The Americana Honors & Awards is an annual ceremony held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, presented by the Americana Music Association. It recognizes outstanding achievement in Americana and roots music through five member-voted competitive categories plus several Lifetime Achievement honors. The 2026 ceremony marks the 25th annual edition, scheduled for September 16, 2026, as the hallmark event of AMERICANAFEST.
The 2025 ceremony (the 24th annual) took place on September 10, 2025, hosted by actor and musician John C. Reilly. Sierra Ferrell won Artist of the Year for the second consecutive year. Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats won Album of the Year for South of Here. I'm With Her (Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan, and Sara Watkins) won Song of the Year for "Ancient Light." The ceremony streamed live on NPR's YouTube channel and featured performances from John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris with Daniel Lanois, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and Old 97's.
Past Winners by Category and Year
The Americana Honors and Awards has been presented annually since 2002. Below is a reference table of winners from the last three ceremonies across all five competitive categories.
| Category | 2025 Winners | 2024 Winners | 2023 Winners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Album of the Year | South of Here, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats (prod. Brad Cook) | Trail of Flowers, Sierra Ferrell (prod. Eddie Spear, Gary Paczosa) | Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?, Tyler Childers (prod. Tyler Childers) |
| Artist of the Year | Sierra Ferrell | Sierra Ferrell | Billy Strings |
| Duo/Group of the Year | Gillian Welch and David Rawlings | Larkin Poe | The War and Treaty |
| Emerging Act of the Year | MJ Lenderman | The Red Clay Strays | S.G. Goodman |
| Song of the Year | "Ancient Light," I'm With Her (written by Jarosz, O'Donovan, Watkins) | "Dear Insecurity," Brandy Clark feat. Brandi Carlile (written by Clark, Pollack) | "Just Like That," Bonnie Raitt (written by Bonnie Raitt) |
| Instrumentalist of the Year | Alex Hargreaves | Grace Bowers | SistaStrings |
Sierra Ferrell is the first artist to win Artist of the Year in consecutive years since Billy Strings (2022 and 2023). Bonnie Raitt's 2023 Song of the Year win for "Just Like That" came approximately eight months after the same song won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, a rare overlap between the two ceremonies. The 2024 ceremony was hosted by The Milk Carton Kids and streamed on the Circle YouTube channel.
The 2026 nominees were announced on May 21, 2026. Album of the Year nominees include Tyler Childers' Snipe Hunter (produced with Rick Rubin), Kathleen Edwards' Billionaire (produced by Jason Isbell), S.G. Goodman's Planting by the Signs, Ken Pomeroy's Cruel Joke, and Margo Price's Hard Headed Woman. Artist of the Year nominees feature Brandi Carlile, Charley Crockett, Margo Price, Molly Tuttle, and Jesse Welles. The 2026 ceremony will stream live on NPR's YouTube channel on September 16, 2026.
How the Americana Honors & Awards Works
The awards are voted on exclusively by members of the Americana Music Association, a professional not-for-profit trade organization that advocates for American roots music worldwide. Membership is open to artists, industry professionals, and fans who pay annual dues.
The competitive categories are:
- Album of the Year - awarded to the artist and producers
- Artist of the Year - awarded to an individual performer
- Duo/Group of the Year - awarded to a collaborative act
- Emerging Act of the Year - awarded to a breakthrough artist
- Song of the Year - awarded to the credited songwriters
Lifetime Achievement honors are also presented in categories such as Performance, Songwriting, Instrumentalist, and Executive. These recipients are selected by the Association's board rather than by member vote.
The ceremony takes place at the historic Ryman Auditorium during AMERICANAFEST, a five-day festival (September 15 to 19 in 2026) that brings hundreds of performing artists, industry leaders, and fans to venues across Nashville.
Real-World Example: 2026 Nominees
The 2026 nominees illustrate the range of artists the awards recognize. Album of the Year nominees include Tyler Childers' Snipe Hunter (produced with Rick Rubin), Kathleen Edwards' Billionaire (produced by Jason Isbell), S.G. Goodman's Planting by the Signs, Ken Pomeroy's Cruel Joke, and Margo Price's Hard Headed Woman.
Artist of the Year nominees feature Brandi Carlile, Charley Crockett, Margo Price, Molly Tuttle, and Jesse Welles. Song of the Year nominees include "Returning To Myself" by Brandi Carlile, "Snapping Turtle" by S.G. Goodman, and "Wild and Clear and Blue" by I'm With Her.
At the 2025 ceremony, I'm With Her won Song of the Year for "Ancient Light." Brandy Clark won the same category in 2024 for "Dear Insecurity" (feat. Brandi Carlile), and Bonnie Raitt took it in 2023 for "Just Like That," approximately eight months after the same song won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.
Why It Matters for Independent Artists
The Americana Honors & Awards is one of the few major industry ceremonies where independent and roots-oriented artists regularly compete alongside label-signed acts. Many past winners and nominees self-release their music or work with independent labels.
If you make music in the Americana, alt-country, folk, or roots rock space, joining the Americana Music Association and submitting your work for consideration is a direct path to industry recognition. Winning or being nominated can lead to booking agency interest, festival slot offers, and measurable streaming increases.
To be eligible, your music must fall within the Americana genre as defined by the Association. Release date windows apply. Check the official Americana Music Association website for current submission guidelines and deadlines.
Artists looking to understand how Americana fits into the broader royalty and rights ecosystem should review how performance royalties work through organizations like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, which all sponsor the Association. You can also use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate earnings from the streaming bumps that often follow a nomination.
Related Resources
- Performance Rights Organizations Directory - ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC all support the Americana Music Association
- Streaming Royalty Calculator - Estimate streaming revenue changes after award recognition
- Music Awards Directory - Browse other music award programs
- CMA Awards - Country Music Association Awards, another Nashville-based ceremony
- Grammy Awards - Includes Americana and folk categories
- Blues Music Awards - Awards for blues and roots music
- Mercury Prize - UK album prize recognizing independent and alternative music
- Americana Music Association - Official website for membership and submissions
