The AMA-UK News Welcoming our new Acting CEO and UK Americana Music Week 2024...

Dear members, Thank you for your patience over these last weeks since our AMA-UK CEO and dear friend, Stevie Smith, decided to step down. We have been working hard behind the scenes to plot the Association’s next steps and are excited to share some news with you. First up, we have a new Acting CEO. We are delighted to announce that AMA-UK Board Member, Charlie Pierce, has been appointed to the role of Acting CEO. Many of you will already know Charlie, who has been embedded within the Americana music community for many years, as both an artist manager and passionate ambassador for the genre. We are excited and grateful to Charlie for stepping into this role and look forward to working with her over the coming months.

What does this mean for UK Americana Music Week in 2024?

Well…it’s all systems go! We can confirm that a number of events are in the pipeline for the week commencing 22 January 2024 and, whilst we are still planning the finer details with our partners, we can tell you there will be artist showcases and a number of opportunities for the Americana music community to come together. And, of course, a party and awards ceremony!

So, what happens next?

We are working closely with our event partners – as well as our friends at the Americana Music Association in Nashville – to build and deliver the programme of events for January. We will be opening the nominations for showcases in the coming weeks and will announce this via social media and the member newsletter. We appreciate your continued patience with us and are working to bring you updates as quickly as we can so you can make plans to join us in the new year.

In the meantime, if you are attending AmericanaFest this week in the US, you can see Charlie and a number of our Board members at the AMA-UK / British Underground Welcome Party on Wednesday (2.30pm - 5.30pm at Alley Taps) or the "Touring the UK panel" on Thursday (2pm - 3pm at The Westin - Gulch III).

Charlie can be contacted at admin@theamauk.org for any member feedback or questions.

We hope this news is a welcome update and we’ll be in touch again soon. Before we go, here’s a message from our new Acting CEO, Charlie Pierce.

"I’m honoured to be taking the position as Acting CEO for AMA-UK. Stevie stepping down has left a big hole in our organisation and whilst I cannot imagine filling her shoes entirely, I am pleased to be able to offer our community and members some reassurance that our annual celebration of Americana Music in the UK will take place in January, and that we will be working over the coming months to establish a longer term plan for the association’s future goals and objectives to best support the artists and industry who call Americana home. A big thanks to The Board and Exec for their support as we move ahead, and of course to Stevie for the legacy and community she has built in UK Americana." 

Charlie & the AMA-UK Board