THROUGH THE LENS: Sights and Sounds From AmericanaFest 2023

Every AmericanaFest that I’ve attended since my first one in 2011 has been an exceptional sensory experience with many memorable moments, but this year has an extra special place in my heart. Each year Americana Music Association Executive Director Jed Hilly and Association staff seem to outdo themselves in curating a rich lineup of roots and Americana artists that you simply cannot get anywhere else. To do that in Nashville, a town that has grown exponentially in every direction, in a variety of hospitable smallish venues, is nothing short of astounding.

This year I was joined by three of my ND cohorts: assistant editor Stacy Chandler, ad manager Sonja Nelson, and Crowdfunding Radar columnist and reviewer Chris Griffy, and their perspectives are offered below. We did not get to hang out as much as I would have liked. But if we had, we would not have been able to cover as much of the festival as we did. 

In our respective reports, as necessarily brief as they are, each of us brings a different view of AmericanaFest. It is my hope that collectively we are able to give you a sense of what last week was like, and make you want to experience it for yourself someday. Yes, it has gotten bigger, but AmericanaFest has not lost its small-town charm, and the fine folks at the Association brought a fine selection of roots musicians, many unheralded, to the forefront. It was like coming home.

Amos Perrine: Bringing It All Back Home

Rosanne Cash: I came to Nashville a day early just so I’d be in time to see Cash and John Leventhal’s talk at the Country Music Hall of Fame, an event that kicked off this year’s festival. Leventhal, with his acerbic and self-depreciating wit, served as interviewer, but it felt less like an interview than it did a conversation in their living room. The occasion was the creation of their record label, RumbleStrip Records, and the 30th anniversary deluxe reissue (vinyl, too) of Cash’s The Wheel, which I consider not just her masterpiece, but also one of the half-dozen most significant records in roots music during these past 30 years. Why? Because it heralded a literary approach into what was then the rough-and-tumble world of alt-country.

The Women of East Nashville: In the last few years of AmericanaFest, I have been concentrating more on daytime events, where I get to see lots of different folks in a casual atmosphere. I have noticed that there seems to be a predominance of women performing at these events. Many, if not most, of these women have never had showcases, or if they did it was years ago, and yet here they are schlepping their gear around to multiple events during the week, often two or more in a single day. 

When I saw Anana Kaye at the Femme Noir Friday at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, she was wearing a T-shirt for the Les Blank film Burden of Dreams, and it seemed to be an apt metaphor.  It seems to me that women in music carry extra burdens as they pursue their dreams: higher barriers to getting a record label, getting played on the radio, and landing a song on the Americana charts. The burden of having few women in studios or at labels who can help them achieve their artistic vision. The burden of being told by bookers they already have their quota of female performers. The burden of having to dress, look, act, and perform in a certain way to pave the way to success.

And yet, with all those obstacles, the women performers I saw at AmericanaFest are still pursuing their dreams with an invigorating enthusiasm and building a nourishing support system along the way. With this in mind I asked several of those women to share their thoughts with me:

“Nashville is a song town. I feel that women of all types and ages are increasingly welcome to be authentic and find their own voice. So many great writers. I’d say dive in, co-write, solo write, listen, and perform in front of all the talent around to learn about yourself. Above all, be kind and respectful to all here in this beautiful community.”  — Amelia White

“Being part of the East Nashville artist community has changed my attitude toward the music biz in general. The competitive undercurrent that I have felt in places like Los Angeles doesn’t come up here as often. As a woman in this business I find that there is a camaraderie and support system; that, mixed with a slower pace along with a number of very cool low-key bars on Gallatin Pike to play and perfect performances with little pressure, [has] helped my live shows really come alive. The ghosts of the great country music songwriters are definitely part of the mix here as well. I have made incredibly solid relationships here among other extremely talented woman who are next-level artists, cheering each other along.” — KP Hawthorn 

“We are still fighting some well-documented gender inequalities when it comes to radio airplay and festival bookings for women in music, so that was one of my original goals in founding the Femme Noir Music community. The whole thing started somewhat by accident when I needed a theme for a show I was planning during Americanafest on Friday the 13th in 2019. Early on in my career, I always felt like the black sheep of the group when I would sit down to write with other songwriters who were chasing happy and upbeat radio hits. 

“The welcoming and supportive creative community in East Nashville has truly taught me to celebrate what’s unique and different about my music instead of chasing after commercial success and seeking sameness. I’m thrilled that our monthly Femme Noir shows have resonated with audiences, but I’m even more proud of the genuine and supportive community of musicians and songwriters that has organically grown and developed.” — Laura Rabell

Stacy Chandler: A First Timer’s Experience 

What’s it like to experience AmericanaFest for the first time, as I did last week? It’s to have your eyes perpetually wide open as you take in all the sights, and your ears crammed full of amazing music all day long. It’s diving into a community of people who love roots music in all its various flavors and love connecting with fellow fans while waiting in line or between sets of music.

Some personal highlights: The Americana Music Honors & Awards show as my first experience in the audience at Ryman Auditorium (You can read about the evening and award winners here); Rufus Wainwright and Teddy Thompson, with surprise guest Emmylou Harris, at the Bluebird Café; and an incredible panel about music writing from Holly George-Warren, Silas House, Amy Rigby, RJ Smith, and Scott B. Bomar.

Bouncing around town seeing showcases is exhausting (and those Uber rides really add up), but the reward, for me, was catching sets from Logan Ledger, Bella White, Robbie Fulks, Kelly Hunt, Buddy Miller, Adeem the Artist, AHI, and Parker Millsap.

Professionally, it was fantastic to connect with publicists, managers, and other behind-the-scenes folks I email all the time, but had never met in person. And most of all, it was an honor to meet so many readers and fans of No Depression. I loved your compliments, of course. But I also loved your ideas, your memories of stories that moved you, and your deep knowledge and love for this music and the people who make it.

Chris Griffy: A Sense of History

AmericanaFest has always balanced celebrating roots music history with pushing Americana into new territories. However, my experience this year was weighted more toward the historic portion of the spectrum, including Dom Flemons, roots music’s finest chronicler of Black stringband music, at the Station Inn. On Flemons’ last album, Traveling Wildfire (ND review), he wrote original material in the vein of the historic songs that he has championed. Live, he adds stories into the mix that make you feel that you are part of that history. 

At 89, bluesman Bobby Rush doesn’t chronicle history, he is history. He kept a rapt audience entertained with not only some fine harmonica-driven blues but also with tales of his childhood, early adventures in music with luminaries such as Muddy Waters and comedian Redd Foxx, and overcoming obstacles as a professional musician in the era of segregation.

Skip then to Saturday night, when J.P. Harris’ Dreadful Wind and Rain delivered a set full of historic, and often mostly forgotten, songs that dated as far back as the 17th century. With themes including death, vampires, murder, love, hanging, bewitched animals, and shootings, Harris kept the whole thing entertaining with his wry commentary on the common themes — e.g., someone dies at the end of all traditional banjo ballads — and the pure weirdness of these old songs.

There was plenty of progressive country and roots rock on tap this AmericanaFest, too, but it was the history lessons that were my most memorable takeaways.

Sonja Nelson: A Family Affair

I assembled my own street team to tackle this year’s edition of AmericanaFest. After many years of attending as my husband Andy’s (former Lost Highway Records VP) +1, he got to be mine. With our Gen Z daughter in tow, we were a mighty crew parting the waters as we criss-crossed Nashville, handing out No Depression print journals and leaving ND postcards at every showcase.

What a week! Once again, Jed Hilly, Danna Strong, and the Americana Music Association’s amazing team of employees and volunteers deserve all the kudos for putting on a music festival and conference that is second to none.

Among my highlights were the Loft Jam at G7 Entertainment. Our pal and former ND writer Ian Bremner booked a doozy. In a small room of 30 or so people, we were treated to the radiant  sounds of Jess Williamson. She can make you swoon and cry with the same song. If you haven’t picked up Time Ain’t Accidental (ND review) or I Walked With You a Ways, her team-up with Waxahatchee as Plains (ND review), I feel bad for you. Native Kentuckian S.G. Goodman closed out this solo acoustic jam and left our jaws on the floor.

The Watson Twins and Lindsay Lou at the The KRS/Bloodshot Records showcase was a stunner. We bopped and stomped along to the former and let the latter take us away on the journey that is the Queen of Time, her new album coming out this Friday.

The Toronto-based duo Basset have vocal harmonies and acoustic melodies that would soothe any weary traveler, which I happened to be. It was pure joy listening to them.

I raced across town to catch Fluff and Gravy artist Kassi Valazzi’s set, backed by a six-piece band. I’ve followed her music career for a while, but this was my first time catching her live. Part country and part cosmic country, sprinkled with a little psychedelia, equals 100% WOW.  It’s worth running a red light to get to hear her music.

New West’s Katie Keller created a 25th anniversary party for the ages at Centennial Park on Friday night, it was the place to be: Esther Rose, Rodney Crowell, Emily Nenni, Buddy Miller (with a special appearance by Emmylou Harris), North Mississippi Allstars, and The Wild Feathers lit up the night.

Many thanks to photographers Aaron Caleb Fishbein, Chris Griffy, Jill Kettles, Brian Miller, Kim Reed, and Tom Wickstrom, whose AmericanaFest photos are included below, and to Coleman Zuber for the Cash/Leventhal video above. Don’t miss photos and coverage of the Americana Music Honors & Awards show, plus red carpet, here. Click on any photo below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.