SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2014

Sturgill Simpson accepts the Emerging Artist of the Year accepts the of the Year Award for ‘Cover Me Flaco Jimenez accepts the Lifetime Achievement. Award during the Americana Music Honors and Awards show Up’. Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn. — AP photos Jason Isbell cleans up at Americana Awards

inger- Jason Isbell swept the major television show “Nashville” and the Americana’s win- awards Wednesday night at the Americana ningest performer, won his fifth instrumentalist of the SHonors & Awards, creating another special year award. The Americana Music Association also moment with his wife, . Isbell won honored several pioneering musicians. artist, album and song of the year during the 13th received the lifetime achievement award for songwrit- annual awards show Wednesday night at Ryman ing from and Angaleena Presley. Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Though surpris- “The truth is we both might cry giving out this ingly ignored by Grammy Awards voters, Isbell’s award,” Musgraves said. Lynn, writer of some of coun- album of the year winner “Southeastern” reverberated try music’s most important female empowerment through the Americana community and made many , accepted the award in a sparkly lavender dress Marty Stuart accepts the President’s Award on behalf of Jimmy Rogers. of 2013’s best-of lists. and her usual humble manner. “When they told me I He performed song of the year “Cover Me Up” with was going to get this award,” she told the crowd, “I Shires, a significant figure on the album as muse and said, ‘Naw, you got the wrong one.’” Jackson Browne collaborator. “I wrote this song for my wife,” Isbell received the Spirit of Americana-Free Speech in Music said. “I’ve had a lot of people ask me to dedicate it to award, Flaco Jimenez received the lifetime achieve- their wives, girlfriends or cousin’s wife or something ment award for instrumentalist and Taj Mahal earned strange like that. This was probably the hardest song I the lifetime achievement award for performance. ever had to write because I wrote it for her and then I “I was affected deeply by American music, near and played it for her. It was very difficult. Do the things far - my mother’s interest in Southern music and my that scare you. That’s the good stuff.” dad’s interest in jazz and bebop and classical, all that Isbell was one of this year’s top nominees along kind of stuff,” Mahal said in an interview. “But this with Rosanne Cash and Robert Ellis. Each had three music here, if you get this music, you can go anywhere nominations and all were up for artist, album and in the world with it. For me, I play for the goddess of song of the year. Many of the top nominees and hon- music. People ask me what I do and I go, deep ors recipients performed, including all five emerging Americana.” — AP artist nominees. Former couple and made a surprise appearance and sang their collaboration “Ohio.” Sturgill Simpson, something of a modern cosmic cowboy, earned emerging artist of the year and the Milk Carton Kids took group/duo of the year. And Loretta Lynn waves to the crowd after performing. Buddy Miller, now executive music producer for the

Taj Mahal accepts the Lifetime Achievement for Performance Award. Sturgill Simpson, left, performs during the Americana Music Honors and Awards show.