Salt Lick Takes Songs of U.S. Series to AMERICANAFEST 2026 in Nashville, TN

WATCH SOCIAL RECAP HERE AMERICANAFEST Panel "Artists, Platform, And the Power to Move People" Featured Swamp Dogg, Raye Zaragoza, Farayi, and Salt Lick's Roger Brown & Nicole Izzo Mlynczak Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music Association

September 22, 2026 — Salt Lick Sessions brought the Songs of U.S. music and conversation series to Nashville last week for an AMERICANAFEST 2026 panel featuring series participants Swamp Dogg, Raye Zaragoza, and Farayi. The session tackled the responsibility that comes with reach: How do you use visibility intentionally to navigate a divided cultural moment, and make a lyric into a movement?

The panel was moderated by Salt Lick Incubator’s Director of Programming and Media Nicole Izzo Mlynczak and also featured Salt Lick Incubator’s Co-Founder and Chairman Roger Brown as a panelist. Reflecting on how America’s musical identity continues to be written in real time, panelists shared what they’ve learned about leading with values, uniting diverse audiences, and why the work starts with the song and extends far beyond any one performance.

Later that night, ahead of the Americana Music Honors & Awards, Salt Lick took to the red carpet at the Ryman to ask nominees, presenters, and performers one key question: If you were building a new Great American Songbook, which contemporary artist would you include and why? Watch Margo Price, Amy Grant, Jesse Welles, Molly Tuttle, and Mon Rovîa, reflect on the modern American songbook HERE via Instagram.

Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music Association

Throughout the summer, Songs of U.S. has united musicians from across genres to explore what belongs in the modern American songbook through performance and conversation, concluding earlier this month with performances from Grace Potter and Nia Ashleigh.

Variety noted that Songs of U.S. arrived amid renewed conversations about patriotism and American identity, describing the project as offering "a more thoughtful and perhaps meaningfully patriotic approach" to celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary. You can read more about the series in Variety HERE and People Magazine HERE. Watch Salt Lick Incubator’s founder Roger Brown discuss the series on Boston Public Radio HERE, and watch Salt Lick Incubator’s president Liza Levy discuss the series and America’s musical legacy in her interview on MS Now’s Morning Joe HERE. 

You can watch all of Songs of U.S. sessions via Salt Lick Sessions' YouTubechannel and social platforms, featuring the artists below. Across the series, artists reinterpreted works by writers including Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Beyoncé, Bill Withers, Roberta Flack and John Denver. 

• Amy Grant - James Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind”
• Chance Emerson - Jackson Browne’s “These Days”
• Nia Ashleigh / LÉA THE LEOX / Jordyn Simone - Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
• Grace Potter - Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”
• Corook - Original song “Scooby”
• Otis Williams - Interview
• Brittney Spencer - Lori Lieberman / Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
• Tiny Habits - Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind”
• Gene Simmons - Interview
• Samara Joy - Duke Ellington’s “Le Sucrier-Velours”
• Mickey Guyton - John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
• Trousdale - John Newton’s “Amazing Grace”
• PAMÉ - Stevie Wonder’s “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer”
• Paula Prieto - Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child”
• Raheem DeVaughn - Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”
• Durand Bernarr - George Gershwin’s “Summertime”
• Jordyn Simone - Beyoncé’s “Be Alive”
• Old Crow Medicine Show - Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”
• Maggie Rose - John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery”
• Swamp Dogg - John Prine’s “Sam Stone”
• Claire Ernst - Cole Porter’s “Night and Day”
• Joy Oladokun - B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone”
• MARIS - Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon”
• LÉA THE LEOX - Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”
• Raye Zaragoza - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers “American Girl”
• Farayi - Randy Newman’s “Sail Away”
• Brandy Clark - Ada R. Habershon/Charles H. Gabriel’s “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?”
• Nia Ashleigh - P!nk’s “Glitter in the Air”

Salt Lick Sessions will return to their regular programming with upcoming performances from The War and Treaty, Shakey Graves, Greensky Bluegrass, Kashus Culpepper, and Ruthie Foster, to be released in partnership with the Americana Music Association. Salt Lick Incubator will also be announcing their new emerging grant recipients in Q4 2026. Follow Salt Lick Sessions on socials HERE.

[L-R] Grace Potter, Liza Levy, Nicole Izzo Mlynczak | Photo Credit: Lexi Matuson

About Salt Lick Sessions

Salt Lick Incubator’s signature series, Salt Lick Sessions, is known for its artist-first approach to compensation, rights, and creative collaboration. The series takes viewers on a nationwide discovery tour, featuring more than 50 musicians each year through intimate video portraits that invite viewers directly into the artist’s realm. Past performers include Jon Batiste, Big Freedia, Sheryl Crow, Lalah Hathaway, Mickey Guyton, Madison Cunningham, Tank and the Bangas, Dawes, and many more.

 

About Salt Lick Incubator

Salt Lick Incubator is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting innovative musicians at critical stages of their careers. Founded by Roger Brown, former president of Berklee College of Music and Liza Levy, the organization provides grants, mentorship, creative development and media platforms for artists building sustainable careers. Its signature series, Salt Lick Sessions, is known for its artist-first approach.

 

For more information, please contact SaltLickPR@ShoreFire.com.