The fifth annual Americana Awards and Honours were held at Nashville's famous Ryman Auditorium over the weekend to honour musicians who play or are inspired by folk, country and bluegrass music.
This year's artist of the year went to outspoken singer Neil Young, whose album 'Living With War' was a direct attack on the current American government.Young is one of the most influential figures in popular music with a career spanning more than forty years covering folk, country, experimental electro music and rock 'n' roll. His most recent "Americana" effort was 2005's 'Prairie Wind', a country tinged album recorded in Nashville.
Other artists awarded on the night include Austin based James McCurty, while Rodney Crowell and Alejandro Escovello both received lifetime achievement awards for songwriting and performance respectively.
