Tunesday With George: The Whigs & Americana Wrap-uP

pick this week: 

 The Whigs -- Enjoy The Company 

plus an Americana Festival re-cap: 

Another whirlwind week of the Americana Music Conference and Festival in Nashville has come and gone, and each year it continues to grow and improve. The awards show at the Ryman Auditorium this year was an impeccable night of music, treating the audience (and this year a national TV audience as well) to this jaw-dropping lineup: 
 Booker T Lee 
Ann Womack & Tom T. Hall 
Punch Brothers 
Guy Clark 
Robert Ellis 
Kasey Chambers 
Sarah Jarosz 
Hayes Carll & Cary Ann Hearst 
Alabama Shakes 
Deep Dark Woods 
Justin Townes Earl 
Jason Isbell 
Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale 
Richard Thompson 
Bonnie Raitt & John Hiatt 
The show closed with a tribute to Levon Helm, an incredibly moving version of "The Weight"...featuring most everybody mentioned above and then some, with each of the following taking the lead on a verse: Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Larry Campbell, Brittany Howard from Alabama Shakes, and John Hiatt. As always, Buddy Miller was the leader of the house band for the night, which also included the likes of Don Was and Larry Campbell. 

We had 8 artists in town this year, so to say we were busy is an understatement: Corb Lund, The Mastersons, Richard Thompson, Max Gomez, Robert Ellis, John Hiatt, Buxton, and Buddy Miller. BUT, I was able to catch a few acts I thoroughly enjoyed outside of our shows: 
 White Horse (a husband/wife duo whom The Mastersons dubbed their Canadian dopplegangers) 
 Billy Joe Shaver 
Two Gallants