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Chris Willman
Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic
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Getty Images for Americana Music Wednesday night’s Americana Music Honors & Awards in Nashville found the love being spread among a handful of the Americana’s brightest lights — among them Brandi Carlile, Molly Tuttle, Tyler Childers and the duo of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings — on top of some high-profile and highly emotional honorary awards or tributes being afforded dearly departed stars like Dolly Parton and Tom Petty.
Tuttle was a perhaps surprise first-time winner as artist of the year. In contrast, it is no surprise when Welch and Rawlings pick up duo/group of the year, as they did for the second year in a row. Carlile won song of the year for the title track to her 2025 album “Returning to Me,” as its singer and sole songwriter. Childers was an absentee album of the year winner for “Snipe Hunter,” awarded along with producers Rick Rubin and Nick Sanborn.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 16: Molly Tuttle accepts Artist of The Year award onstage during the 25th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 16, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music Association) Getty Images for Americana Music Ken Pomeroy won emerging act of the year, and the award for instrumentalist of the year went to Mandy Far.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 16: Ken Pomeroy poses backstage with the Emerging Act of the Year award during the 25th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 16, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music Association) Getty Images for Americana Music Those are the Americana Music Association’s only six competitive categories — a minimali amount of voted-upon awards that allows for a show in which usually everyone nominated is invited to perform, and most do. It also leaves time for the lifetime honors that are a huge part of the program, this year going to Robert Plant, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Dolly Parton.
Tuttle won the coveted artist of the year slot on the strength of her touring but also on the warm reception for her fifth studio album, “So Long Little Miss Sunshine,” which represented a risk that paid off, since it moved her a little closer to the mainstream than previous recordings.
On the red carpet, Tuttle told Variety that she “was taking a bit of a sonic leap with this record, and absolutely, . some of my fans were, who are more on into the bluegrass-type traditional stuff, they were a little nervous about it, I think. But I’m glad people got on board, and I was proud of this record, so I hoped that other people would like it, too.”
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