Year after year, the Americana Honors & Awards carries a tough balancing act: It remains understated and comfortable while showcasing one of the biggest and brightest lineups of talent seen all year. The 2015 Awards were no different, and once again, we're extremely pleased to let you share in the fun. Watch the entire ceremony, replete with live performances, here.
The awards take at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., during AmericanaFest, the city's annual week-long party. Unlike some other music award shows we could mention, this ceremony includes only six awards — all of which will be presented during the live webcast — leaving plenty of time for great performances.
NPR Music presented a live webcast of the ceremony on Sept. 16. All the 2015 winners are listed below.
Album of the Year
Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone by Lucinda Williams; Produced by Lucinda Williams, Tom Overby and Greg Leisz
Artist of the Year
Sturgill Simpson
Duo/Group of the Year
The Mavericks
Emerging Artist of the Year
Shakey Graves
Instrumentalist of the Year
John Leventhal
Song of the Year
"Turtles All The Way Down" by Sturgill Simpson; Written by Sturgill Simpson
Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music Award co-presented by the Americana Music Association and the First Amendment Center
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Lifetime Achievement Award, Trailblazer
Don Henley
Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriting
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Lifetime Achievement Award, Instrumentalist
Ricky Skaggs
Lifetime Achievement Award, Performance
Los Lobos
President's Award
B.B. King
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