>> ACL presents the 24th annual Americana Honors from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

With performances by... Medium Build, Maggie Rose, Jesse Welles, Old 97s, I'm with Her, Darrell Scott, Nathaniel Rateliff with Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch.

Dawes, Joy Oladokun, Margo Price and John C. Reilly, Emmylou Harris and Daniel Lanois, John Fogerty and the Americana All-Star Band with the The McCrary Sisters and musical director Buddy Miller.

ACL presents the 24th annual Americana Honors.

[ cheers and applause ] >> Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Ryman Auditorium.

[ applause ] Y'all feel as lucky as I do to be here tonight?

[ cheering ] I thought so.

Welcome to the historic Ryman Auditorium here in the heart of Nashville for the 24th annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards.

[ cheers and applause ] Up first, friends, let's hear it, for Medium Build.

[ cheers and applause ] >> This is a song about parasocial relationships and, uh, fallin' in love with strangers.

♪ singing: I think I got a crush On my drug dealer He's so cute When he gets high And he don't mind If I stay too long And always lets me try Before I buy I think I got it bad For my bartender She's so cool When she makes drinks And I don't know if it shows That sittin' with her Is the best I've felt all day We go on, and on, and on Lookin' for someone We go on, and on, and on Lookin' for someone We go on, and on, and on Lookin' for someone We go on, and on, and on Yeah ♪ How 'bout that band?

[ applause ] singing: I think that I'm in love With this songwriter He says everything I feel ♪ And I just know That we'd be close If our two paths Ever got crossed up for real Yeah We go on, and on, and on Lookin' for someone We go on, and on, and on Lookin' for someone We go on, and on, and on Lookin' for someone We go on, and on, and on, Yeah ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah We go on, and on, and on Lookin' for someone We go on, and on, and on >> Lookin' for someone >> Lookin' for someone who can save us >> Lookin' for someone >> Someone who will save us Yeah We go on, and on, and on >> Lookin' for someone >> We go on, and on, and on >> Lookin' for someone >> Lookin' for someone Who can save us >> Lookin' for someone >> Someone who will save us >> Lookin' for someone [ cheers and applause ] ♪ I think I got a crush On my drug dealer [ cheers and applause ] Thank you.

[ cheers and applause continue ] >> Friends, please welcome Maggie Rose.

[ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> This is super dreamy.

Thank you for having me.

[ cheering ] ♪ singing: Buy the house, Visit Rome Wear the dress That stops the show Don't you know No one gets out alive ♪ Call the boy, Ask the girl Have no regrets When you leave this world 'Cause you know No one gets out alive ♪ So stay a while here On the swing Let's pretend We'll always be together 'Cause there's no way That we could know When we'll go Where all things go forever I'm gonna hope for better Watch the sky From a hill Do what you can To make time stand still 'Cause you know No one gets out alive So bring the wine And stay up late Let's pretend We'll always be together ♪ 'Cause there's no way That we could know When we'll go Where all things go forever I'm gonna hope for better ♪ So bring the wine and celebrate Let's pretend We'll always be together 'Cause there's no way That we could know When we'll go where all things Go forever I'm gonna hope for better Hold your friends, Forgive the night Die to love And live your life Don't you know No one gets out Alive ♪ Alive Ooh ♪ Alive Alive ♪ No one yeah Ooh ♪ Thank you, AMA, so much.

Thank you to this incredible band.

[ cheers and applause ] >> Look, if you're on social media, you probably stopped your scroll on the next performer, and for good reason.

Won't you please make welcome, Jesse Welles!

[ applause ] ♪ >> singing: War isn't murder, Good men don't die Children don't starve And all the women survive "War isn't murder," That's what they say When you're fighting the Devil, Murder's okay War isn't murder, They're called casualties There ain't a veteran With a good night's sleep Let's talk about dead people I mean a-dead people The dead don't feel honor They don't feel they're brave They don't feel avenged They're lucky if they got graves Call your dead mother, Ask her when she died It's a deathly silence On the other line The dead don't talk, But the children don't forget So in 20 short years, you could live to regret that War isn't murder, There's money at stake Hell, even Kushner agrees It's good real estate War isn't murder, ask Netanyahu He's got a psalm for that And a bomb for you War isn't murder, It's an old desert faith It's a nation-state sanctioned, Righteous hate Let's talk about dead people I mean a-dead people If war isn't murder, It's the vengeance of God If you can't see the bodies, They don't bloat When they rot And the flies don't swarm, And the children don't cry If war isn't murder, Good men don't die So in a short 20 years, when you vacation the Strip Try not to think about the dead And have a nice trip ♪ [ crowd cheering ] War isn't murder, We should all give thanks I saw it all in a movie, give it up for Tom Hanks War isn't murder, They don't ship out the poor And the bullets they fire Ain't part of the cure War isn't murder, Land is a right But the banks called dibs, It's something you can't fight Let's talk about dead people I mean a-dead people The dead don't feel honor They don't feel they're brave They don't feel avenged They're lucky if they got graves Call your dead mother, Ask her when she died It's a deathly silence On the other line It's a dark sacrifice, Made on your behalf So get down on your knees And thank the sweet Lord that War isn't murder ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> The Old 97s, they're restless and brave, full of longing and romantic aggression.

And they've been working as a band longer than a lot of you have been alive.

Give it up for the most gentlemanly rock stars I know, the Old 97s!

[ cheers and applause ] ♪ singing: I got a timebomb In my mind, mom I hear it ticking But I don't know why I call the police, But they don't like me I hear 'em whispering When I walk by, Oh ooh ♪ I've got a landmine In my bloodline I'm not immune To getting blown apart She's like a claymore, That's what she's there for She's waiting 'round here To get blown apart, Oh ooh Having her on my brain's Like getting hit by a train She's gonna kill me Oh Celeste Oh Celeste Oh Celeste Oh Celeste 'este Oh yeah!

♪ I got a timebomb In my mind, mom It's gonna go off, But I don't know when I need a doctor to extract her I got a feeling she'd get Right back in again, Oh oh oh ♪ I got a timebomb In my mind, mom Yeah I got it badly For a stick-legged girl She's gonna kill me And I don't mean softly I've got it badly For a stick-legged girl - rl - rl - rl Having her on my brain's Like getting hit by a train She's gonna kill me Oh Celeste Oh Celeste Oh Celeste Oh Celeste 'e - 'e - 'este Oh Celeste Oh yeah Yeah yeah yeah ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> Our next performer is a triple threat.

And what I mean by that is there are three of them.

[ laughter ] Here to perform "Ancient Light", please welcome I'm With Her.

[cheers and applause] ♪ song: Better get out of the way Gonna figure out what I wanna say I've been a long time comin' Makin' my way through the weeds Branches tuggin' my sleeves I've been a long time gone No more cryin' I'm not gonna put up a fight When I get there I'll be swimmin' in the ancient light ♪ Dry leaves under my shoes I got nothin' to lose And now the clouds roll in In the dark I'm gatherin' While everything's unravelin' I am buildin' a fire Sparks and smoke rings Fill up the night When it catches I'll be swimmin' in the ancient light ♪ We all gotta go to other side Let the tears roll Oou - oou Where do we go ♪ Thinkin' of who came before I hear them knock on the door They've been a long time comin' Mmm, when I let 'em in I feel their breath on my skin They've been a long time gone We'll be dancin' Oh, what a sight >> What a sight >> When they get here I'll be swimmin' in the ancient light I'll be swimmin' in the ancient light I'll be swimmin' in the ancient light ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> Many talented artists have covered this song.

But there's nothing like hearing it from the man himself.

Please put your hands together for Darrell Scott.

[ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> song: In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky That's the place where I trace my bloodline And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone said "You will never leave Harlan alive" ♪ Well my grandad's dad walked down Katahrin's Mountain And he asked Tillie Helton to be his bride He said, "Won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler Or we'll never leave Harlan alive" Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning And the sun goes down about three in the day And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinking And you spend your life just thinking how to get away No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains 'Till the man from the northeast arrived spoken: He was waving them hundred dollar bills, he said "I'll pay you for your minerals" sung: Oh, but he never left Harlan alive spoken: Well Granny, she sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pineville sung: To a farm where Big Richland River winds - yeah And I'll bet they spoken: they danced them a jig, and they laughed and sang a new song sung: "Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive?"

♪ But the times, got hard and tobacco wasn't selling And old Granddad knew what he'd do to survive Well he went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to Granny But he never left Harlan alive Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning And the sun goes down down down about three every day And you fill your cup spoken: go on and fill it up sung: with whatever bitter brew you're drinking and you spend your life diggin' coal from the bottom of your grave In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky That's the place where I trace my bloodline And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone said "You will never leave Harlan alive" ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> Our next performer-- I was once a go-go dancer at one of his concerts.

[ laughter ] You think I'm kidding?

But I'm not.

[ bigger laughter ] With a little help from his friends Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, please put your hands together for Nathaniel Rateliff.

[ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ >> song: It's the center of me but I still don't see Feel it moving around Can I admit defeat or disbelief?

Does it have to be now?

Hey wait, why do I wait until this ---- gets harder?

Hey wait, my words are arriving now So I wait, I'll wait until this ---- gets harder?

Alone in my head ♪ Is it all I had?

Is it all that's left?

I'm starting out empty again And I cradled my arms, rocked myself to sleep Be ten more years 'til I say what need Stuck in my mouth when I try to speak And nothing comes out Hey wait, why do I wait until this ---- gets harder?

Hey wait, my words are arriving now Hey wait, why do I wait until this ---- gets harder?

Alone in my head?

Said maybe I don't wanna sleep too long Someone wake me, I don't wanna sleep too long I'm just gonna close my eyes and try to play it cool ♪ ♪ I'm tired of waitin' I'm tired of waitin' on myself I'm tired of waitin' I'm tired of waitin' on myself I'm tired of waitin' I'm tired of waitin' on myself Why do I wait until this ---- gets harder?

>> I'm tired of waitin' on myself >> Why do I wait until this ---- gets harder?

>> I'm tired of waitin' on myself >> Why do I wait until until this ---- gets harder?

>> I'm tired of waitin' on myself Why do I wait until this ---- gets harder?

I'm tired of waitin' >> I'm tired of waitin' on myself >> It's the center of me and I still don't see But it's moving around [ cheers and applause ] >> So, our next performance offers a great example of how songs can live more than one life.

Taylor Goldsmith wrote "Time Spent in Los Angeles" around 15 years ago.

[ cheers and applause ] But the song took on a new meaning and a new weight earlier this early, when fires raged through Southern California.

There's more to the song now and more to the title.

Here to perform "Time Spent in Los Angeles" for Altadena, please welcome Dawes.

[ cheers and applause ] >> One, two, a-one, two, three, four.

♪ >> song: These days my friends don't seem to know me Without my suitcase in my hand And when I am standing still I seem to disappear But maybe that's how I found you Maybe that's taught me exactly what I want Maybe meeting you this far away from home Is what makes it all so clear 'Cause you got that special kind of sadness You got that tragic set of charms That only comes from time spent in Los Angeles Makes me wanna wrap you in my arms ♪ When people ask me where I come from To see what that says about a man I only end up giving bad directions That never lead them there at all It's something written in the head lights It's something swimming in my drink And if I were the moon It would be exactly where I fall 'Cause you got that special kind of sadness You got that tragic set of charms That only comes from time spent in Los Angeles Makes me wanna wrap you in my arms ♪ I used to think someone would love me For all these places that I've been And the dirt that I've been gathering Deep beneath my nails But now I know what I've been missing And I'm going home to make it mine And I'll be battening the hatches and pulling in the sails 'Cause you got that special kind of sadness You got that tragic set of charms That only comes from time spent in Los Angeles Makes me wanna wrap you in my arms You got that special kind of sadness You got that tragic set of charms That only comes from time spent in Los Angeles Makes me wanna wrap you in my arms [ cheers and applause ] >> And now, I'm excited to introduce our next performer.

She was inspired to start making her own music at the age of 10.

Oh, I just love you.

When she saw a video of Tracy Chapman performing.

My friends!

[ cheering ] Please welcome Joy Oladukun!

[ cheers and applause ] ♪ Singing: Lately I've been dreaming of a house out in the woods With a big backyard, my dog and my lover Gave Nashville a chance and made it farther than they thought I would But it doesn't mean I should hang 'round and suffer This world on fire still has good to discover I wouldn't miss the traffic or the runaway trains And the proud boys and their women just make me feel out of place Oh but I'd miss the birds and the music that they make But even they know when to fly away Oh, I think it's time to fly away Dusty Silverado take me to another place This town has a way to leave you wanting For all its brand new buildings and its heroes on parade This town still isn't big enough to love me And I'm still too damn proud to beg for company I wouldn't miss the traffic or the runaway trains And the proud boys and their women just make me feel out of place Oh but I'd miss the birds and the music that they make But even they know when to fly away Oh, I think it's time to fly away I think it's time to make a change To spread my wings and drift away I think I finally learned that you can't get back the years But you can always come back to a place [vocalizing] I wouldn't miss the traffic or the runaway trains The proud boys and their women they make me feel out of place Oh but I'd miss the birds and the music that they make And the feel of the earth beneath my feet in early May And the magnolia leaves as they fall out of place Even they know when to fly away Oh I think it's time to fly away I think it's time to fly away Spread my wings and find a safer place I think it's time to fly away I think it's time to fly I think it's time to fly [cheers and applause] >> In the treasure chest of country music, 1975, there was one jewel that had an allure all it's own.

Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger."

[cheers and applause] The album's production was spare to the point of being austere, but its space, the intimacy of it, allowed something to come through that it seems was right on time.

Here now to perform "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," please welcome our host John C. Reilly and Margo Price.

[ cheers and applause ] ♪ Singing: In the twilight glow I see her Blue eyes crying in the rain As we kissed goodbye and parted I knew we'd never meet again Love is like a dying ember Only memories remain Through the ages I'll remember Blue eyes crying in the rain ♪ >> David Garza.

[ cheers and applause ] Singing: Now my hair has turned to silver All my life I've loved in vain I can see her star in heaven Blue eyes crying in the rain Some day when we meet up yonder We'll stroll hand in hand again In a land that knows no parting Blue eyes crying in the rain Blue eyes crying in the rain [cheers and applause] >> 30 years ago, one of Americana's most beloved artists, then and now, put out an album that made everyone stop and take notice.

With "Wrecking Ball," Emmylou Harris smashed expectations.

[ cheers and applause ] She knocked down any notion that her talent could be constrained.

And working with producer Daniel Lanois... [ audience cheering ] ...Emmylou gathered an eclectic mix of songs and wove them through with sounds she'd never tried before.

So here to play one of the many brilliant songs from Wrecking Ball, please welcome two of tonight's sexiest artists, Emmylou Harris and Daniel Lanois!

[ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ ♪ singing: Waterfall Nothin' can go wrong Nothin' can go wrong My sweet waterfall When I go When I go down deep I want you here with me My sweet waterfall ♪ ♪ ♪ I can see A rainbow calling me Through your mystery My sweet waterfall ♪ Waterfall For a million days Fall with me for a million days My sweet waterfall ♪ [ guitar solo ] ♪ [ guitar solo ] ♪ Waterfall Nothin' can go wrong Nothin' can go wrong My sweet waterfall Nothin' can go wrong My sweet waterfall [ cheers and applause ] >> Folks, we're just about at the end of our time together here in Country Music's Mother Church [ cheers and applause ] Here now to close out things for us on the Ryman stage tonight is someone we can all sing along to, for sure.

And he's here to share some of it with us now.

Friends, please welcome, John Fogerty.

[ cheers and applause ] ♪ singing: There's a place Up ahead and I'm goin' Just as fast as my feet Can fly Come away, come away, If you're goin' Leave the sinkin' ship behind Come on the risin' wind We're goin' up around the bend ♪ You can ponder perpetual motion Fix your mind on a crystal day Always time For good conversation There's an ear for What you say Well, come on the risin' wind We're goin' up around the bend Yeah!

♪ [ guitar solo ] ♪ Catch a ride To the end of the highway And we'll meet by The big red tree There's a place up ahead, and I'm goin' Come along, Come along with me Well, come on the risin' wind We're goin' up Around the bend Yeah!

♪ Doo, doo, doo-doo Doo, doo, doo-doo Doo, doo, doo-doo ♪ Doo, doo, doo-doo Doo, doo, doo-doo yeah Doo, doo, doo, doo ♪ [ cheers and applause ] singing: Rollin' Rollin' on the river Said rollin' Rollin' All right Rollin' on the river >> Now you do it!

singing: Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' on the river Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' on the river Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' on the river Yeah Rollin' Well, rollin', all right Rollin' on the river Yeah!

♪ [ cheers and applause ]