Americanafest is a beast like no other. Artists pitted against one another on stages across town. Do I go see someone out at Riverside Revival or Basement East? Molly Tuttle is playing at the same time as McMurtry? (Or is it spelled McCurty? See James’ facebook posts during Americanafest to get a good laugh.) Wait, no, it’s an hour difference, but there’s no way the Lyft can get me there in time. Oh my god what do I do!?!? Oh, this guy is playing a day party tomorrow so I can catch a few songs there since I can’t get to the full set because I saw Alisa Amador’s day show at Arnold’s and now I have to see her full set at the Hutton Hotel. I love Josh Rouse, that Nashville and Subtilito albums are great, but I was hoping to make it out to Dee’s to see Tim Easton. Can I do both? Can I do it all? Can I be in two places at once? It can be a bit overwhelming if you try to catch everything, but if you take a deep breath, pick 3 or 4 artists that you really want to see, and then just sit back and enjoy the ride, it’s a great experience. That’s my way to play it anyway. Although if you talk to Twangville’s Mayer, he will have other ideas, and I swear the man runs on 4 hours sleep in Nashville, but anyway, here’s a bit of what I enjoyed this year.
Lucas Nelson and Promise of the Real played at 10:30 Wednesday night so I just had enough time after the much too long awards show to make it to Brooklyn Bowl to catch their set. I’ve been a fan for a few years, not really digging their early releases, but falling in love with Naked Garden in 2020 and giving Willie’s son another chance. As we all know, sometimes an artist comes along and doesn’t hit you right the first time, but can really stick with you later. Nelson has been that way for me. The band put on a hell of a show with Nelson showing off his nice telecaster work and smart riffs. By choosing this set (and staying for the entirety of the awards show) I missed Charley Crockett, another of my recent favorite country artists, but figure I’ll try and catch him some other time. Earlier on Wednesday also took me to Compass Records to catch fantastic sets from the Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley duo and then Steve Poltz. As I’ve said before, a Poltz show is just so damn fun. There’s no telling what he’ll say and do, and for this occasion he invited a songwriting partner on stage to pitch a song to his record label owner and then told a hilarious story about a very nice hotel shower.
Thursday for me was a no-brainer. James McMurtry played an acoustic (mostly 12 string) set at Riverside Revival at 9. I’ve been a fan for years but have never had the opportunity to see him, so doing so in a converted church was a spiritual experience. The guy’s just hands down badass. My early show of the evening was at 3rd and Lindsley with Willi Carlisle, a charming multi-instrumentalist churning out heartfelt tunes such as “Tulsa’s Last Magician.” (And props to Americanafest’s Jozef for the Tiny Bomb beer recommendation and to Lisa and Nichole for the service.) Thursday also took me to Arnold’s Kitchen, thanks to Twangville’s Shawn, to catch a bit of South for Winter, a great trio with spectacular cello and nice vocals. What I wasn’t expecting was Alisa Amador. The 2022 Tiny Desk Concert winner blew me away. Her vocals were golden and the songs were simple, hooked filled and just good. Jesse Daniel’s set with pedal steel guitarist Caleb Melo at the Virgin Hotel was also a nice surprise.
After catching the short set of Alisa Amador at Arnold’s on Thursday I wanted more, so I was sure to catch the longer show at the Hutton Hotel at 9 on Friday. It didn’t disappoint and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this Bostonian. The 10pm show I chose was Oliver Wood of the Wood Brothers fame, playing scratchy acoustic to start the show then switching to wailing electric. I’ve never dug into his catalog but enjoyed his set and plan to do so in the future.
Phosphorescent was my main plan for Saturday, and his show of mostly covers from his recent release fit the festival nicely, although he did skip my favorite, the Tom T. Hall classic Homecoming. (And I’ll take this spot to apologize for yelling for that one a few times.) Earlier in the day Joshua Ray Walker wowed the crowd with a blistering set at Westin rooftop.
If you haven’t experienced Americanafest I highly encourage it. The big acts live up to the hype and you’re bound to find 3 or 4 acts you’ve never seen on some stage across town. Your new favorite might be playing one of those unadvertised day parties in East Nashville, downtown or the backyard of a fancy boutique. Above were just a few of the acts I saw. I didn’t even mention the great sets from Adia Victoria, Sophie and the Broken Things, Leroy from the North, Grace Pettis, Rachel Laven, Melody Walker, Kirby Brown, Nathan Kalish, Garrett Owen, Adrian + Meredith, and others.
The playlist below features some of the artists I saw along with some of the songs sung as tributes during the Americanafest awards show.
RIYL: No sleep til’ Brooklyn, $900 boots, pedal steel
Enjoy more Twangville coverage of the Americana Conference and Awards.
About the author: Producer, Engineer, Musician and all around music enthusiast.