News : Headlines : Nashville Goes Americana : Great American Country

Sept. 15, 2008 — The ninth annual Americana Music Festival and Conference kicks off Wednesday in Nashville with a loaded schedule. James McMurtry, Levon Helm, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are all triple nominees at the Americana Honors and Awards Show — which take place Thursday, September 18 at the Ryman Auditorium — and where Joan Baez will receive a free speech honor. The awards are the most visible event on the Americana schedule, but they're hardly the only one.

Levon’s Ramble At The Ryman on Wednesday will feature Sheryl Crow, Buddy Miller, Sam Bush and Billy Bob Thornton, with unannounced guests likely to appear. Rodney Crowell and O Brother, Where Art Thou? producer T Bone Burnett will make keynote appearances. Kathy Mattea, who was trained for Al Gore’s climate-change program, will deliver a PowerPoint presentation similar to the award-winning An Inconvenient Truth.