Sierra Ferrell Wins Artist, Album of Year at Americana Honors & Awards

Sierra Ferrell, arguably the roots-music queen of the moment, made good on her ascendance with two top wins at the 2024 Americana Honors & Awards, picking up trophies for both artist of the year and album of the year at Wednesday’s ceremony in Nashville.

Song of the year went to Brandy Clark and her co-writer Michael Pollack for “Dear Insecurity,” a track from Clark’s self-titled 2023 album that featured the record’s producer, Brandi Carlile, as a duet partner. Clark and Carlile sang the song together on the Americana Awards program one year ago, and clearly it made an impression on Americana Association members.

Larkin Poe picked up duo/group of the year. Hotshot guitarist Grace Bowers — a prodigy who turned 18 less than two months ago — won instrumentalist of the year.

And, keeping the winners’ list from being an all-female lineup, the Red Clay Strays were selected by voters as emerging act of the year.

“I have struggled most of my career with where my music fits, and you guys have made me feel at home,” said Clark, accepting her song of the year trophy. “I was at a low point of not fitting in” to the mainstream country scene, she noted, when Americana Association director Jed Hilly invited her to play AmericanaFest, the annual festival that follows the awards. Clark also thanked CMT’s Leslie Fram, who she spotted in the audience, saying she “believed in me before a lot of people did… Last but not least, Brandi Carlile. Brandi not only lent her voice to that record, she produced it, she believed in me and has supported me in this project every step of the way. And that’s what I love about Americana music – it really is a family.”

All of these artists and musicians were first-time winners at the Americana Awards. In most cases, it was their first time even being nominated, except for Ferrell, who had been nominated for artist of the year last year after winning emerging artist of the year in 2022.

Artist of the year was a particularly strong field for 2024, with Ferrell facing Allison Russell, Tyler Childers, Charley Crockett and one of the biggest stars in any genre at the moment, Noah Kahan (who lent a performance of his hit “Dial Drunk” to this year’s ceremony).

Ferrell’s album of the year win came for “Trail of Flowers,” which is only her second release on a (relatively) major label, Rounder, but which has found the country-folk-bluegrass performer headlining larger venues as well as remaining a festival favorite. She’s become a go-to guest vocalist for many top performers on their records as well, appearing on the most recent Post Malone and Zach Bryan albums.

A much bigger part of the annual program is devoted to celebrating veterans with lifetime achievement awards. This year, those went to Dave Alvin, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Rev. Gary Davis, Shelby Lynne, Don Was and Dwight Yoakam.

Lynne was introduced and given her lifetime honor by her sister, fellow singer-songwriter Allison Moorer, who stuck around to sing backup vocals on a performance of the 2000 song “Gotta Get Back.” In her speech, Lynne made a point of thanking some of those who helped her when she was a mainstream artist for year in the ’80s and ’90s, including “George Jones, Billy Sherrill, everybody at CBS in 1988, Ralph Emery at TNN… I don’t care if I’m 56 years old, I’m proud of that shit, man.” But, she noted, she’s also happy to be part of a different wing of music associated with Nashville now. “I’m proud to be a part of Americana,” Lynne said. “I feel like if I was ever to fit with anybody it would be with the misfits and outlaws… The truth tellers. The hippies.”

Dave Alvin, a former member of the Blasters and X as well as accomplished solo artist, used his lifetime acceptance speech to talk about the difficulty of defining what Americana music is, then noted that is to his liking. In his career, Alvin said, “I have tried to go by one rule: go where the love is… That, and always surround yourself with musicians who are better than you are.”

Don Was is a familiar sight at this ceremony even when he’s not getting honored; he traditionally plays bass every year in the house band, which is led by Buddy Miller. After being introduced by Martina McBride (for whom he produced an album of R&B standards), Was said, “It’s weird — at 72, I feel a bit young to be receiving a lifetime achievement award. In my heart I know there’s a lot more to learn, a lot more adventure, and the best is yet to come.” He talked about falling in love with music while accidentally coming across Blue Note sax player Joe Henderson on his mother’s car radio in 1966, when he was 14 and feeling surly. “In that moment I thought Joe was talking to me, and he was saying ‘Don, you’ve got to groove in the face of adversity.’ I wasn’t pissed off anymore and by the time my mom got back in the car, I was back to being a nice kid again. It hit me that making records that could help people make sense out of the chaos and confusion of life was a moderately worthwhile calling. Getting an award like this 58 years later… this is affirmation that at least some of those records got through to folks. That means more to me than I could possibly express to you tonight.”

Yoakam said he was most excited about coming to pick up his own lifetime honor because Alvin was getting one. But he was appreciative about his own. He correlated his early days in L.A. to modern-day Tennessee, making the “Echo Park/east Nashville throughline” connection. “In Nashville, there’s another generation that rediscovers the enormous and profound impact, the purity of early country music, blues, rock ‘and’n’ roll, soul, all of it can have on their peers and a brand new audience. The Americana Music Association manages to keep me in touch with that every year on different levels… The only place I’ve ever won an artist of the year award was the Americana Awards.” Yoakam grew teary and halting in his speech as he gave thanks to his wife and 4-year-old son, saying, “It’s doubly special because as I’ve said in the last couple years, it feels like I’m a fortunate guy and I’m getting to live my life in reverse.”

More than 20 artists performed on the show, which was webcast live via NPR. All of the above-mentioned lifetime achievement honorees were among those playing live (except the late Rev. Gary Davis), and so were three of the contemporary/voted winners — Ferrell, Clark (with SistaStrings) and Larkin Poe. Other performers included Charles Wesley Godwin, Fantastic Negrito, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Jobi Riccio, Kaitlin Butts, the Milk Carton Kids, Noah Kahan, Sarah Jarosz, Turnpike Troubadours, the War and Treaty, Waxahatchee with MJ Lenderman, Wyatt Flores, and the duo of Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell.

The full list of 2024 Americana Honors & Awards winners:

Album of the Year
“Trail of Flowers,” Sierra Ferrell; produced by Eddie Spear and Gary Paczosa

Artist of the Year
Sierra Ferrell

Song of the Year
“Dear Insecurity,” Brandy Clark (feat. Brandi Carlile); written by Brandy Clark and Michael Pollack

Duo/Group of the Year
Larkin Poe

Emerging Act of the Year
The Red Clay Strays

Instrumentalist of the Year
Grace Bowers