Americana Music Association Wraps Another Successful Festival & Conference

With events ranging from intimate showcases to insightful panels to a sold-out, nationally broadcast awards show, the Americana Music Association's annual Festival, Conference and Honors & Awards, presented by Nissan, drew thousands to Nashville to explore the past, present and future of roots music. 

Highlights included: NPR's debut Nashville event with its "Song's We Love: Americana Edition," the sold-out Honors & Awards show at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium which was streamed live via NPR, Sirius XM's Outlaw Country and WSM-AM 650. The program will be digitally re-mastered for rebroadcast in an edited form later this season as part of PBS' "ACL Presents" series on November 21, 2015 and on Australia's Country Music Channel (CMC).

The festival's music programming featured more than 225 official events and showcases attracting an aggregate 30,000 attendance during the week-long celebration.

The conference slate presented approximately 200 music business leaders participating in unique panels, workshops and musical performances centered at Nashville's Hutton Hotel and throughout Music City. Conference attendance hit its capacity of more than 1,800 registrants.

"AmericanaFest" garnered tremendous international attention as well, with attendees, performers and panelists from Australia, Canada, Scandinavia, the UK and other parts of the globe.

Performance highlights include sets from musical legends such as Loretta Lynn, Glen Hansard, Los Lobos, Ry Cooder with Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White, Buddy Miller and Marc Ribot, Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, Steve Earle as well as rising stars Shakey Graves, Lera Lynn, Nathanial Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Nikki Lane.

The week's events started with a Pre Fest 50th anniversary tribute show with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, which featured Jackson Browne and a host of special guests on Monday night. On Tuesday, the official Americana Kickoff Bash hosted by Ed Helms' Bluegrass Situation ramped up the weekend's activities. Wednesday's Honors & Awards at the Ryman featured once in a lifetime moments as Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller helmed the three hour nationally broadcast program. Throughout the week, AmericanaFest 2015 featured hundreds of performances including surprise sets by Lucinda Williams and Shakey Graves and closed with a special Sunday night show by Jay Ferrar, who, along with original Son Volt members Gary Hunt and Eric Heywood performed the seminal album, Trace, capping off an unparalleled week of music. 

The event expanded its outreach into the Nashville community with showcases at multiple venues in seven unique city districts, partnering with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Downtown Presbyterian Church, Centennial Park's Musicians Corner, the Stone Fox, Fond Object, and numerous shows in retail locations like Antique Archeology, Fond Object plus indie music mecca' Grimey's New & Preloved Music and The Groove New and Used Vinyl & CD's, for a series of daily events.

Following the incredible success of AmericanaFest 2015, the Association will conduct its annual Board of Directors elections for membership and will focus on increasing its already broad appeal nationally and internationally in 2016. The Dates for the 2016 Americana Music Festival & Conference will be Tuesday, September 20 through Sunday, September 25.

For more information on the Americana Music Association: 

Official Website: americanamusic.org

Facebook: facebook.com/americanamusicassociation

Twitter: twitter.com/americanafest

Instagram: instagram.com/americanafest