The Winners and Recipients of the 2025 Americana Honors & Awards

Last night, the Americana Music Association held their 24th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The star-studded show, which packed plenty of magical moments into its three-hour-plus runtime, was hosted by actor/comedian/musician John C. Reilly and featured performances by John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, Joy Oladokun, I’m With Her, S.G. Goodman, and many, many more.

Fiddler Alex Hargreaves, currently touring and recording with Billy Strings, won the first award of the evening, Instrumentalist of the Year, while Appalachian “heavy petal music” starlet-pixie Sierra Ferrell was awarded Artist of the Year. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats’ latest LP, 2024’s South of Here, won Album of the Year and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings took home a trophy each for Duo/Group of the Year.

Nashville singer-songwriter, session playing stalwart, and community leader Buddy Miller returned yet again as the musical director of the Americana All-Star Band – including Don Was, The McCrary Sisters, Fred Eltringham, Jen Gunderman, Jim Hoke, and Larry Campbell – to supply the evening’s first-class music. Plus, the McCrary Sisters were honored by AMA and the National Museum of African American Music with the Legacy of Americana Award.

There were many more noteworthy moments, performances, and appearances throughout the proceedings, which were livestreamed via NPR Music – watch here to see all that you may have missed. Below, you’ll find a full list of the winners and honorees – with “Of the Year” awardees marked in bold. Americanafest continues through the rest of the week in Nashville, promising even more roots music magic all across Music City.

I’m With Her – Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan – perform during the Americana Honors & Awards at which they won Song of the Year. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music Association.)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Lonesome Drifter, Charley Crockett; Produced by Charley Crockett & Shooter Jennings

Foxes in the Snow, Jason Isbell; Produced by Jason Isbell & Gena Johnson

Manning Fireworks, MJ Lenderman; Produced by Alex Farrar & MJ Lenderman

South of Here, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats; Produced by Brad Cook

Woodland, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings; Produced by David Rawlings

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Charley Crockett
Sierra Ferrell
Joy Oladokun
Billy Strings
Waxahatchee

Margo Price and host John C. Reilly center stage at the Americana Honors & Awards. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music Association.)

DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR

Julien Baker & TORRES
Dawes
Larkin Poe
The Mavericks
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

EMERGING ACT OF THE YEAR

Noeline Hofmann
MJ Lenderman
Medium Build
Maggie Rose
Jesse Welles

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR

Fred Eltringham
Alex Hargreaves
Megan Jane
Kaitlyn Raitz
Seth Taylor

SONG OF THE YEAR

“Johnny Moonshine,” Maggie Antone; Written by Maggie Antone, Natalie Hemby & Aaron Raitiere

“Ancient Light,” I’m With Her; Written by Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan & Sara Watkins

“Wristwatch,” MJ Lenderman; Written by MJ Lenderman

“Sunshine Getaway,” JD McPherson; Written by Page Burkum, JD McPherson & Jack Torrey

“Heartless,” Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats; Written by Nathaniel Rateliff

Darrell Scott sings with I’m With Her – Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan – at the Americana Honors & Awards. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music Association.)

AMERICANA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT HONOREES

Joe Henry
Darrell Scott
Old 97’s

LEGACY OF AMERICANA AWARD

(co-presented with the National Museum of African American Music)

The McCrary Sisters

SPIRIT OF AMERICANA FREE SPEECH IN MUSIC AWARD

Jesse Welles


All photos via Getty Images for Americana Music Association, credits as noted.

Lead image: David Rawlings, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Gillian Welch perform during the Americana Honors & Awards; by Erika Goldring.
Alternate images: David Rawlings & Gillian Welch pose backstage with their award for Duo/Group of the year; by Terry Wyatt.

WATCH: Nathaniel Rateliff Adds a String Quartet to “And It’s Still Alright”

Nathaniel Rateliff’s And It’s Still Alright album is the product of a tumultuous time in the writer’s life, but such are the circumstances that yield the most compelling songs, records, and artistic expressions. In this NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert filmed at the Mercury Café in Denver, Rateliff performs several songs from the 2020 record, including the title track and “All or Nothing,” a more wistful selection. Since the Tiny Desk shows have reformatted to accommodate for safety, the features have frequently been scaled-back performances, often filmed in the homes of the artists, but in this case, Rateliff adds his band and a string quartet to the studio-like space. The surroundings may not be as iconic as the actual Tiny Desk, but we’re thankful that artists are going above and beyond to give us outstanding mini concerts. This Tiny Desk set is no different, and like the album, it crescendos gradually from an atmospheric, ponderous beginning to a triumphant, boisterous finale with the songs “Redemption” and “Mavis.”


Photo credit: Rett Rogers

The Hurt Behind Nathaniel Rateliff’s ‘And It’s Still Alright’ (Part 1 of 2)

Nathaniel Rateliff’s And It’s Still Alright retains much of the soul and swagger of his work with his band the Night Sweats, but its subtler arrangements and sparser atmosphere offer more room for Rateliff to showcase his introspective side as both a songwriter and vocalist. Songs like the title track, which chronicles the aftermath of unexpected loss, and the poignant “Time Stands,” hark back to his salad days as a solo singer-songwriter while also marking his immense artistic growth over the past decade.

As his first full-length solo album in seven years, And It’s Still Alright comes on the heels of two acclaimed albums from Rateliff and the Night Sweats, both of which released via STAX Records and found the Missouri-born artist digging deeper into rock-influenced soul and R&B music.

Rateliff originally planned to make the new album alongside friend, frequent collaborator, and beloved producer Richard Swift, who died unexpectedly in July 2018 at the age of 41. Swift’s passing is a heavy presence across the LP in myriad ways, including Rateliff’s decision to record the bulk of And It’s Still Alright at Swift’s National Freedom studio in College Grove, Oregon.

Below, read part one of our conversation with Rateliff, held in the weeks leading up to And It’s Still Alright‘s release.

BGS: You’ll release And It’s Still Alright in just a couple of weeks. What are you feeling as you anticipate having this new music out in the world?

Rateliff: I’m excited. I’m excited to share it. This is kind of the first time that me and the band have done real rehearsals. [Laughs] I feel like with the Night Sweats we’d be like, “Oh, we know these songs,” and just kind of rock through them. These songs have such a different intention than that, and there’s so much more subtlety in performing them live together. It’s been an interesting yet fun challenge to figure that all out together.

Having been a few years since you last put together a project that wasn’t with the Night Sweats, what was behind your decision to move forward with another solo album this time around?

When we were making the last Night Sweats record, I had a lot of these songs that I was working on. I was sharing them with Richard. We had intended to make this record together before he passed away. So I guess I followed through on my commitment to him in making this record. We tried to do it the way we thought he would do it.

What did those early song ideas, as well as those early conversations with Richard about what you envisioned for the album, sound like? Was there a moment or a song that made the project feel like it had clicked for you?

I remember playing “All Or Nothing” — I had the chord progression for it, and some of the words; it wasn’t really done yet — and I was kind of sharing it with Richard and he was like, “Man, I love this. You can’t be too Nilsson, man.” And so I would say, “OK. We’ll see how Nilsson we can get.” That was one of the things I wanted the record, or at least some of the songs, to have, that feel and similar approach to Harry Nilsson’s. Then a lot of the songs had a lot to do with Richard passing away, and some of our similar struggles that we shared in our personal lives and in our friendship together. So it seemed fitting to follow through and make a record.

Would you be open to sharing a bit about what you were feeling after he did pass, and when you made the decision that you were going to follow through with the album? How did doing the work feel in the wake of his passing?

It’s devastating, still. I still think about Richard and miss him most days, you know? He had this amazing ability to make the people around him feel very loved. As far as a creative partner, he was my favorite person to really work with. I really hadn’t intended on working with anybody else. So a really big part of the process of making this record was to go back to his studio. It has such a sound and feel to it there, so it kind of made me feel like he was with us in some way…

The band and I had all worked a lot with Richard and kind of new some of his tricks, which he was super open and willing to show us when he was still around. We really tried to approach it like, “What would Richard do?” song-by-song. Then there’s always that point in the process when you listen to the songs and say, “OK, what is there too much of here?” and kind of strip it back. Then we added a bunch of things to it. [Laughs]

The title track is so powerful and is one of several songs I’ve found myself returning to often since first sitting down to listen through the album. What was the experience of writing that song like for you? Did it bring about any healing for you?

I had a bunch of songs that I was writing with Richard in mind. When we were in Cottage Grove making this record in March, I’d had that song and was sitting at the kitchen table having coffee in the morning and just kind of instantly wrote it all out. At first, when you’re listening to it, the words came out so naturally that you don’t really take the time to question or examine what you’re trying to express personally. There was a moment in the recording process when I was like, “Oh fuck, I can’t believe I’m writing about this.” It’s heartbreaking at first but there is an element of healing to it. Sometimes to relinquish things you just have to say them out loud.

Read Part two of our interview with Nathaniel Rateliff.


Photo credit: Rett Rogers

Artist of the Month: Nathaniel Rateliff

One of the most powerful artists in roots music, Nathaniel Rateliff has a solo album coming out in just a couple weeks, and as a preview, he’s released a music video for the title track. The evocative video mirrors a song with a lot of weight and meaning behind it, a trademark of Rateliff’s style. A simple song — voice accompanied by galloping guitar and a swirl of ambient textures — “And It’s Still Alright” has a beckoning quality that is matched with a grainy film aesthetic, shot in black and white with a splash of washed-out color.

In 2019, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats scored a platinum single with “S.O.B.” and a gold record for their self-titled album. Now the pieces are in place for the next installment of Rateliff’s music as And It’s Still Alright is slated for a Valentine’s Day release. Tour dates are filling in, including a stop at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, as well as multiple shows in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, and Minneapolis. His European tour kicks off in April.

To hold over the anticipation for the new record and our upcoming Artist of the Month coverage, enjoy our BGS Essentials playlist.


Photo credit: Rett Rogers

WATCH: Nathaniel Rateliff, “And It’s Still Alright”

Artist: Nathaniel Rateliff
Song: “And It’s Still Alright”
Album: And It’s Still Alright
Release Date: February 14, 2020
Label: Stax Records

In Their Words: “I think I always want to see hope in the darkness, and I like to try to share that. … I always try to write from a perspective of trying to approach everything very honestly, even if it leaves me vulnerable. But overall, it’s almost like I’m a different character when I’m writing for myself. … I think this album is a reminder that we all go through hardship, but regardless of the hardship everything ends up where it’s supposed to. I still continue to live and I still continue to find joy. I think that’s the theme of the record.” — Nathaniel Rateliff


Photo credit: Rett Rogers

‘Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats’

The ghost of Sam Cooke seems a little restless these days. Back in June, soul-man-of-the-moment Leon Bridges resurrected the smooth side of Sam with his debut set, Coming Home. This month, Missouri-raised folkmeister Nathaniel Rateliff and his band, the Night Sweats, reincarnate the dirtier side of the original Soul Stirrer with this set of 11 songs that tug at the heart of rhythm and blues.

It’s only appropriate Rateliff and his crew of sweaty men would drop this bundle of wax on the venerable Stax imprint, as the singer channels not only Sam Cooke, but just about every major vibe that’s been built below the Mason-Dixon line. Rateliff gathers the gospel and drowns it in the grits and gravy on the foot-pounding first song, “I Need Never Get Old,” shuffles down the dark alleys of Memphis with “Howling at Nothing,” and thumps the tub of rock 'n' roll with “Trying So Hard Not to Know.” There’s a street corner swing to the lovely four-part harmonizer “I’ve Been Falling”; “Look It Here” has the same four-on-the-floor as the album’s opener; and the oddly named “S.O.B.” riffs vocal riffs straight from the Baptist Church of Birmingham.

Everything here is drenched in reverb and mixed at a distance, as if you’re standing in the middle of a house party and the players are hanging out in a bunch of different rooms. It’s a strange experience at first but, after a cut or two, it all begins to make sense. The end result is a top-quality cadre of rough and tumble tunes that speak to the archangel but rock like the devil.

7 Contemporary R&B Acts You Should Know

While we revere the Reverend Al Green, acknowledge Aretha with a daily dose of respect and cherish our box sets of New Orleans rhythm and blues, we don't live in the past when it comes to the sounds of the soul. Back in the beginning of 2015, we doffed our hats to the likes of Nicky Egan and Mingo Fishtrap, acts that bring the soul of the '60s and '70s into the realm of the present. Allow us the opportunity to tout a few more folks on the R&B tip, from San Diego's Andra Day and London's Lianne La Havas.

Andra Day
San Diego-born Andra Day’s debut album, Cheers to the Fall, dropped recently on Warner Bros. and the buzz has gotten louder and louder by the minute. And rightly so: Her record is a sparkling example of a new generation of R&B singers who understand their history but live in their own unique present. We’ll spare the excessive comparisons to everyone from Adele to Eartha and just tell you this: This kid is for real.

Jon Batiste
A member of one of the largest and best-known musical families in New Orleans, 28-year-old Jon Batiste is a singer, songwriter, and bandleader of formidable talent. At 17, he recorded his first album, Times in New Orleans, with a highly respected cadre of jazz musicians including Jason Marsalis and Christian Scott. The next year, he moved to New York to attend Julliard, where he met the members of his band, Stay Human, and eventually earned a Master’s Degree. He’s toured the world, scored soundtracks, starred in films, been honored many times over, performed at the NBA All-Star game and — as of this past June — brings Stay Human to the Ed Sullivan Theater every night as the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He also has a sense of humor, as you can see from this skit from the Colbert show.

Lianne La Havas
Born in London of Greek and Jamaican parents, 26-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist Lianne La Havas spent a couple of years in the Warner Bros. stable before releasing her first album, 2012’s Is Your Love Big Enough? This past July, La Havas released her sophomore effort, Blood — an album inspired by her travels to Jamaica and her reconnection with her mother’s ancestral roots. A singer of stunning presence, earthy voice, and powerful range, La Havas’s style evokes thoughts of great '60s and '70s singers like Candi Staton, Ann Peebles, and Betty Wright. An artist of exceptional range, she’s also a talented dancer and very good guitar player.

Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats
As we mentioned in the review of Rateliff and his band’s self-titled debut, this Missouri-born, Denver-based singer/songwriter is one of three men working the mic these days who owes his groove to the great Sam Cooke. For Rateliff, it’s the dirtier side of Cooke's sound that comes through on this record rolled out by the venerable Stax imprint. It's an interesting change of pace given Rateliff’s history of hanging with the likes of Iron & Wine and making songs that are on the pensive side of the poetic street. This one’s pretty damn groovy.

Leon Bridges
The second of our Sam Cooke acolytes couldn’t evoke the smooth side of the Soul Stirrer more if he tried. A self-taught guitarist and singer who, three years ago, was washing dishes in a Ft. Worth restaurant, the 26-year old Bridges is all the rage these days … from Vogue photo shoots to Sundance Film Festival performances to iPhone commercials. The good news is that he’s no flash in the pan. He's a smooth kid with a super-smooth voice, a fabulous style, and a pretty enjoyable record.

The California Honeydrops
These cats aren’t exactly new — they’ve been out of Oakland since ‘08 — but, with a strong new album on the shelves, they deserve a little extra love. Lead singer and trumpeter Lech Wierzynski is a more-than-talented horn player and, as a singer, he’s the third in a our triumvirate of singers who owes significant debt to Sam Cooke. Wierzynski also has a fair amount of Smoky Robinson and Daryl Hall in his DNA, a cat who sounds more like a Motor City citizen than a kid from Warsaw. The Honeydrops are no one man show, though, as their newest set of songs attests. Here’s a fun one from the new record (which we reviewed here).

Ruby Amanfu
Ghana-born, Nashville-bred singer/songwriter Ruby Amanfu's voice possesses a hint of heartache, is tempered with the optimism of gospel, and soars with the confidence of a singer many years wiser than her age. A protégé of Jack White's, Amanfu has worked with the likes of Wanda Jackson and Chris Thile, authored cuts for people like Kelly Clarkson, and offers her talent to the duo known as Sam & Ruby (not to mention appearances in a film or two). With this song, from her 2015 release Standing Still, she shows doing anything but that. (Read our Squared Roots conversation with Amanfu about Bill Withers here.)


All photos in the lede collage are courtesy of the artists

Gig Bag: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, Nathaniel Rateliff gives us a look at what he has to have handy when he's out on the road. Check out his tour dates with the Night Sweats here.

An acoustic guitar: I always bring an acoustic guitar with me for any down time in the green room or late-night sing-alongs on the bus. My Gibson Dove has been the guitar of choice the last few tours. 

A notebook: Writing new music on the road isn't easy, but when inspiration hits, I like to have a notebook and pen handy. The big, soft cover Moleskines are my usual, but there's a small company out of Detroit called Shinola that makes a good one, as well. 

Hats: I'm usually wearing a hat — whether it's my stage hat, my day off hat, or my hat I can put headphones over. I've been lucky to have a friend over at Stetson that always helps me find the right one, and provided this sweet hat box for traveling. 

A Polaroid camera: It's convenient that everybody has a camera in their pocket, but you can't beat the look and feel of an old Polaroid.

This Is Spinal Tap: Band favorite, right here. We watch it at least once on every tour. Never leave home without it.

 

For more on Nathaniel Rateliff, read our interview with him.


Lede photo by Brantley Gutierrez