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AMERICANAFEST 2026 Packs Music City with Legends, Breakouts and Big Moments
AMERICANAFEST is a popular annual multi-day music conference and festival featuring award-winning artists, legends and newcomers. This year, AMERICANAFEST took place September 15 through 19, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to lots of live music the gathering also included insightful industry panels, seminars, showcases, special events and more. Once again the Embassy Suites by Hilton hosted AMERICANAFEST's daily activities. Its close proximity to the Ryman Auditorium, the Country Music Hall of Fame and some of the music venues made it an ideal hotel for this destination event that attracts people from around the states and even the world.
Another major draw of AMERICANAFEST is their Americana Honors & Awards program held at the historic Ryman Auditorium. This concert recognizes some of the best in the broad-category of Americana and is also known for its one-of-a-kind performance pairings. This midweek show is considered the central point and a cohesive capstone of this fan-friendly festival. This year's Award show featured a reunion of the original and later Heartbreakers - who along with their late band leader Tom Petty received the Americana Lifetime Achievement award. They were fronted by Chris Stapleton. Other highlights were Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan & Sara Watkins comprising I'm With Her collaborating with Brandi Carlile to deliver a moving tribute to Dolly Parton with their rendition of "Coat of Many Colors". Robert Plant of Led Zepplin fame was also a Lifetime Achievement Honoree and performed "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down" and "Angel Dance" while giving praise to a wide array of Americana artists. Every year, the biggest challenge of AMERICANAFEST is the fact that there is so much going on that you cannot do it all. With multiple venues presenting music day and night along with the aforementioned industry events each person has to make choices. We overheard one attendee telling another that "you have to be to be happy where you are" – good advice for the festival and life. In Nashville - the FOMO is real.
At the 2026 edition of AMERICANAFEST, we had the chance to take in a wide range of performances across Music City, experiencing the week with open eyes and ears as the action unfolded. Some of our best takeaways from this past September include: There were a number of kick-off parties to select from on opening day. In the past we have picked the popular BMI Rooftop series but this year we attended an affair hosted by Martin Guitars at InDo where they presented their refreshed Martin 16 Series. These instruments were on display and available for play. The updated 16s have bold visual styles, all-solid-wood tones paired with premium electronics, and distinctive voices across the range, these acoustic-electric guitars are made for players who want classic Martin craftsmanship with a look and sound that help them stand out and command the room. A number of the afternoon's performers used these axes including Nelson who will be back in Nashville later this year for a holiday show at the Franklin Theater. Brandy Clark also ran a 16 through the paces as she performed crowd favorites "American Roots" an anthem for a divided nation and the relatable "Dear Insecurity". Also of interest on Tuesday was the showcase at 3rd & Lindsley that featured Amy Grant, Maggie Rose and Melissa Etheridge and at the Station Inn were Lee Roy Parrell, Jesse Wells and more.
Throughout the week, the City Winery had music in both their main room and lounge. We made a point of being at this venue at 7 pm to see Judy Collins. At 87 years-old, she remains prolific on stage and in the studio, touring the globe and releasing a number of celebrated solo and duets albums over the past few years. On Tuesday, Collins performed with special guests Kathleen Edwards, Elles Bailey, Mary Gauthier and Amy Speace and on Wednesday she was at the Country Music Hall of Fame for a conversation and acoustic show. At the City Winery Judy touched upon her life while presenting a number of songs that she is famous for. Collins is also well known for her activism so it made sense that she and her guests touched upon political topics culminating with Mary Gauthier and Jamee Harris playing a compelling version of Woody Guthrie's "Deportee". Judy & Friends closed out the evening with "Amazing Grace". Over at the Embassy Suites on Wednesday, AmericanaFest transformed the lobby into a lively festival hub - a place buzzing with badge pickup, merch tables, pop‑up acoustic sets, artist meet‑and‑greets, industry networking, partner activations, and constant schedule updates - all creating a welcoming crossroads where musicians, fans and insiders mixed before heading out into Music City for the showcases. Inside these walls, the original Heartbreakers sat for interviews just one day after Brandi Carlile had the rare opportunity to engage in a spirited conversation with Bernie Taupin.
We enjoyed stopping by the OwePar Records table just weeks after the passing of their benefactor, Dolly Parton, and were impressed by the growing slate of releases now available in support of the Parton and Owens family trees. We also poked our heads into a nearby session to check in on our friend Jacquelyn Marushka, whose book The PR Playbook arrived earlier this year, as she moderated a well‑attended panel titled Cracking the Code: PR and Branding 101. Many cities, countries and states showcase their artists during AMERICANAFEST. On Thursday, we found ourselves at Acme Feed & Seed for the Rocket City Ramble. For the past few years the city of Huntsville, Alabama has set up shop at this venue to encourage folks to visit their space themed attractions and shine a spotlight on their growing music scene. From 12:15 to 4pm they presented six of their local artists. Memphis, Tennessee was at InDo serving up flavorful music and BBQ and on Saturday, The Basement hosted friends from the neighboring state of Kentucky. Many other venues and locations were featured over the course of AMERICANAFEST. Cowtown Gitdown has become one of our favorites. For a number of years, the City of Fort Worth, Texas has teamed up with Tennessee Brew Works to present their hottest acts. Their hospitality included two beverages, food and swag. Plus, the venue has fine food and drinks to purchase as Fort Worth presented hours of high-quality music. Some of the acts that caught our ears were Bolton Serunjogi originally from Uganda. His muse reflected a diverse range of influences. TRVR? had a wholesome relatable style that went well with his snappy songs. Mollie Danel - who was inspired by Carole King and Joni Mitchell - presented reflected prose and of course there were some heavy blues moments, too.
There were plenty of places to be on Friday with Musician's Corner at Centennial Park being one of our goto places in past years. The eclectic lineup for 2026 included Obed Padilla, INK, She Returns From War and Jake Bugg from the UK. Saturday was also jammed packed and plenty of people packed into the City Winery for the 14th Annual Thirty Tigers Gospel Brunch. Before the live performances, folks were treated to piped in gospel music from the Nashville area while enjoying a popular southern breakfast of waffles and fried chicken. Regina McCrary prayed for the performers and the people present before handing things off to Kimberly Kelly the host who reminded people that this is a listening event. Channing Wilson was the first to play. His songs reflected his southern roots and he concluded his insightful set with a tune about teaching your kids the right things. Mary Gauthier with Jamee Harris addressed the Minnesota ICE incident as a lead into a tribute to a brave bishop standing up for what is right. Next, Mary shared that her song "Mercy Now" was written in 2002 when she realized that the U.S. was going to wage war on Iraq. She mentioned that since then this song is often sung in churches and other places of worship. Sadly, it is just as relevant today as it was back then. Madeline Edwards from her seat at the keyboards touched upon the idea that forgiveness is the best revenge. She also talked about losing her brother to suicide and going through her own shadow of death but eventually coming out on the side of hope. During his acoustic set Jake Bugg presented "Ten Stories High" giving the listener a different perspective.
The McCrary Sisters presented a strong and soulful rendition of "Amazing Grace" with each powerhouse singer handling a stanza. They were backed by a full band who gave the hymn even more power. "Let It Go" was a lively, uplifting reminder to trust God. The last artist at the brunch was Sheryl Crow who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and has won nine Grammy Awards from 32 nominations. In 2023 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Crow has a new record coming out on Thirty Tigers so two of the three tunes that she played were from Pick You Up. She describes the album's songs as a commentary on being human and wanting connection punctuated with a late 1970's California country vibe. Sheryl did open her set with the classic "Everyday Is A Winding Road" and the other artists returned to the stage for an all-star jam to end the gospel brunch on an animated note. Despite the record-breaking heat in Middle Tennessee, AMERICANAFEST 2026 was once again an eclectic and engaging event. AMERICANAFEST is organized by The Americana Music Association who works closely with artists, labels, radio stations, retailers, print media, festivals, agents, publishers, etc. who support the genre. In addition to hosting AMERICANAFEST they regularly conduct research, participate in other industry events and advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world. AMERICANAFEST remains one of our favorite annual music showcases. Once again it was packed with awesome artists, industry experts, people from around the world and so much more. AMERICANAFEST has become a tradition for fans, locals, professionals and tourists so be on the lookout for AMERICANAFEST 2027 and make your plans early to be a part of this fun, engaging and educational festival.
Related Links: For more information on AMERICANAFEST and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links - AMERICANAFEST | AMERICANAFEST Was Rockin' All Over the Music City in 2025
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