The Americana Music Association announced the nominees for the 2025 Americana Honors & Awards on Tuesday morning, with MJ Lenderman leading the contenders with nominations in three categories. Turning up with two nods each were Charley Crockett, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, and the duo of Gillian Welch & David Rawlings.
The announcements typically take place in a live event in Nashville, but this year, they were unveiled in a video posted to social media that had past winners or other prominent members of the community sharing the good news, including Brandi Carlile, Kacey Musgraves, Molly Tuttle, S.G. Goodman, newcomer Kashus Culpepper and longtime show host Jim Lauderdale.
Lenderman is up for album of the year, song of the year and emerging artist of the year. His three nominations represent a coronation of sorts. The nominated album, “Manning Fireworks,” is his fifth solo effort, but his first to really break out as a favorite in mainstream rock circles and position him as a leading critical favorite on year-end 10 best lists. Prior to this latest release breaking out, Lenderman had arguably achieved greater fame as the guitarist in the group Wednesday than as a frontman or solo artist.
Ferrell has the hottest streak going with the awards: She is the only performer to have been nominated for an Americana award the last four years in a row, dating back to 2022, when she won for emerging artist of the year. Although she didn’t have a new album out during this eligibility period, her star continued to rise as a hot live performer, and she managed to be nominated again for artist of the year, a category she won last year.
Crockett is also a recurring figure in the nominations, having won for emerging artist of the year in 2021 and later taking his first shot at artist of the year in 2023.
Some returning favorites at the Americana Awards came through with a single nomination this time, including Jason Isbell, Billy Strings, Sierra Ferrell and Larkin Poe. Among the longer-standing acts getting a first-time nomination were Dawes and Julien Baker. Other acts returned to the fold of the nominated after a period of years, like JD McPherson, nominated for the first time since his breakout with “North Side Gal” in 2013.
Typically, there is substantial turnover among the nominees from year to year, but the artist of the year category includes Crockett as well as Ferrell making a repeat appearance from 2024; last year’s duo/group winner, Larkin Poe, is also up again there in 2025. The other category to feature a holdover is album of the year: Isbell, who was nominated last year for “Weathervanes,” an album he recorded with his group the 400 Unit, is up in the same category again this year for his solo album “Foxes in the Snow.”
The awards will be given out in a ceremony and epic concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Sept. 10, toward the beginning of the annual AmericanaFest conference and festival. Besides the annual voted awards, the show will also give out the “honors” — lifetime achievement awards, essentially — to veteran artists who will be named at a later date.
The full list of nominees in six categories:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
“Lonesome Drifter,” Charley Crockett; Produced by Charley Crockett & Shooter Jennings
“Foxes in the Snow,” Jason Isbell; Produced by Jason Isbell & Gena Johnson
“Manning Fireworks,” MJ Lenderman; Produced by Alex Farrar & MJ Lenderman
“South of Here,” Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats; Produced by Brad Cook
“Woodland,” Gillian Welch & David Rawlings; Produced by David Rawlings
ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Charley Crockett
Sierra Ferrell
Joy Oladokun
Billy Strings
Waxahatchee
DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Julien Baker & TORRES
Dawes
Larkin Poe
The Mavericks
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
EMERGING ACT OF THE YEAR:
Noeline Hofmann
MJ Lenderman
Medium Build
Maggie Rose
Jesse Welles
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR:
Fred Eltringham
Alex Hargreaves
Megan Jane
Kaitlyn Raitz
Seth Taylor
SONG OF THE YEAR:
“Johnny Moonshine,” Maggie Antone; Written by Maggie Antone, Natalie Hemby & Aaron Raitiere
“Ancient Light,” I’m With Her; Written by Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan & Sara Watkins
“Wristwatch,” MJ Lenderman; Written by MJ Lenderman
“Sunshine Getaway,” JD McPherson; Written by Page Burkum, JD McPherson & Jack Torrey
“Heartless,” Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats; Written by Nathaniel Rateliff
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