Hosted by Bob Harris OBE (who also walked away with the special Outstanding Contribution Award), the fifth UK Americana Awards took place tonight at the legendary Troxy in East London.
Winners on the night included such names as Joan Armatrading who was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, Nick Lowe who won the Trailblazer Award, newcomer Jade Bird (Best Selling Americana Album award), and a brace of awards went to the Grammy-nominated Yola (UK Album of the Year and UK Artist of the Year)
Full winners:
Lifetime Achievement Award – Joan Armatrading
UK Album of the Year – Walk Through Fire By Yola (produced by Dan Auerbach)
International Album of the Year – The Highwomen By The Highwomen (produced by Dave Cobb)
UK Song of the Year – Little Piece of Heaven by Elles Bailey (written by Elles Bailey, Bobby Wood and Dan Auerbach
International Song of the Year – Me and The Ghost of Charlemagne By Amy Speace (written by Amy Speace)
UK Artist of the Year – Yola
International Artist of the Year – Brandi Carlile
UK Instrumentalist of the Year – Siân Monaghan
Trailblazer Award – Nick Lowe
Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award – Ferris & Sylvester
Best Selling Americana Album – Jade Bird by Jade Bird
Grass Roots Award – Mark Whitfield from americana-uk.com
Legend Award – Lonnie Donegan
Lifetime Achievement Award – Joan Armatrading
For the first time at this iconic venue, artists took to the Troxy stage alongside the house band helmed by esteemed musical director Jonathan Wilson, who welcomed Nick Lowe and The Felice Brothers. Billy Bragg performed alongside Peter Donegan as a tribute to his father, the late Lonnie Donegan (who was awarded the Legend award), widely regarded as the innovator of skiffle. There was also an astonishing performance by the Noisettes’ singer Shingai who performed Joan Armatrading’s Love And Affection.
The awards were presented by Bob Harris. The talented winners were presented with their unique ‘Woodys’. These awards are hand-crafted representations of 7” singles turned in a variety of woods. It is worth noting that all of the member-voted awards were won by women this year.
Earlier in the week, The Americana Music Association UK kickstarted the festivities with a sold-out show at Hackney’s Oslo, the Americana Clash event saw the likes of Wandering Hearts and Frank Turner paying homage to the trailblazers of Americana, The Clash. Following that, the Americana community took over 6 venues in Hackney to showcase well over 75 artists representing the wide spectrum of the genre. The week also saw AMA UK members attending conferences and talks from industry speakers and artists including Joan Armatrading delivering the Keynote speech and the legendary Judy Collins in conversation with Bob Harris.
More information and photos from the Awards at https://theamauk.org/
Full list of winners and nominees below.
UK Instrumentalist of The Year
• Ben Smith
• Jim Maving
• Siân Monaghan
• Will Page
WINNER : Siân Monaghan
UK Song of The Year
• Little Piece of Heaven by Elles Bailey (written by Elles Bailey, Bobby Wood and Dan Auerbach
• The Fire by Jamie Freeman (written by Jamie Freeman and Ben Glover)
• Hear Your Voice by Danni Nicholls (written by Danni Nicholls and Kyshona Armstrong)
• Amy by Roseanne Reid (written by Roseanne Reid)
WINNER : Little Piece of Heaven by Elles Bailey (written by Elles Bailey, Bobby Wood and Dan Auerbach
UK Album of The Year
• Here There’s No Sirens By Pete Gow (produced by Joe Bennett )
• Chasing Lights By Ida Mae (produced by Ethan Johns)
• Bleeding on the Soundtrack By William the Conqueror (produced by Ethan Johns)
• Walk Through Fire By Yola (produced by Dan Auerbach)
WINNER : Walk Through Fire By Yola (produced by Dan Auerbach)
UK Artist of The Year
• Jade Bird
• Bear’s Den
• Frank Turner
• Yola
WINNER : Yola
International Song of The Year
• Turn Off The News (Build A Garden) By Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real (written by Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real)
• Letter to MadelineBy Ian Noe (written by Ian Noe)
• Saying GoodbyeBy J.S. Ondara (written by J.S. Ondara)
• Me and The Ghost of CharlemagneBy Amy Speace (written by Amy Speace)
WINNER : Me and The Ghost of Charlemagne By Amy Speace (written by Amy Speace)
International Album of The Year
• Undress By Felice Brothers (produced by Jeremy Backofen)
• The Highwomen By The Highwomen (produced by Dave Cobb)
• Songs Of Our Native Daughters By Our Native Daughters (produced by Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell)
• Mint Condition By Caroline Spence (produced by Dan Knobler)
WINNER : The Highwomen By The Highwomen (produced by Dave Cobb)
International Artist of The Year
• Brandi Carlile
• The Dead South
• Larkin Poe
• Mavis Staples
WINNER : Brandi Carlile
Special Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award
Selected by the board members, our highest honour is awarded to a UK artist, duo or group in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the Americana genre over the span of their career and life in music.The 2020 recipient is Joan Armatrading
Trailblazer Award
Selected by the board members, this special award celebrates a UK artist, duo or group that has taken an exceptional path, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps in developing the Americana genre.
The 2020 recipient is Nick Lowe
Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award
Selected by Bob Harris OBE, this special award celebrates the breakthrough artist, duo or group that has particularly impressed the legendary music broadcaster throughout the year.
The 2020 recipient is Ferris & Sylvester
Best Selling Americana Album
AMA-UK works with The Official Charts Company to create the UK Americana Album Chart. This Award is given to the bestselling Americana Album by a UK Artist.
The 2020 recipient is Jade Bird by Jade Bird
Grassroots Award
Selected by the board members, this special award celebrates the sometimes un-sung heroes of the UK Americana scene. It is presented to individuals working in the industry (in a capacity other than as artists) who have made outstanding efforts to support Americana music from the grass roots up.
The 2020 recipient is Mark Whitfield from americana-uk.com
Special Awards for our fifth anniversary
Outstanding Contribution Award to Bob Harris OBE
Legend Award: Lonnie Donegan
Selected by the board, this is a special award is reserved for those artists or individuals whose contribution helped lay the very foundations of the Americana music genre itself
