News

We are so excited to be organising the 2020 annual UK Americana Awards - this year will be a special celebration as it is our fifth year, we have extra surprises to tell you about and secrets you will only find out on the night! as always it is shaping up to another great event. And we can't wait to tell you all about it on the 4th Nov when we announce the 2020 Nominees.

Tickets NOW ON SALE - Link to buy tickets from DICE here > 

Members will have to log in to get the discount code for the members discount price.  Remember if you have a delegate pass you already have an award ticket, after party wristband and a showcase wristband included (still the best value for the full 3 day event) 

If you are booking hotels please note Troxy is not in Hackney Central (but we do have a really excellent kick off charity event happening on the 27th  at OSLO - details to follow)

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

The UK Americana Awards will be held on the 30th Jan 2020 as part of AmericanaFest UK 2020.   

There are 7 member nominated and voted for awards - Nominations are now open,  all members can now nominate up to 3 in each of the 7 categories

The eligibility period is 1st oct 2018-30th Sept 2019. 

• WHO TO NOMINATE: We're looking for Artists, Instrumentalists, Albums and Songs from the UK and International. We want to know what Americana music you have been listening to this year, and which artists you have seen touring new albums. Any song, EP or album that has been officially released between 1st oct 2018 - 30th Sept 2019 and is in the Americana genre can be nominated. (Artists you can even nominate yourself).

In case you have forgotten which records were in the charts in that period here is a list to jog your memory of all records that charted in this period - please note this is just a guide and that not all records that are eligible entered the official UK Americana chart and some records were released last Friday the 27th are still eligible for nomination but will not chart until Friday 4th Oct.

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

Thank you for being part of the UK Americana Community 

Wristbands available at ALT or DICE members log in for discount codes in the members area 

Caroline Spence's latest album 'Mint Condition' (out on Rounder Records) has had incredible reviews across the board - she was one of our stand out showcase performers from 2019 AmericanaFest UK and she is coming back to tour the UK in October this year,  we are delighted to be able to offer one of our members the opportunity to open for her on selected dates (27-30 Oct) on her next UK tour.  Thanks to Free Trade Agency, DHP and Brighthelmstone for continued partnership with AMA-UK and bringing this opportunity to our members.

TOUR DETAILS AND TICKET LINKS HERE

This is open for SOLO artists only and applications close next Tuesday 13th Aug - so check you diaries for the 27th-30th Oct and login/ get applying.

(Normal support fees will be paid, you will need to have your own transport and arrange own accommodation)

NOW CLOSED 

This has now closed - all applications have been sent to the agent and successful applicant will be notified asap 

Thank you to everyone who applied.

Danny & The Champions Of The World, photo John Morgan

Last Friday we held a wonderful event to say goodbye to The Borderline and to celebrate Barry Marshall Everitt's life in music and all the wonderful shows he did at The Borderline.

It was a wonderful atmosphere from the very start when Bex Marshall brought along old posters from some of Barry's shows at the Borderline and also his Time Out Awards for Best Promoter and Best Venue back in the late 1990s.  Not just a sad good bye to a venue we all love, but a real celebration of the genre and all the work Barry had put into bringing Americana to music fans and also giving new bands their first chance - Barry really championed new artists and was the first show for many who are now award winning Americana Artists.  

Bex Marshall Everitt photo by John Morgan

Barry always raised money for the Teenage Cancer Trust so we decided to do the same in his honour - thank you to awesome Ali Rawlings who was brilliant at pulling the night together,  to the wonderful bands who all played without a fee, Bex Marshall, Alan Tyler Trio, The Snakes and Danny & The Champions of The World,  thank your to DHP who let us use the venue free of charge.  Massive thanks to all the supporters who bought tickets and sold out this event and also were very generous in the collection buckets  - we raised an incredible £3240.77 for Teenage Cancer Trust who do amazing work - read more here 

The Snakes photo photo by John Morgan

Alan Tyler Trio photo by John Morgan

 Delegate passes include AMA-UK Annual Conference, Showcase Festival and Awards.  MEMBERS NEED TO LOG IN TO ACCESS MEMBER DISCOUNT.   Don't delay and Register NOW

The Conference is on the 28th/29th and 30th January 2020.  Showcase festival is on the 28th and 29th, the awards 30th Jan 2020.

The Conference will be in a new venue in Hackney Central, in close proximity to the festival venues  - details to follow soon, the Showcase Festival is in multiple venues across Hackney Central.  The Awards and After Party will be held at The Troxy, 490 Commercial Road, London, E1 0HX.

There will be a kick off event on the evening of 27th, this will be a charity event and a separate ticket - details HERE

REGISTER NOW (Members need to be logged in to access the members discount, available to all member types)

Music Declares Emergency is a group of artists, music industry professionals and organisations that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency and call for an immediate governmental response to protect all life on Earth. We believe in the power of music to promote the cultural change needed to create a better future.

Music Declares a Climate and Ecological Emergency.

• We call on governments and media institutions to tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency.

• We call on governments to act now to reverse biodiversity loss and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2030.

• We recognise that the emergency has arisen from global injustices and will work towards systemic change to protect life on Earth.

• We acknowledge the environmental impact of music industry practices and commit to taking urgent action.

W WILL

• Jointly support one another, sharing expertise as a collective industry and community.

• Speak up and out about the climate and ecological emergency.

• Work towards making our businesses ecologically sustainable and regenerative.

As members you can also sign the declaration and join the movement HERE

INVITES AND EMAILS WILL BE SENT BY THE END OF AUGUST 2019

AmericanaFest UK will be held across 5 venues in Hackney on the 28th and 29th January 2020. Artist and industry members can apply to showcase

Applications closed on July 31st

This is our fifth AmericanaFest UK and we are really excited about celebrating this milestone with you - we already have some incredible things lined up for the conference and awards which take place along side the showcase festival.

"The quality of the festival showcases is brilliant. The panels and programming of the event are valuable. The opportunity to meet with your peers is unrivalled. Aside from all these valuable parts of the conference and the incredibly well produced awards show, most importantly the event is permeated throughout with a deep sense of community."  Shawna Cooper, Dollartone  - Industry membership Canada

Looking back to 2016 when YOLA, Danni Nicholls and William The Conquerer  all showcased for the first time and seeing them now, 5 years on, with huge successes from playing Glastonbury, nominated for awards in Nashville and getting great radio play.  We love to see where showcasing can take you - we endeavour to bring you the best audiences to your showcase from industry, festival bookers, promoters, press and music fans alike, we ensure our showcase artists are given the best possible opportunities to take part in the conference and network and make the experience really mean something.  Showcasing at this event is a business opportunity for you as an artist as well as a chance to play amongst your peers and meet new members of the public who are drawn to this genre.

"I have also been lucky enough to showcase at the 2019 festival in Hackney. This has, undoubtedly, led me to new opportunities and has helped me to connect with fellow artists, agents, bookers and, generally, Americana enthusiasts. AMA UK also offer members-only opportunities to play at UK festivals, which is worth the modest annual membership fee in itself."  Martha L Healy  - Artist Membership, Scotland

There are still opportunities for sponsorship packages please see our sponsorship deck for more details 

Black Deer Festival this past weekend was a truly joyful celebration of the Americana genre.  A killer line-up, beautiful sunny weather and a lovely venue - there really was a great atmosphere.  Its exciting for us to see the festival double in size in its second year - another sign that the Americana genre is thriving.

Thank you to the festival directors Gill Tee and Deborah Shilling for inviting AMA-UK to host a talk on Saturday evening, we had a wonderful time talking to the crowd about what we do and big thanks to our guests Tom Bridgwater from Loose Music, and artists Danni Nicholls, Robert Vincent and Emily Barker for performing your beautiful music.