The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin are among those being recognized with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2016 Americana Honors & Awards. The 15th annual event returns to Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on September 21st with host Jim Lauderdale and a house band led by Buddy Miller.
Weir will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Performer honor, having graced stages with Bobby and the Midnites, RatDog and Furthur in addition to his long tenure with the Grateful Dead. Previous honorees include Los Lobos, Taj Mahal, Dr. John and Bonnie Raitt. Colvin will take home the Lifetime Achievement Trailblazer Award, having just issued her most recent work in 2016 with the Steve Earle collaborative album Colvin & Earle. Past winners include Don Henley, Old Crow Medicine Show and radio DJ Bob Harris.
Additionally, host Jim Lauderdale will be honored by George Strait with the WagonMaster's Award, named for the late Porter Wagoner. First-generation Stax performer William Bell, whose 2016 album This Is Where I Live was produced by John Leventhal, will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting, joining previous winners Lucinda Williams and Loretta Lynn. English folkie Billy Bragg will get the Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award, and the President's Award will be posthumously presented to folk hero Woody Guthrie.
Jason Isbell leads nominees for the 2016 Honors & Awards, having picked up three nods for work related to his album Something More Than Free. Chris Stapleton and Margo Price also scored nominations, alongside a diverse group of artists such as Alabama Shakes, Bonnie Raitt and Leon Bridges. The 2016 Americana Honors & Awards kicks off the annual AmericanaFest, which has an eclectic nightly lineup of performers including John Prine, John Paul White, Indigo Girls and many others.