I belong to the Americana Music Association (AMA) and have for a few years. It’s a nice group. If you’re wondering what the heck “Americana” means, I’ll try to explain. Take a little folk, throw in a little country, mash in a bit of rock, along with a pinch of gospel. Abracadabra! You’ve got yourself some Americana. (Of course, my description is limited, and in reality, the genre is much more expansive.)
Anyhoo, on Thursday morning, the nominations for the AMA awards were announced. As the announcing took place in L.A., I was lucky enough to attend the to-do. It took place at the Grammy museum, in downtown Los Angeles at 11 in the a.m. The reading of the nominees took only a few minutes and was handled by John C. Reilly. He was recovering from some slight illness, but was a real trooper.
During the rest of the proceedings, those of us in attendance were treated to some live music. The house band consisted of Buddy Miller (guitar) and Don Was (bass)…
Don Heffington (drums) and Greg Leisz (pedal steel)…
and Jim Lauderdale (guitar)…
Special guests included Robert Ellis…
Shelby Lynne and Miss Lucinda Williams…
When all was said and done, most of the players returned to the stage and did a lovely version of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” in honor of several musicians no longer with us…
Beginning to end, the entire affair was one short hour. But it was a mighty fun hour, and it was free! I’m grateful to have been invited. It was a beautiful perk.
After the morning’s festivities, I headed to the Valley for lunch at my favorite chili spot. They were playing some music by a kid named “Nick 13” and they told me all about him. I looked over the CD cover and started smiling. That kid had been seated right behind me at the morning’s AMA show.
It’s a small, beautiful world, friends.
