By Robyn Collins
Bob Weir, Woody Guthrie, Shawn Colvin and other icons of Americana will be honored at the 2016 Americana Music Awards this September, reports The Boot.
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Woody Guthrie will posthumously receive the President’s Award in honor of his legacy and influence on Americana music and numerous other genres.
The singer-songwriter “moved people — to laughter, to tears and the action,” the Americana Music Awards said in a statement.
Bob Weir will be recognized with a Performer Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring his work with the Grateful Dead, and his songwriting and rhythm guitar playing accomplishments. The Americana Music Awards recognized how Weir has “personally [carried] on the Grateful Dead’s music and ethos for more than 50 years,” both with the iconic band and with other artists.
The 2016 Trailblazer honor will go to Shawn Colvin. The singer-songwriter has earned three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for her well-known hit “Sunny Came Home;” In 2013, she published a memoir, Diamond in the Rough.
British singer, songwriter and activist Billy Bragg will receive the Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award in recognition of his talent for mixing music with social commentary and activism. “Bragg brought a brawler’s toughness to the art of the political folk song, competing with the biggest punk rockers of the day for impact and truth-telling,” said a rep for the Awards.
Soul singer-songwriter William Bell will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting. Bell released highly acclaimed albums for Stax in the ’60s and ’70s. He is also a winner of the Memphis Music Foundation’s WC Handy Heritage Award and the BMI Songwriter’s Award,
Jim Lauderdale will be the 2016 WagonMaster honoree. George Strait, who has recorded 14 of Lauderdale’s tunes throughout his career, will be there to honor the songwriter at the awards show.
The 2016 Americana Music Awards will take place September 21 during the 2016 Americana Music Festival, which is scheduled to run Sept. 20 to 25. The six-day festival will take place in Nashville, and the awards ceremony will be held at the Ryman Auditorium.
“These artists have not only influenced the Americana community, but the musical landscape as a whole,” says Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association, in a press release. “They all have been an inspiration to our community, and we are humbled they will honor us in song at the Ryman this fall.”
