Wanda Jackson, Ryan Bingham, Rosanne Cash Lead BMI Charge at Americana Honors

BMI artists enjoyed a big night at the Americana Music Association’s 9th Annual Honors and Awards ceremony. Staged in Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium, the event celebrated a year’s worth of soul-searching, torch-lighting roots music. The theme from film Crazy Heart earned 2010 Song of the Year honors: Co-written by BMI journeymen Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett, “The Weary Kind” also took home an Oscar and a Golden Globe earlier this year. Bingham’s big night became explosive as the relative newcomer returned to the stage to accept the Artist of the Year award from presenters the Courtyard Hounds.

The multi-talented Rosanne Cash also enjoyed a memorable evening, as The List received Album of the Year. The acclaimed project is a definitive bridge between contemporary and classic: the disc features 12 interpretations of songs pulled from a famous list of country standards Cash’s legendary father gave her in 1973.

2010 Americana Lifetime Achievement Awards were also presented to leaders including BMI heavyweights Wanda Jackson and Greg Leisz.

Jack White presented the Lifetime Achievement Award in Performance to Wanda Jackson, the undisputed Queen of Rockabilly and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer member, whose growling glamour reshaped the role of women in both rock and roll and country. Wanda celebrated the honor with a charged performance.

Sam Bush stepped in to present the Lifetime Achievement Award for an Instrumentalist to Greg Leisz, the go-to lap and pedal steel, guitar, mandolin and bass virtuoso who has enriched recordings by Lucinda Williams, Smashing Pumpkins, Whiskeytown, Wilco, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Beck and more.

The Americana Music Association Honors & Awards ceremony is the bejeweled cornerstone of the Americana Music Conference and Festival. Slated for Wednesday, September 8 through Saturday, September 11, the 9th Annual Americana Festival and Conference offers daily seminars, panels and networking opportunities at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel. The event brings more than 100 stacked musical showcases to key venues throughout Nashville.

BMI also staged a late-afternoon showcase featuring up-and-coming honky-tonker Derek Hoke, staged Friday, September 10. Listeners kicked back with happy-hour refreshments as Hoke offered live proof he’s one to keep watching.

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. americanamusic.org