UK Americana Awards nominees revealed

Richard Thompson: “I’m deeply honoured to receive this award”

The 2017 shortlist is announced and singer-songwriter Richard Thompson will receive its highest honour, the UK Americana Lifetime Achievement Award

The Americana Music Association UK has announced the nominations shortlist for its annual awards, with the winners being revealed on Thursday 2 February at St John at Hackney. The show will be hosted by broadcaster Bob Harris and will feature performances from nominees and award winners, including Richard Thompson who will receive the UK Americana Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of his contribution to the genre throughout his career and life in music.

Acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest guitarists and most prolific songwriters, Thompson has been a ground-breaking force both in terms of his own acclaimed albums and live shows and his influence on other musicians. Thompson commented: “I’m deeply honoured to receive this award. My heartfelt thanks to AMA-UK.”

The awards show also coincides with the first anniversary of the Official Americana Albums Chart, which was launched this year by the Official Charts Company in partnership with the AMA-UK and is published each week on OfficialCharts.com. To celebrate the occasion, the best-selling UK Americana album of 2016 will be recognised with a special award.

The UK Americana Awards are part of AmericanaFest UK, a two-day event which will also include an evening of showcases on Wednesday 1 February featuring 20 bands playing in various venues around Hackney and daytime conferences on both days.

The Americana UK Awards 2017 nominees are as follows:

UK Album of the Year

• Ghost by Lewis & Leigh (produced by Matt Ingram)
• Mockingbird Lane by Danni Nicholls
• Nos Da Comrade by Peter Bruntnell
• Palomino by Treetop Flyers

International Album of the Year

• A Sailor’s Guide To Earth by Sturgill Simpson
• American Band by Drive-By Truckers
• Angeleno by Sam Outlaw
• Midwest Farmer’s Daughter by Margo Price

UK Song of the Year

• Mr Sunshine by Peter Bruntnell (written by Peter Bruntnell and Bill Ritchie)
• Silver Liner by Ethan Johns & the Black-Eyed Dogs (written by Ethan Johns)
• Tend To The Thorns by William The Conqueror (written by Ruarri Joseph)
• The 4:19 by Lewis & Leigh (written by Al Lewis and Alva Leigh)

International Song of the Year

• Dust by Lucinda Williams (written by Lucinda Williams)
• Hands of Time by Margo Price (written by Margo Price)
• Somebody Save Me by Cale Tyson (written by Cale Tyson)
• Welcome To Earth (Pollywog) by Sturgill Simpson (written by Sturgill Simpson)

UK Artist of the Year

• Bear’s Den
• Billy Bragg
• Lewis & Leigh
• Yola Carter

International Artist of the Year

• Margo Price
• Mary Chapin Carpenter
• Richmond Fontaine
• Sturgill Simpson

UK Instrumentalist of the Year

• CJ Hillman
• Dave Little
• Henry Senior
• Kirk Bowman

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Richard Thompson

To find out more about thw awards, visit theamauk.org

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.