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by Julian Spivey The nominees for Song of the Year for this year’s Americana Music Honors & Awards are outstanding. The voting body for these awards has done such a fantastic job with this category, one of the most important of the night, that any of the five nominees winning the honor would be worthy of doing so. All five of these songs, in fact, made this very website’s 100 Best Americana or Country Songs of 2021 list at the end of last year. But even though I’ll be happy for any of the five nominees winning this award I’m still going to rank them from most to least deserving, in my opinion (everything has an order, after all).  Screenshots 1. “Canola Fields” by James McMurtry I’m thrilled James McMurtry’s “Canola Fields” made a mark in the Song of the Year category because I was absolutely dumbfounded the voting body didn’t nominate his album The Horses and the Hounds (which I think was 2021’s best album) for the Album of the Year honor. “Canola Fields,” essentially a travelogue in one’s mind with picturesque and cinematic landscapes showing McMurtry to be one of the most novelistic songwriters of his era. This was ranked No. 2 on my list of Best Americana or Country Songs of 2021. 2. “Right on Time” by Brandi Carlile Potentially the most beautiful song of the voting eligibility period for the 2022 Americana Awards and Honors, “Right on Time” is a showcase for Carlile’s one-of-a-kind voice that might be the best among any performer in any genre currently. Co-written by Carlile with her usual collaborators and bandmates Phil and Tim Hanseroth, as well as producer Dave Cobb, “Right on Time” was No. 5 on my list of Best Americana or Country Songs of 2021. I said at the time the song is a bit more Elton John, one of Carlile’s musical influences (and friends), than her Americana/Country influences, but it absolutely soars. 3. “Diamond Studded Shoes” by Yola Take a look at the massive amount of talent that went into writing Yola’s “Diamond Studded Shoes,” herself, producer and Black Keys member Dan Auerbach, country songwriter Natalie Hemby and Americana singer-songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan. Wow. “Diamond Studded Shoes” is likely the most important song nominated in this category, at least socially, with its message about never giving up the fight for equality and other things that are right. Some of the song’s brilliance is getting this message in a song with an upbeat groove so it might work its way into the minds of some just looking for a banger. “Diamond Studded Shows” came in at No. 18 on my list of Best Americana or Country Songs of 2021. 4. “Juanita” by Sturgill Simpson Sturgill Simpson’s “Juanita” is certainly the countriest of any of the five nominees in the Song of the Year category coming off his Western concept album The Ballad of Dood and Juanita, which I’m somewhat surprised didn’t garner him an Album of the Year nomination at these awards. Still, it’s nice to see a Song of the Year nomination, something you might not expect is easy to choose a track from a cohesive concept album. “Juanita” was my favorite song of the album, a Mexican-flavored love ballad about a cowboy searching for his kidnapped love featuring Willie Nelson’s one-of-a-kind guitar playing and fantastic mandolin and violin playing. “Juanita” ranked No. 33 on my list of Best Americana or Country Songs of 2021. 5. “Persephone” by Allison Russell Allison Russell is my hopeful winner of both Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for her excellent Outside Child at the 2022 Americana Awards & Honors, which I feel the need to point out because I’ve ranked her last in my Song of the Year rankings. I don’t know if the artists submit songs for the category or if the voting body decides what gets nominated but I liked “The Runner” (No. 7 on my list last year) and “Nightflyer” (No. 23 on my list last year) a bit more than I did “Persephone,” co-written by Russell and Jeremy Lindsay. “Persephone” is a beautiful track, though, and did make my Best Americana or Country Songs of 2021 list but was outside the top 50 (which I didn’t rank). The Americana Awards & Honors will be held Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m. CST and can be streamed live via Circle Network’s Facebook and YouTube channels (@CircleAllAccess). The broadcast will be aired on the Circle Network television channel at a later date. The awards can also be heard via SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country station.
Performers at the ceremony include Carlile, McMurtry, Russell, Adia Victoria, Buddy Miller, Chris Isaak, Fairfield Four, Indigo Girls, Lucinda Williams, Lukas Nelson, The McCrary Sisters, Morgan Wade, Neal Francis, Phosphorescent, Sierra Farrell and The War and Treaty.
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