Country Hero Don Williams, Stax’s Al Bell Among Americana Honorees
Other ‘lifetime’ honorees who will be celebrated at the 2022 Americana Honors and Awards are Chris Isaak, Indigo Girls, and Fairfield Four.
Late country hero Don Williams and Stax Records president Al Bell will be among the recipients of Lifetime Achievement awards from the Americana Music Association next month. Other honorees who will be celebrated at the 2022 Americana Honors and Awards at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on September 14 are Chris Isaak, Indigo Girls, and Fairfield Four.
Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Williams, who amassed 17 country No.1s in a long career before his death in September 2017, will posthumously receive the Americana’s President’s Award. Storied soul trailblazer Bell is to be conferred with the Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award for Executive.
Isaak will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance, a title that embraces not only his music career but his numerous appearances in films and on television. Indigo Girls, the enduring duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, will be the recipients of the Spirit of Americana Award, presented in partnership with the First Amendment Center. The award recognizes the duo’s advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ rights and the environment. Gospel greats the Fairfield Four will be celebrated with the Legacy Award, given in conjunction with the National Museum of African American Music.
The same night, the awards presentation will announce the results of its member-voted awards. Brandi Carlile, Allison Russell, and Yola lead the way with three nominations each, in a friendly competition for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. There are also nominations this year for the Mavericks, Billy Strings, Jason Isbell, James McMurtry, and Los Lobos. The Emerging Act of the Year category features Sierra Ferrell, Neal Francis. Brittney Spencer, Adia Victoria, and Morgan Wade.
The awards take their usual place at the center of AmericanaFest 2022, which this year from September 13-17 with a vast array of showcase performances and concerts at clubs and bars around Nashville.
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