McKenna tops AMA nominations

Tuesday, May 14, 2019 – Lori McKenna led the 18th annual Americana Honors & Awards nominations with four, it was announced Tuesday

John Prine and ace producer Dave Cobb captured three nominations apiece.

The nominations, announced by last year's hosts The Milk Carton Kids, were handed out in six categories.

McKenna received nominations for Album of the Y ear and three in the Song of the Year category as she had two different songs with which she was associated be nominated.

Cobb received three nominations for his role as producer of Amanda Shires, Prine and McKenna, who had albums nominated for Album of the Year.

Nominees were:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
"To the Sunset," Amanda Shires, Produced by Dave Cobb
"The Tree," Lori McKenna, Produced by Dave Cobb
"The Tree of Forgiveness," John Prine, Produced by Dave Cobb
"Walk Through Fire," Yola, Produced by Dan Auerbach

ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Brandi Carlile
Rhiannon Giddens
Kacey Musgraves
Mavis Staples

DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR:
I'm With Her
Our Native Daughters
Tedeschi Trucks Band
The War and Treaty

EMERGING ACT OF THE YEAR:
Jade Bird
J.S. Ondara
Erin Rae
The War and Treaty
Yola

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR:
Chris Eldridge
Eamon McLoughlin
Chris Powell
Michael Rinne

SONG OF THE YEAR:
"By Degrees," Mark Erelli, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Lori McKenna, Anais Mitchell and Josh Ritter, Written by Mark Erelli
"Mockingbird," Ruston Kelly, Written by Ruston Kelly
"People Get Old," Lori McKenna, Written by Lori McKenna
"Summer's End," John Prine, Written by Pat McLaughlin and John Prine

The winners of each category will be announced during the Americana Honors & Awards on Sept. 11 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The program is the hallmark event of AMERICANAFEST, which runs from Sept. 10-15

More news

CD reviews

The Tree

It's difficult to know where to start when praising Lori McKenna's "The Tree." It's so good in so many ways. Artists like Little Big Town and Tim McGraw have benefited greatly from recording McKenna songs, yet it's unlikely many mainstream country music fans recognize her name. Fans of Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves, two women that consistently and effectively write straight from the heart, would love McKenna's songs -- if only given the chance. »»»

The Bird & The Rifle

Lori McKenna's back story is a country song brought to vivid yet unaffected life. Married with five children, the Massachusetts native began exploring her longstanding musical gifts - she wrote her first song at 13 - by playing for family and friends, who then forced her to attend a regional coffee house open mic. After two years of regular gigging with her poignant songs of everyday life and becoming a favorite among Boston folk fans, McKenna self-released her debut, "Paper Wings and »»»

Numbered Doors

Singer-songwriter Lori McKenna has forged a career built on consistently strong if sadly under-appreciated albums. However while sales have not reach platinum status, some of the bigger names in music - Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Little Big Town - have not let her talent go unnoticed. Now, McKenna's latest is an interesting concept with most of the material inspired by and written in motel rooms while on tour. McKenna says the lyrics aren't necessarily autobiographical, but stem from »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk – When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: The Lil Smokies provide the perfect antidote – On a night when the world to be falling further apart thanks to coronavirus (this would be the night the NBA postponed the season), there stood The Lil Smokies to at least in some small measure save the day. The quintet is part of a generation of musicians with bluegrass as the basis, but not totally the sum of the music either.... »»»

Concert Review: White makes the case for himself, no matter how dark the music – John Paul White opined with a glint in his eyes that his songs were not of the uplifting variety. In fact, they were downright dark. How else to explain "The Long Way" with the line "long way home back to you." Or "James," a song inspired by his grandfather who suffered from dementia. But lest you think that the Alabama... »»»

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