Pictured are (l to r): Publicist Kim Fowler, Jason & the Scorchers’ Warner Hodges, AMA’s Danna Strong, Jason & the Scorchers’ Jason Ringenberg, Webb Wilder and BMI’s Kay Clary.

Roots music royalty Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck read the list of award candidates, whose names were met with enthusiastic whoops and applause.

Longtime BMI songwriter James McMurtry garnered a slew of nominations, including Artist, Album and Song of the Year. McMurtry’s barbed wit and astute songwriting have resonated with listeners all over the world.

Pictured are (l to r): Hal Ketchum, Billy Block and Fats Kaplin.

Perennial BMI favorite Alison Krauss also received multiple nominations for her work with legend Robert Plant. In addition to a spot on the Duo/Group of the Year list, their collaborative effort Raising Sand earned Album of the Year, and their rendition of the Everly Brothers’ “Gone, Gone, Gone” secured a Song of the Year nod.

New/Emerging Artist of the Year nominees included a wealth of auspicious BMI singer/songwriters. Neo-soul, gospel conduit Mike Farris, gravely troubadour Ryan Bingham and the virtuosic bluegrass-dipped SteelDrivers all received well-deserved nods.

Pictured are (l to r): Third Coast Artist Agency’s Clint Wiley and Steve Hoiberg, Thirty Tigers’ Traci Thomas, Justin Townes Earle and Bonnie Whitmore.

Recognition also went to preeminent mandolin player and roots/bluegrass innovator Sam Bush in the Instrumentalist of the Year field; esteemed singer/songwriter Tiff Merritt, who received a Song of the Year nod for “Broken”; and triple-threat Kane Welch Kaplin, in the Duo/Group of the Year field.

The winners will be announced September 18 at the historic Ryman Auditorium during the 7th Annual Americana Music Association’s Honors and Awards Show. Hosted by Jim Lauderdale and featuring a band led by Buddy Miller, the Honors & Awards ceremony will also recognize iconic troubadour John Hiatt with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Songwriting and Jason and the Scorchers with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Performance. Additional honorees and performers will be announced in the coming months.

Abigail Washburn (left) and Béla Fleck (right) announce the nominees.

Slated for Wednesday, September 17 through Saturday, September 20, the 9th Annual Americana Festival and Conference will offer daily seminars, panels and networking opportunities at the Nashville Convention Center. Each evening brings more than 80 stacked Americana showcases to key venues throughout Nashville. Approximately 2,000 industry executives, artists and fans are expected this year.

For more information on tickets, becoming a member of the Americana Music Association and more, please visit www.americanamusic.org.

About the Americana Music Association
The Americana Music Association is a professional trade organization whose mission is to provide a forum for the advocacy of Americana music and to promote public awareness of the genre to support the creative and economic viability of professionals in this field. Dedicated to building and promoting the Americana genre and the individuals who participate in that industry, the Americana Music Association works closely with artists, labels, radio stations, retailers, print media, festivals, agents, publishers and more to help organize and build the infrastructure necessary for the Americana genre to achieve success both creatively and financially.

Pictured are (l to r): BMI's Jody Williams, Honorable Mayor Karl Dean, Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck, with the AMA's Danna Strong and Jed Hilly.

2008 BMI Americana Music Association Honors & Awards Nominees

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
Raising Sand

James McMurtry
Just Us Kids

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
James McMurtry

INSTUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Sam Bush

NEW EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Mike Farris
Ryan Bingham
The Steeldrivers

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Broken”
Tift Merritt

“Cheney’s Toy”
James McMurtry

“Gone Gone Gone”
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant

DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
Drive By Truckers
Kane Welch Kaplin

In fitting tribute, an elite slew of artists contributed performances of Pop Stoneman-popularized songs: Cowboy Jack Clement delivered "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues," Jim Lauderdale, along with help from the Jordanaires, sang "Are You Washed in the Blood," Old Crow Medicine Show provided "Tell Mother I Will Meet Her" and a group featuring Clement and Stoneman's three surviving daughters Donna Stoneman, Patsy Stoneman Murphy and Roni Stoneman performed Stoneman's influential classic, "The Titanic."

Former BMI President & CEO and Country Music Hall of Fame member Frances Preston presented Stoneman's Hall of Fame medallion to his family. Before draping the award around the neck of his eldest daughter Patsy, Preston said, "Ernest Stoneman had a lifelong motto, 'Don't quit.' And he didn't. Tonight, Pop Stoneman's perseverance is being rewarded."

From his earliest days as a roaring 20's crossover sensation to his leadership of the award-winning Stoneman Family ensemble, Ernest "Pop" Stoneman embodies the term "pioneer." In the early 1920s, his performance of self-penned "The Titanic" charted at No. 3 on both the Billboard and Variety charts and remained there for 10 weeks. One of the first country records to sell more than one million copies, the song became one of the biggest hits of the decade. Stoneman's keen eye for talent in Bristol, Tennessee, led to the landmark Bristol recording sessions. Considered one of the most seminal events in country music by many historians, the Bristol recording sessions introduced artists including Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family to the nation. Throughout the 40s, 50s and 60s, Pop Stoneman focused on the popular bluegrass, bucolic musical concoction of The Stoneman Family band. Made up of his wife Hattie and many of their 13 adult children, the group debuted on the Grand Ole Opry in 1962, and in 1967, The Stoneman Family earned the first ever CMA Vocal Group of the Year award. Ernest "Pop" Stoneman recorded, composed and performed well into his mid 70s.

For more on Pop Stoneman's remarkable life, click here.

Photo Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame ® & Museum

Pictured are (l to r): AMA Board President Tamara Saviano, BMI VP Jody Williams, Allison Moorer, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, AMA Executive Director Jeff Green and BMI's Mark Mason. Photo by Alan Mayor

BMI singer/songwriter James McMurtry led the pack with three nominations, including Album and Artist of the Year. Rosanne Cash and Marty Stuart followed closely behind with two nods apiece. Other noteworthy picks include the second New/Emerging Artist of the Year nomination for the Greencards (their first came in 2004), and Dixie Chick Martie Maguire's Song of the Year mention for the band's controversial single, "Not Ready to Make Nice."

Tennessean music critic Peter Cooper, BMI's Kay Clary and Elisabeth Dawson, and Grimey's Music co-owner and AMA board member Doyle Davis. Photo by Sonata Stanton

The 5th Annual Americana Honors & Awards show will take place on Friday, September 22 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Hosted by perennial favorite, Jim Lauderdale, the Americana Honors & Awards will once again feature an all-star "house band" led by Buddy Miller. The ceremony is scheduled to be broadcast around the world by both Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, as well as by BBC Radio 2 and Voice of America.

Vector Management's Lisa Jenkins, AMA Board President/Saviano Media Owner Tamara Saviano, Sugar Hill's Kim Fowler, Vector Management's Kathi Whitley and GAC's Shaun Moseley. Photo by Elisabeth Dawson

BMI is a major sponsor of the Americana Music Association and its convention held in Nashville each fall.

ASCAP's Michelle Goble, BMI's Mark Mason and ASCAP's Mike Sistad Photo by Kay Clary

BMI's 2006 Americana Music Association Award Nominees:

Album of the Year
James McMurtry -- Childish Things
Delbert McClinton -- Cost of Living
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives -- Souls' Chapel

Artist of the Year
Rosanne Cash
James McMurtry
Marty Stuart

Duo/Group of the Year
Caitlin Cary
The Drive-By Truckers
Fats Kaplin
Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez

Instrumentalist of the Year
Jerry Douglas
Kenny Vaughan

New/Emerging Artist of the Year
The Greencards
James Hunter
Robinella

Song of the Year (songwriter award)
"Black Cadillac" written by Rosanne Cash
"Not Ready to Make Nice" written by Martie Maguire
"We Can't Make It Here" written by James McMurtry

Pictured backstage Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville are BMI Award-winning songwriter Dennis Morgan, BMI's Bradley Collins, Kris Kristofferson, BMI's Deanna Bruton, and awards show host Jim Lauderdale.

BMI Award-winning writer Kris Kristofferson received the 2003 "Spirit of Americana" Free Speech Award during the association's annual awards show. Presented by the First Amendment Center in partnership with the Americana Music Association, the honor recognizes Americana musical artists for careers that are marked by civic and social involvement.

A lifelong activist for social justice and human rights, Kristofferson was selected by the two groups for blending that activism with his music and professional career and concerns about politics, world affairs and armed conflict. The nonpartisan award recognizes Americana musical artists for careers that are marked by civic and social involvement.

In 1965, Kristofferson turned down an assignment to teach at West Point and, inspired by songwriters like Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, moved to Nashville to pursue his music. Kristofferson achieved remarkable success as a country songwriter at the start of the 1970s. His songs "Me and Bobby McGee," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Sunday Morning Coming Down," and "For the Good Times," were all chart-topping hits. He has starred in more than 44 films and recorded more than 25 albums. His latest CD is Broken Freedom Song: Live From San Francisco, released in July on Oh Boy Records.

Dobro maestro Jerry Douglas was named Instrumentalist of the Year. Lifetime Achievement honors were given to Oh Boy recording artist John Prine as a songwriter and to Sam Phillips as an executive.

The 2003 Americana Awards show, held during the AMA's annual conference, is sponsored by Gibson/Baldwin, BMI, Welk Music Group, and the First Amendment Center.]]> 2003-10-08T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/200023 Artists, Bacilos, Bee Gees, The, Blind Boys of Alabama, The, Branch, Michelle, Cachao, Crow, Sheryl, Dirty Vegas, Dixie Chicks, Eminem, Flaming Lips, The, Foo Fighters, Hancock, Herbie, Hargrove, Roy, Harris, Jesse, Hill, Faith, James, Etta, Jars of Clay, Jones, Norah, King, B.B., Korn, Lauderdale, Jim, Mardin, Arif, Metheny, Pat, Nelson, Willie, Newman, Thomas, Simon, Paul, Slutsky, Allan, Stanley, Ralph, Awards, Musical Styles, Bluegrass, Blues, Country, Dance, Folk, Jazz, Latin, Pop, Rock, Grammy Awards Norah Jones, was the big winner in February 23’s Grammy Awards Presentations at NYC’s Madison Square Garden. Jones’s sultry vocals and piano styling led her first CD to grab the coveted Recording Academy Gramophones in the top categories of Record of the Year, Album of the Year, best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. She also received the Best New Artist award. New York BMI songwriter Jesse Harris received the Song of the Year award for his “Don’t Know Why”, also recorded by Jones, and her legendary producer Arif Mardin was named Producer of the Year, non-classical, and joined Norah in receiving the Album of the Year and Record of the Year awards.

Norah Jones

Dixie Chicks

Arif Mardin

Country crossover trio Dixie Chicks scored three awards for Best Country Album (Home), Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Country Instrumental. BMI represented songwriters receiving two awards each that evening included: Eminem, The Funk Brothers, Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, and Thomas Newman. Madukwu Chinwah and Rashid Lonnie Lynn shared the award for Best R&B Song (“Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop”)).

Eminem

Herbie Hancock

B.B. King

A number of BMI songwriters were honored with special Recording Academy Awards. Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel and seminal R&B artist Etta James received Lifetime Achievement Awards, while the late music historian Alan Lomax received the Trustees Award. In an emotional presentation, The Bee Gees were given the Legends Award that they dedicated to their recently deceased brother Maurice.

Jesse Harris

Thomas Newman

BMI's 2003 Grammy Award Winners

FIVE AWARDS

Norah Jones
Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Best New Artist
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Best Pop Vocal Album

THREE AWARDS

Dixie Chicks
Best Country Album
Best Country Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal
Best Country Instrumental Performance

Arif Mardin
Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

TWO AWARDS

Eminem
Best Rap Album
Best Short Form Music Video

The Funk Brothers
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media

Herbie Hancock
Best Jazz Instrumental Solo
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group

B.B. King
Best Pop Instrumental Performance
Best Traditional Blues Album

Thomas Newman
Best Instrumental Composition
Best Instrumental Arrangement

SONG OF THE YEAR

Jesse Harris
“ Don’t Know Why”
Song of the Year

SINGLE AWARD WINNERS

Santana
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals

Michelle Branch
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals

Norman Brown
Best Pop Instrumental Album

Dirty Vegas (PRS)
Best Dance Recording

Sheryl Crow
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance

Foo Fighters
Best Hard Rock Performance

Korn
Best Metal Performance

The Flaming Lips
Best Rock Instrumental Performance

Take 6
Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal

Madukwu Chinwah
Best R&B Song

Rashid Lonnie Lynn
Best R&B Song

Faith Hill
Best Female Country Vocal Performance

Willie Nelson
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals

Jim Lauderdale
Best Bluegrass Album

Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boy
Best Bluegrass Album

Eric Tingstad
Best New Age Album

Nancy Rumbel
Best New Age Album

Pat Metheny Group
Best Contemporary Jazz Album

Diana Krall
Best Jazz Vocal Album

Michael Brecker
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group

Roy Hargrove
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group

Dave Holland Big Band
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Caribbean Jazz Project
Best Latin Jazz Album

Jars Of Clay
Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

The Jordanaires
Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Album

The Light Crust Doughboys
Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Album

The Blind Boys of Alabama
Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album

Bacilos
Best Latin Pop Album

Bebo Valdés Trio with Israel “Cachao” López & Carlos “Patato” Valdés
Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album

Solomon Burke
Best Contemporary Blues Album

Doc Watson & David Holt
Best Traditional Folk Album

Lee “Scratch” Perry (PRS)
Best Reggae Album

Jimmy Sturr
Best Polka Album

Riders In The Sky
Best Musical Album for Children

Robin Willliams
Best Spoken Comedy Album

Allan Slutsky
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media

Dave Grusin
Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist

Dave Evans
Best Album Notes

Don Letts (PRS)
Best Long Form Music Video

David Glasser
Best Historical Album

Sheryl Crow

Eminem

Norah Jones

Other BMI writers who received multiple nominations included four each for country darlings the Dixie Chicks, producer Arif Mardin and Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger (including Record of the Year for the Nickelback smash "How You Remind Me"). Newcomer Vanessa Carlton picked up three. Fellow BMI pop divas Pink, Britney Spears and Michelle Branch garnered two nominations each, as did blues legend B.B. King, film composer Thomas Newman and gospel giant Fred Hammond.

BMI's 2003 Grammy nominees:

FIVE NOMINATIONS

Sheryl Crow
Eminem
Norah Jones

FOUR NOMINATIONS

Dixie Chicks
Chad Kroeger (SOCAN)

THREE NOMINATIONS

Vanessa Carlton
Floetry (Marsha Ambrosius, Natalie Stewart)
Arif Mardin
Pat Metheny

TWO NOMINATIONS

Michelle Branch
Michael Brecker
The Chieftains
Madukwu Chinwah
Natalie Cole
Dirty Vegas (PRS)
Foo Fighters
Carlos Franzetti
Kenny G
Pat Green
Herbie Hancock
Nellee Hooper (PRS)
B.B. King
Diana Krall (SOCAN)
Rashid Lonnie Lynn
Nappy Roots
Willie Nelson
Thomas Newman
Nickel Creek
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Dolly Parton
Pink
Britney Spears
Ralph Stanley
3 Doors Down (Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson, Matt Roberts)
Doc Watson
John Williams

SINGLE NOMINEES

Aaliyah
Will Ackerman
John Adams
Christina Aguilera
Darol Anger
Audio Adrenaline
Bacilos
David Balakrishnan
Charli Baltimore
Banda El Recodo De Cruz Lizárraga
Jeff Bass
Daniel Bedingfield (PRS)
Big Tymers
Eddie Blazonczyk
The Blind Boys of Alabama
Kevin Bond
Ryan Bowser
David Bowie (PRS)
Brandy
Norman Brown
Solomon Burke
Burning Sky
R.L. Burnside
Gary Burton
Gary Calamar
Michel Camilo
Cam’Ron
The Canton Spirituals
Capleton (PRS)
Caribbean Jazz Project
Cee-Lo
Lauren Christy
The Clinch Mountain Boys
Andy Colver (PRS)
Commissioned
Common
Creed
Bill Cunliffe
The Charlie Daniels Band
Diamond Rio
Michael Doucet
Dave Douglas
Don Edwards
Danny Elfman
Enya (PRS)
Faith Evans
Tommy Flanagan
The Flaming Lips
Béla Fleck
Michael J. Fox
Allison Brewster Franzetti
The Funk Brothers
Peter Gabriel (PRS)
David Lee Garza y Los Musicales
Osvaldo Golijov
Gov’t Mule
Al Green
Grits
Dave Grusin
Deitrick Haddon
Fred Hammond
Roy Hargrove
Jesse Harris
Don Henley
Faith Hill
Dave Holland Big Band
David Holt
Intocable
Etta James
Jars of Clay
JaRule
Jay-Z
Maxi Jazz (PRS)
Little Joe & La Familia
Elton John (PRS)
The Jordanaires
Juanes
John P. Kee
Salif Keita (PRS)
R. Kelly
Kinky
Kitaro
Jennifer Knapp
Knoc-Turn’Al
Korn
Dave Koz
Jeff Koz
Alison Krauss
Femi Kuti (SACEM)
kd lang
Jim Lauderdale
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Don Letts (PRS)
Lonestar
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
The Light Crust Doughboys
Limi-T 21
Israel “Cachao” López
Taj Mahal
Lloyd Maines
Maraca
Martina McBride
Delbert McClinton
Freddie McGregor (PRS)
Lee Thomas Miller
Mingus Big Band
Moby
Charlie Musselwhite
Meshell Ndegeocello
The Neptunes
Newsong
Nickelback (SOCAN)
*NSYNC
The Oak Ridge Boys
Makoto Ozone (JASRAC)
Lee “Scratch” Perry
Pharrell
Queens of the Stone Age
Busta Rhymes
Riders In the Sky
Peter Rowan
Nancy Rumbel
Nicky Ryan (PRS)
Roma Ryan (PRS)
Mingo Saldivar y Sus Tremendos Cuatro Espadas
Santana
John Santos and the Machete Ensemble
Al Schmitt
The John Scofield Band
Earl Scruggs
Wayne Shorter
Jon Sidel
Siggno
Allan Slutsky
Arthur Smith (PRS)
The Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Scott Spock
Ralph Stanley II
Sting (PRS)
Angie Stone
Omar Sosa
Luciana Souza
Jimmy Sturr
Take Six
Susan Tedeschi
John Tesh
The Temptations
Eric Tingstad
Tobymac
Trick Pony
Kathy Troccoli
Los Tucanes De Tijuana
McCoy Tyner
Jai Uttal
Bebo Valdés
Carlos “Patato” Valdés
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
Scott Wenzel
Kenny Werner
Lucinda Williams
Robin Williams
Dean Wilson (PRS)
BeBe Winans
The Roland White Band
Pete Woodruff
Yellowjackets
Joe Zawinul

Ralph Stanley and Jim Lauderdale

T Bone Burnett

Dobro master Jerry Douglas, who performs solo and as a featured member of Alison Krauss + Union Station, received the Instrumentalist of the Year title.

Jerry Douglas

Doug Sahm

Billy Joe Shaver

The AMA also presented lifetime achievement awards in several categories. Singer/songwriter T Bone Burnett, who produced the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, won in the executive's category and the late Doug Sahm became the first recipient of the organization's President's Award. Billy Joe Shaver picked up a Lifetime Achievement award in the songwriter category; his next album, on Compadre Records, will be released this November.

Jerry Douglas	David Rawlings and Gillian Welch
Lonesome Bob	The Flatlanders	Kenny Vaughan
Webb Pierce	Ralph Stanley and Jim Lauderdale	Chris Thile

Sponsored in part by Rounder Records and the First Amendment Center, the event will take place at Nashville's Downtown Hilton Suites on September 13, in the midst of the Americana Music Association Conference (12-14). The evening's host will be Jason Ringenberg of pioneering roots-rockers Jason & the Scorchers.

Congratulations to BMI's nominees:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator)
The Flatlanders, Now Again
Dale Watson, The Jordanaires, Mandy Barnett, George Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Joy Lynn White, Allison Moorer, Crystal Gayle, Del McCoury Band, Lionel Cartwright, Gail Davies, Willie Nelson, BR5-49, Deborah Pierce, Trent Summar, Billy Walker and Pam Tillis, Caught In The Webb: Tribute to Webb Pierce

SONG OF THE YEAR
Jim Lauderdale, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, "She's Looking At Me"
Lonesome Bob, "Heather’s All Bummed Out"
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, "I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll"
The Flatlanders, "My Wildest Dreams"

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jim Lauderdale
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
The Flatlanders

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Jerry Douglas
Chris Thile
David Rawlings
Kenny Vaughan