Americana Music Association is previewing its first-rate AMERICANAFEST conference which will feature panels from renowned musicians Jackson Browne, Valerie June, Aoife O’Donovan and Joe Henry. Scheduled to take place in Music City on September 22-25, a detailed schedule for this year’s AMERICANAFEST will be announced in August. 2021 Conference + Festival Passes are currently on sale at $349 ($249 for Americana Music Association Members) and can be purchased here.
Presented in conjunction with The GRAMMY Museum, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame Member Jackson Browne will take part in a keynote interview discussing his latest album, “Downhill from Everywhere,” the craft of songwriting and his advocacy on behalf of the environment, human rights and arts education. The intimate conversation will be moderated by Scott Goldman, host of The GRAMMY Museum’s renowned Public Program series since 2010.
To celebrate her 2021 Americana Honors & Awards nominations for Album and Song of the Year, singer-songwriter Valerie June will open this year’s AMERICANAFEST conference by leading a guided meditation open to all attendees at The Westin Nashville. The practice will be followed by a conversation with NPR’s Ann Powers about June’s acclaimed new album “The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers,” which spent eight weeks atop the Americana Radio Albums Chart, and has been hailed by Rolling Stone as a “stunning song cycle of redemption and reclamation.”
Following a 2019 Americana Duo/Group of the Year Award and 2020 GRAMMY win with the trio I’m With Her, songwriter and musician Aoife O’Donovan will be joined by acclaimed producer and fellow GRAMMY-winner Joe Henry, and Full Sail University award-winning engineer/producer Darren Schneider, to discuss an upcoming project, which found O’Donovan and Henry collaborating remotely during COVID-19 while enlisting contributions and resources from the Full Sail creative community in Orlando.
For over two decades, the AMERICANAFEST conference has provided a premier educational forum to discuss varying cultural and industry-related topics among top professionals and artists from the Americana community. This year, the daytime music industry conference will once again return to The Westin Nashville with over 50 insightful sessions, while the nighttime music festival will feature more than 200 electrifying showcases throughout notable venues in Music City.
The four-day event week will be kicked off by the critically acclaimed Americana Honors & Awards on Wednesday, September 22 at the historic Ryman Auditorium. Music lovers can also get their fix at countless special events throughout Nashville, hosted by sponsors and friends of the community.
For more information and to purchase an AMERICANAFEST 2021 pass, visit americanamusic.org.
