Americana Music Association Awards Nominations for 2008-2009

At its annual festival and conference on September 16-19, 2009 in Nashville, the Americana Music Association will award top artists for 2008-2009. Yesterday, May 1st, nominations for awards in six categories were due from the AMA membership. The eligibility period is June 1, 2008 through April 30, 2009, meaning that only those artists releasing (or performing on) albums released during this period will be considered for awards. Following are the nominations I submitted:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
1. Real Animal - Alejandro Escovedo
2. Silverlined - Donna The Buffalo
3. Eilen Jewell - Sea of Tears
4. Buddy & Julie Miller - Written In Chalk
5. Carrie Rodriguez - She Ain't Me
6. The Gourds - Haymaker!
7. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
8. JJ Cale - Roll On
9. Lucinda Williams - Little Honey
10. Rodney Crowell - Sex & Gasoline

ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
1. Alejandro Escovedo
2. Eilen Jewell
3. Buddy & Julie Miller
4. Neko Case
5. Donna The Buffalo
6. The Gourds
7. Carrie Rodriguez
8. JJ Cale
9. Lucinda Williams
10. John Doe

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR:
1. Jerry Miller (Eilen Jewell band guitarist)
2. Ry Cooder (guitar)
3. JJ Cale (guitar)
4. Buddy Miller (guitar)
5. Richie Stearns (The Horse Flies - banjo)
6. Terry Adams (keyboards)
7. Booker T. Jones (keyboards)
8. Bela Fleck (banjo)
9. Jorma Kaukonen (guitar)
10. Jerry Douglas (dobro)

NEW/EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
1. The Felice Brothers
2. Tejas Brothers
3. The Dedringers
4. Will Quinlan

SONG OF THE YEAR:
1. Always A Friend - Alejandro Escovedo
2. Rain Roll In - Eilen Jewell
3. She Ain't Me - Carrie Rodriguez
4. Locket And Key - Donna The Buffalo
5. Baghdad Children - The Horse Flies
6. Chalk - Buddy & Julie Miller
7. Ridin' With The Blues - Ry Cooder
8. Carpetbaggers - Jenny Lewis
9. Jesus Was A Motorcycle Man - Jeff Finlin
10. Jailhouse Tears - Lucinda Williams

DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR:
1. Eilen Jewell Band
2. Buddy & Julie Miller
3. Donna The Buffalo
4. The Gourds
5. The Horse Flies
6. The Sacred Shakers
7. Tejas Brothers
8. The Felice Brothers
9. Yarn
10. The Dedringers

I confess that the due date slipped up on me and, thus, I only had about 30 minutes to ponder these selections yesterday. I began by combing through my "Best Of" lists for 2008 (see prior blogs), eliminating those albums that were released prior to June 1, 2008. Then, I considered some of my favorite releases thus far in 2009, pretty much off the top of my head. Some of the notable 2009 releases include Eilen Jewell's Sea Of Tears, Buddy & Julie Miller's Written In Chalk, The Gourds' Haymaker!, Neko Case's Middle Cyclone, JJ Cale's Roll On, along with new stuff by John Doe, Terry Adams (of NRBQ fame), Booker T., and The Felice Brothers.

Thanks for listening,
Cat