this genre. While the festival does celebrate the champions of the industry, the true heart of AmericanaFest is the rising national and local talent. Throughout the week, showcases, label parties, podcast tapings, collaborations and more create a diverse and unique environment that is hard not to fall in love with.
Logistically, AmericanaFest is near perfect, with seemingly endless options spread across some of Nashville’s best venues that keep Americana music alive and thriving. From the historic Ryman and Cannery Row to hotel rooftops and record shops, the quality of musicians and performances is plentiful, and keeps fans busy all day long. The reality that you will miss out on much more music than you will actually see speaks to the depth and quality of this terrific and expansive lineup. Many of the venues are in short walking distance, allowing for quick walks or ride shares, and the performances remain on schedule all week.
For those who dive into the festival 100%, there are countless daytime events, conference session and parties to experience. Each day Chris Shifflett (of Foo Fighters) hosted a live podcast titled “Walking the Floor” where he had conversations in front of a live audience with Delbert McClinton, Yola and Robert Earl Keen. You could attend a taping of Acoustic Café, with artists like Andrew Bird and T Bone Burnett. NPR Music, World Café and WMOT hosted daytime showcases at War Memorial Auditorium each day and Chuck Mead even hosted a golf tournament. This is not just a festival of simple nighttime shows at venues. It’s an exploration of not only the music, but the city that is crucial to its’ survival.
In the end, it’s the authenticity and genuine love for the genre that puts this festival above the rest. Authenticity derived from a genuine love for the music and culture, the artists who create it and the story it tells. There’s a true sense of community and collaboration from artists and fans alike. This is all seen and felt in the performances throughout the week. For these artists, it’s about telling your stories, sharing your talents and connecting with those who take the time to listen. This is truly a special week in Nashville.
Check out BLANK’s highlights of the 2019 Americana Music & Arts Festival!
Tuesday, Day 1
Two words you will hear often in this recap are ‘community’ and ‘collaboration’. These two themes are purposefully encouraged, yet seem to naturally occur, all week long. In the spirit of these objectives, AmericanaFest sets up special shows that create excitement and get the community talking.
Festival organizers wasted no time this year, kicking off the first night of music with Sheryl Crow & Friends at Cannery Ballroom (hosted by Spotify). Crow was joined by many special guests, including Bonnie Raitt and Jade Bird, collaborating on Crow’s music and popular covers, highlighting some of the most powerful female voices across multiple generations.
We began our night at City Winery with The Delevantes, who bring Everly Brothers-style harmonies and a roots-rock style that’s hard not to love. Gaining popularity in the late-90s, the band has developed a loyal following, and their fans showed packed in for this performance. Bob and Mike Delevante have contributed significantly to the growth and popularity of Americana music for decades, and the love for their work could be felt in the room.
Next up was Grayson Capps, an incredible singer-songwriter who excels in sharing his experiences with a keen level of authenticity and optimism. He loves to interact with his audiences, leading to only a five-song set, but one full of emotion and intrigue that intensified with every note. Capps was joined by the innovative and legendary Corky Hughes, arguably the most captivating and impressive guitarist of the festival, whose slide guitar style is unmatched in originality.
We took a short walk over to 3rd & Lindsley, where the blues-side of Americana music was on full display, with a couple of Grammy winning and nominated musicians. Janiva Magness powered through several John Fogerty covers from her upcoming album, followed by the legendary Alvin Youngblood Hart’s Muscle Theory. Alvin Youngblood Hart has been performing over 40 years and that’s evident in the quality of his performance. Hart brings a unique blend of Mississippi-delta blues, that incorporates elements of Chicago and L.A. styles to create a sound that is all his own. He is one of the most well-rounded blues artists around, a terrific vocalist and guitar player, with intelligent lyrics that raise the bar for today’s blues music.
Back at City Winery, Jonathan Wilson closed out the night with a large, all-star collection of Nashville musicians, debuting many songs off of his upcoming album. Although much of Wilson’s success is as a producer (of some really good albums), he is equally talented in writing performing his own music. He is greatly admired and respected in this musical community, by both artists and fans alike. With this performance, Wilson continued to show his enhanced ability to create intricate and emotional music, telling intelligent and personal stories, while never locking himself into any particular style. His new songs are deeply rooted in roots-rock and sounds fuller and more diverse than ever before, providing one of the best sets of this year’s festival.
Wednesday, Day 2
The 2nd night always kicks off with the much-anticipated Americana Honors & Awards at the Ryman Auditorium. The show not only celebrates and awards the best of the genre, but also includes unique performance and collaborations that are talked about all week. This year’s awards ceremony saw the much-deserved John Prine take home Album and Song of the Year, while Brandi Carlille won Artist of the Year. Another BLANK favorite, The War & Treaty, won Emerging Act of the Year and Mavis Staples was awarded the Inspiration Award. We must also recognize the unofficial king of AmericanaFest, Jerry Pentecost, who serves as the band leader for this awards show and performed with multiple artists all week.
Every year, the lineup from 10pm-1am after the Americana Honors & Awards is often the most stellar, and packed full schedule of the entire festival. We chose the artists at Cannery Row (mentioned below), but as we mentioned earlier, you can’t see everything. The legendary Tanya Tucker was joined by Brandi Carlille over at 3rd & Lindsley, while Andrew Bird and John C. Reilly jammed out over at Station Inn and Keb’ Mo’ rocked City Winery.
At Basement East, the always great annual Paul Cauthen’s Big Velvet Revue ended with an un-Americanafest-like meltown by the drummer of Quaker City Night Hawks. Appropriately, the Americana Music Association removed the band from the lineup the next night, giving us a festival-favorite Elizabeth Cook in their place.
Over at Cannery Row, Brent Cobb blew us away with his amazing vocal style and ability, showcasing some of his best songwriting and further staking his claim in the scene. Cobb was joined by Jade Bird to debut their new song, “Feet Off the Ground”. Cobb has written many popular and great songs in his career, but the stage may be where he belongs.
At Mercy Lounge, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors delighted a pack crowd with their soothing tunes of love and strife. Living in all regions of Tennessee, Holcomb’s style is a blend of Americana sub-genres that have made him a unique staple in Americana music. The rise of bluegrass prodigy Billy Strings has been quick, with the young talent increasing his stage and audience size each year of AmericanaFest. Strings brings a fresh voice and virtuoso-like talent to the bluegrass world, creating excitement for the future success of the genre and blowing minds in the process.
One of our most anticipated showcases of the week was Jade Bird, the rapidly rising 21-year-old from London, that is quickly staking her claim in multiple musical worlds. This week along, she joined Sheryl Crow, Jonathan Wilson and Brent Cobb for collaborations, along with being nominated for Emerging Act of the Year. Bird’s set at Mercy Lounge was special. She loves what she’s doing, constantly laughing and joking around, and has an incredible power in her voice that is unexpected and captivating. She has written intelligent songs that seem beyond her age and performs them with sincerity and passion. Accompanying her is a group of rock musicians that bring a driving force to her songs, increasing the stage energy even further. Bird is going to be huge and headlining festival soon and we couldn’t be more thrilled about that.
Thursday, Day 3
After checking out a variety of events during the day (see intro), we headed over to East Nashville to visit American Legion Outpost 82 to the 70th anniversary celebration of The Palomino, one of the most popular country clubs in L.A. for decades. Andrew Leahey & the Homestead brought their pure rock and roll sound to this country-themed showcase, powering through tracks of the band’s recent album. Leahey’s strong songwriting and vocal abilities produce high quality rock, influenced by Petty-esque song structures and harmonies. There’s no question to why Leahey is sought out by other musicians, performing with Elizabeth Cook and Jon Latham this week as well.
After the surprising Quaker City Night Hawks debacle (see Day 2), the multi-talented, Americana-favorite Elizabeth Cook filled in last minute and garnered a large crowd at Cannery for a performance that feels more rocking than it used to. Cook and her band, Gravy, played multiple songs off her upcoming album, and proved that this underrated legend still has a long career ahead of her.
During this time across the city, North Mississippi Allstars and The Milk Carton Kids played the new Yee Haw Brewing outdoor stage, while Marcus King Band rocked out at Centennial Park. Other great Thursday nights acts included Caroline Spence, Rainbow Girls, Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, Chris Shifflett and much more.
The rest of our evening at Cannery Row (it’s so hard to leave) perfectly represents the level of diversity that AmerianaFest brings to the schedule. In the next 4 hours, we witnessed an incredible variety of music that represented just how expansive this spectrum is.
At the 20th anniversary celebration of ANTI- Records at Mercy Lounge, label favorites Son Little and Darrin Bradbury created a silent crowd, allowing for their lyrics and acoustic style to be heard and appreciated. The new duo of Frothy Pit: Wynonna Judd & Cass McCombs closed out the night on this stage, proving that the country legend still has a career ahead of her and McCombs is dedicated to expanding his.
Over at the smaller High Watt stage, bluegrass ruled the night with two of the genre’s favorites. Over 20 years, Hackensaw Boys have brought their raw, energetic sound to the bluegrass world, departing from the often polished and up-tempo consistency in the genre, and replacing it with something uniquely their own. The same idea applies to the hip-hop, bluegrass mix of Gangstagrass, who perfectly blend two genres that most would consider polar opposites, creating a high energy, foot-stomping, sing along party that’s hard not to move to.
With the singer-songwriter and bluegrass showcases going on upstairs, Cannery Ballroom was all about the rock, brining Texas-based grunge rocker Bones Owens, who you may know for writing and performing with artists such as Yelawolf and Mikky Ekko. However, Owens has a style all his own and undoubtedly garnered new fans with his showcase.
Another quickly rising favorite, The Record Company, brings an unparalleled energy to their performance, with lead singer Chris Vos constantly jumping around with his harmonica or showing off his impressive slide guitar skills. Not only are their songs catchy with great hooks, but are intelligently written, showing off their skills both cohesively and individually.
I’m not going to lie, we were tired. Being this dedicated at any festival over 3 days will do that to you. But we couldn’t pass up the back-to-back performances about to happen over at City Winery. Nicole Atkins gets better every time we see her perform, continuing to improve her natural ability to interact with the crowd and captivate with her 60s psychedelic-influenced sound. She’s incredibly soulful with a near flawless vocal delivery.
Aside from Jade Bird, one of the most exciting and talked about new artists at this year’s festival was Yola. Just as many artists at this festival, it’s obvious that she loved being at the festival and excited to share her personal stories with those both familiar and not. She’s as sincere as any artist around, with keen sense of melody and powerful voice. Along with her ability to write emotional songs of struggle and triumph that relate to so many, Yola will continue gaining new fans with every festival she plays
Friday, Day 4
In our final day of AmericanaFest (we unfortunately had to miss Saturday & Sunday), was another example of the festival excelling and providing varied and unique experiences to artists and fans alike all week.
The popular Jam in the Van series posted up at East Nashville’s Crying Wolf all week, with artists stopping by every hour to record an episode in the van. Stay tuned to their website to check out great performance from artists such as The War & Treaty, Robert Earl Keen and many local favorites.
Down the street at Center 615, the Thirty Tigers Americana-Roo-Stock-Palooza was in full force, featuring performance by Chris Shifflett (of Foo Fighters), The Wood Brothers, Trigger Hippy and more.
We then headed down Union Station Hotel, an old train station turned boutique hotel, to see Ruston Kelly perform an acoustic show with the help of some family members. Kelly delighted the crowd for this open show with his great vocals and insightful stories, including a cover of ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ by Wheatus. Kelly is becoming a known name in the scene and continue to expand not only his style, but his fanbase as well.
After dinner, we headed over to Cannery Row once again to check out three of the most popular up and coming female artists in Americana. Bonnie Bishop kicked things off with her well-crafted power ballads that showcase her wide vocal range and Stevie Nicks-esque stage presence.
Upstairs at High Watt, Nashville-transplant Katie Pruitt played to a capacity crowd that was hooked one very word and note. Pruitt is inspirational with her stories of struggles and equally powerful with her voice. Her songs are well crafted, addressing serious and relatable subjects in an uplifting and emotional way. This Luck Reunion artist has been playing festivals all year and continues to deepen her stake in the genre.
At Cannery, Foy Vance was also playing to a packed room, including a surprising appearance by Keith Urban on ‘Burden.’ The night concluded with Lilly Hiatt, American Aquarium and JJ Grey and Mofro, another wide variety of artists, drawing large crowds of fans on this Friday night.
Saturday/Sunday, Days 5 & 6
For those who get to stick around Nashville all weekend, there’s still a ton of music and special events happening that you should definitely attend. There are parties across the city, including the annual Café Rooster Records party at Basement East and NPR day stage at War Memorial Auditorium. Local female favorite Emma Hern plays Acme Feed & Seed and Michaela Anne performs at City Winery.
The night’s lineup includes Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, The Travelin’ McCourys, Roger Clyne, Dylan LeBlanc, Dawn Landes, Nicki Bluhm and many more!
Although Sunday’s options are more limited, the quality is not. The day starts with the 9th Annual Gospel Brunch presented by Thirty Tigers at City Winery. Following is the Wildwood Revival Sundown Social, featuring The Lone Bellow, Elizabeth Cook, J Roddy Walston, Katie Pruitt and many more.
The festival closes with the weekly 3rd & Lindsley Sunday night show featuring Brandy Clark and Leah Blevins.
