Wednesday night’s Americana Music Honors & Awards in Nashville found the love being spread among a handful of the Americana’s brightest lights — among them Brandi Carlile, Molly Tuttle, Tyler Childers and the duo of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings — on top of some high-profile and highly emotional honorary awards or tributes being afforded dearly departed stars like Dolly Parton and Tom Petty. Tuttle was a perhaps surprise first-time winner as artist of the year. In contrast, it is no surprise when Welch and Rawlings pick up duo/group of the year, as they did for the second year in a row.
Carlile won song of the year for the title track to her 2025 album “Returning to Me,” as its singer and sole songwriter. Childers was an absentee album of the year winner for “Snipe Hunter,” awarded along with producers Rick Rubin and Nick Sanborn. Ken Pomeroy won emerging act of the year, and the award for instrumentalist of the year went to Mandy Far.
Those are the Americana Music Association’s only six competitive categories — a minimali amount of voted-upon awards that allows for a show in which usually everyone nominated is invited to perform, and most do. It also leaves time for the lifetime honors that are a huge part of the program, this year going to Robert Plant, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Dolly Parton. Tuttle won the coveted artist of the year slot on the strength of her touring but also on the warm reception for her fifth studio album, “So Long Little Miss Sunshine,” which represented a risk that paid off, since it moved her a little closer to the mainstream than previous recordings.
On the red carpet, Tuttle told Variety that she “was taking a bit of a sonic leap with this record, and absolutely, . some of my fans were, who are more on into the bluegrass-type traditional stuff, they were a little nervous about it, I think. But I’m glad people got on board, and I was proud of this record, so I hoped that other people would like it, too.” It had been a while for Tuttle, as far as having a shot at a prize here. In 2018, I was up for Instrumentalist of the Year, so this is the first time I’ve been back as a nominee since then.
I love that they do the instrumentalist category, which was huge for me. I’d just moved to Nashville, and winning that award was like, ‘Oh, my God, what’s happening?’ So it’s very cool to be back as an artist.” Tuttle has plenty to celebrate right now, with it being less than a month since she tied the knot Aug. 22 with Old Crow Medicine Crow frontman Ketch Secor, who accompanied her on the program. I play the clawhammer guitar on it, but I thought that would be fun to do at the show, something a little different.
I’m excited to have Ketch playing fiddle with me.” Secor also did the red carpet, and was asked if he was prepared to officially be part of Americana’s First Couple. I like it,” said the newlywed. I guess I think of Tammy and George, but that didn’t work out so good.
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