Bonnie Raitt, Zach Bryan & More Nominated for 2023 Americana Honors & Awards (Full List)

UPDATE (Sept. 8): The Americana Music Association announced its lifetime achievement, trailblazer and legacy award honorees for its 22nd Annual Americana Honors & Awards show on Wednesday, Sept. 20. The recipients include Grammy-winning artists Patty Griffin and Nickel Creek; Grammy-nominated artists The Avett Brothers and Bettye LaVette; and George Fontaine Sr., co-founder and owner of New West Records.

PREVIOUSLY (May 9): Three months after winning Grammys for song of the year and best American roots song, Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” is nominated for song of the year at the 2023 Americana Honors & Awards.

Four of the five nominees for song of the year were written by solitary songwriters, a sign that the songwriting-by-committee approach that is popular in mainstream pop music has not yet come to the Americana sector. The nominees are Charley Crockett’s “I’m Just a Clown” (which he wrote by himself), Raitt’s “Just Like That” (which she wrote by herself), Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” (which he wrote by himself), Allison Russell featuring Brandi Carlile’s “You’re Not Alone” (which Russell wrote by herself) and Margo Price’s “Change of Heart” (which she co-wrote with Jeremy Ivey).

The Americana Music Association announced the nominees for its 22nd annual Americana Honors & Awards on Tuesday (May 9) at the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. Crockett and Price each received nominations in three categories. Russell was nominated in two.

Billy Strings, who won entertainer of the year last year for the first time, is back to defend his title against Crockett, Price, Russell and Sierra Ferrell.

The War and Treaty, the husband-and-wife duo which won duo/group of the year last year for the first time, are competing in that category this year with 49 Winchester, Caamp, Nickel Creek and Plains.

Eight-time Grammy winner Dan Auerbach produced one of the album of the year nominees – Hermanos Gutiérrez’s El Bueno y el Malo.

This year’s nominations were revealed by host Gina Miller, senior vice president and general manager of MNRK Music Group and a member of the Americana Music Association’s board of directors. The event featured performances by Price, S.G. Goodman and The McCrary Sisters.

The winners will be announced during the Americana Honors & Awards on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The program is the marquee event of AmericanaFest, which returns for its 23nd year on Sept. 19 and runs through Sept. 23.

Every year, the Americana Music Association announces six member-voted annual awards and lifetime achievement awards including the Legacy of Americana Award, co-presented with the National Museum of African American Music.

Tickets to the Americana Honors & Awards are on sale now for AmericanaFest Conference Registrants. For more information or to purchase passes to AmericanaFest, visit www.americanamusic.org.

Here’s the full list of nominees for the 2023 Americana Honors & Awards:

Album of the year

Big Time, Angel Olsen; Produced by Angel Olsen and Jonathan Wilson

Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?, Tyler Childers; Produced by Tyler Childers

El Bueno y el Malo, Hermanos Gutiérrez; Produced by Dan Auerbach

The Man from Waco, Charley Crockett; Produced by Bruce Robison

Strays, Margo Price; Produced by Margo Price and Jonathan Wilson

Song of the year

“Change of Heart,” Margo Price; Written by Jeremy Ivey, Margo Price

“I’m Just a Clown,” Charley Crockett; Written by Charley Crockett

“Just Like That,” Bonnie Raitt; Written by Bonnie Raitt

“Something in the Orange,” Zach Bryan; Written by Zach Bryan

“You’re Not Alone,” Allison Russell featuring Brandi Carlile; Written by Allison Russell

Artist of the year

Charley Crockett

Sierra Ferrell

Margo Price

Allison Russell

Billy Strings

Duo/group of the year

49 Winchester

Caamp

Nickel Creek

Plains

The War and Treaty won last year

Emerging act of the year

Adeem the Artist

S.G. Goodman

William Prince

Thee Sacred Souls

Sunny War

Instrumentalist of the year

Isa Burke

Allison de Groot

Jeff Picker

SistaStrings (Chauntee and Monique Ross)

Kyle Tuttle