So This is Americana

I went to the Americana Music Awards for the first time last night. Held at the beautiful and storied Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, it struck me that the Ryman is itself Americana, the Hatch Show Prints hanging here and there are Americana, popcorn and beer in the lobby are Americana.

Blue jeans are Americana.

Ripped blue jeans are both Americana and cool. Cooler if the rip happened on a Harley.

Harley Davidson is Americana.

The brilliant Jim Lauderdale hosted the show. He mentioned that he would be rich if he had a nickel for every time somebody asked him, "what is Americana?" He said it a lot funnier than that. Jim is a funny funny guy and a terrific songwriter and performer. Jim Lauderdale is Americana.

About two rows down from me there was a young man whose face and body were disfigured, enjoying the show by himself. Earlier I had seen him outside the Renaissance Hotel and I admired his obvious determination in getting wherever he was going. When I found out where it was he was going, I admired him even more. That young man is Americana.

Immediately in front of me sat a couple kissing away, oblivious to anyone around them. Just like teenagers in a movie theatre. They felt like Americana to me.

Billy Bob Thornton and his band The Boxmasters were presenters on the bill. Billy Bob is Americana. Thornton said that he had been at a lot of award shows (indeed he has!) and the thing that separated THIS award show from all the others is that "everyone on this stage belongs here." I'd say that in the United States of Americana, democracy (the AMA members vote in the award winners) is working like a well-oiled machine. And working like a well-oiled machine is Americana.

Joan Baez got an award...and sang! I've missed Joan Baez. I'm going to listen to her on Pandora.com later today. Joan Baez is Americana. So is Pandora.com. Together they help trace the history of the modern music business, as does the very genre, Americana.

Lost Highway Records is Americana. Lyle Lovett is Americana. Mary Gauthier is Americana. Ryan Bingham is a great new Americana artist. Van Morrison is a legendary Americana artist. Van Morrison?...yep, Van Morrison.

John Hiatt was an award winner and performer. He is one of the greatest songwriters America has ever produced. (I know, that's a statement...but true). Hiatt is Americana.

Alison, "I thought she was bluegrass," Krauss won an award for her collaboration with rock icon Robert Plant. Yep, "Whole Lotta Love" was Americana...Raising Sand is too. Bluegrass is Americana.

Levon Helm won an award. So did Jerry Garcia. All The Band, All The Dead...all formative Americana artists.

Jim Lauderdale welcomed fans from all corners of the world to the "United States of Americana." And the crowd cheered and the Ryman, my first time there, was as comfortable as a threadbare old couch. Americana felt good and positive and there was a spirit of togetherness I hadn't felt in a long time.

Terry Lickona, producer of Austin City Limits on PBS since 1978 won an award. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series on TV. (Where were you in 1978?) Austin City Limits is Americana. PBS is Americana. Watch PBS, "non-bought" television reveals Americana.

My friend that went to the awards show with me called me a little while ago. She is a songwriter. She started a new 9-6 job today at a sporting goods store. She is depressed about taking an $8.50 an hour retail job. I told her I was depressed about the economy too and frightened by the fact that only about four gas stations in all of Nashville had gasoline today. No kidding. Huge lines. People helping people get a can of gas and try to keep going. Sadly, right now that is Americana.

After the show, outside the Ryman on the back side where it's a little darker and a little more private, but still safe, people were meeting and planning their next music stop. I ran into my friend Heidi Hyatt, the widow of Walter Hyatt. Walter was mentioned from the stage at the show. He might have been as famous as Lyle Lovett, his friend, had he lived. He was killed in 1996 when his Valujet flight 592 crashed into the Florida Everglades. Walter Hyatt and all the stuff in this paragraph are Americana.

This evening I visited a very smart friend of mine who is a "liberal Republican." He said he wasn't sure who he was voting for in the presidential election. And he confided that it really didn't matter anyway, that the country and the world were not run by politicians but by "the golen rule." Those with the gold rule. And that sentiment, I think, is Americana too.

Change is Americana. Retrospection is Americana. Humility, pride and strength are Americana.

Steve Earle performed. Steve Earle strikes nerves. Steve Earle, like Joan Baez who he recently produced, sticks life in your face. Steve Earle is a great artist and he is very Americana.

At this moment PBS is airing a program about Elvis Presley's roots in gospel music. Both Elvis and Gospel are true Americana.

What do YOU think is Americana? (And if you still don't know what it is, listen to some of the artists mentioned here and you'll get a feel for it.)

You can learn about the Americana Music Association at americanamusic.org.

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