First UK Americana Awards takes place

Danny George Wilson and his Champions won UK Artist, Album and Song Of The Year. Pic: So Records/Wikimedia Commons

Danny And The Champions Of The World and Gretchen Peters were big winners at the inaugural ceremony held last night

Danny And The Champions Of The World and Gretchen Peters were the big winners at the first UK Americana Awards in London’s St John at Hackney yesterday evening. Danny and The Champions took home UK Artist, Album and Song Of The Year awards and Gretchen won International Album and Song Of The Year.

Set to become an annual event, the award ceremony rounded off two days of activities at this year’s Americana Music Association UK conference. In a night celebrating the Americana music scene, an audience of guests, AMA-UK delegates, members of the music industry and the public witnessed performances from Billy Bragg, Danny And The Champions Of The World, Bear’s Den, The Dreaming Spires, Lewis & Leigh, Emily Barker, Robert Vincent, Gretchen Peters and Cale Tyson.

Chris Difford presented Billy Bragg with the Trailblazer Award, given by the AMA-UK for his contribution to the genre and Robert Vincent received the prestigious Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award. Swedish duo First Aid Kit were recognised with an award for the official biggest selling Americana album of 2015 in the UK with their album Stay Gold.

Joining host Bob Harris and musical director Ethan Johns were special guest presenters Bonnie Raitt, who received a standing ovation from the crowd, Elizabeth McGovern, Ricky Ross, Jed Hilly, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Kimmie Rhodes, Ralph McLean and Mark Hagen.

Winners of the seven membership-voted awards were as follows:

UK Album Of The Year
What Kind of Love by Danny And The Champions Of The World

International Album Of The Year
Blackbirds by Gretchen Peters

UK Artist Of The Year
Danny And The Champions Of The World

International Artist Of The Year
Jason Isbell

UK Song Of The Year
Clear Water by Danny & The Champions of the World (written by Danny George Wilson and Paul Lush)

International Song Of The Year
Blackbirds by Gretchen Peters (written by Gretchen Peters and Ben Glover)

UK Instrumentalist Of The Year
BJ Cole

The Americana Music Association-UK is a professional trade association representing and advocating for the voice of American Roots music in the UK. Its membership comprises musicians, both from the UK and overseas, plus professionals from all sectors of the music industry. For more details, visit: theamauk.org

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