Four Can't Miss Artists From the Second Americanafest Lineup Drop

The Americana Music Festival and Conference, known as Americanafest to attendees, dropped a second slate of artists scheduled to perform at the festival, bringing the total announced acts up to 94. The lineup included the usual mix of festival favorites like Johnnyswim, rising stars like Americana Emerging Artist nominees Sunny War, Adeem the Artist, and William Prince, and young artists like The Arcadian Wild. But with 94 acts already announced and more to come, how can you choose? We took care of you with the first lineup drop by highlighting four lineup standouts and we're going to do it again with this second batch. Miss these four artists at your own peril. We've included Youtube links for each artist for easy browsing

Sarah Jarosz
Back in 2010 when everyone was making their “albums of the decade” lists, I didn't, but did do a short list which included “Everything Sarah Jarosz Has Done.” She is, quite simply, one of the two or three most consistently excellent artists in Americana music. Making her initial Americanafest debut way back in 2010, Jarosz has gone on to release six solo albums and one with supergroup I'm With Her (joining Aoife O'Donovan and Sara Watkins). She's always an electric performer and one who should be at the top of any Americanafest list any year she participates.

Sam Nelson of X Ambassadors
What in the world is the lead singer from alt-rockers X Ambassadors doing at Americanafest? That's what I want to find out. And you should too. It's not the first time Americanafest has gone off-genre. Dropkick Murphys played an intimate set last year to promote their Woody Guthrie covers album, Brent Smith of Shinedown joined the Muscle Shoals Tribute, and Midnight Oil bassist Bones Hillman sat in with the Aussie delegation one year. These kinds of “out-of-their-comfort-zone” performances are always fun and quite often filled with special guests.

Shovels & Rope
Fresh off the success of their own Highwater Festival, duo Shovels & Rope have been announced for Americanafest and I couldn't be more excited. Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst have a long history with Americanafest and with festivals in general, being a popular draw on the circuit precisely because of their almost punk-like DIY ethos and energy. Americanafest is known for its epic parties, but it's unlikely there will be a party as raucous as Shovels & Rope's show anywhere at the festival in 2023.

Chuck Mead
BR5-49 founder Chuck Mead is certainly no stranger to Americanafest. He's there almost every year. So what makes his show a can't miss? Because he's that much fun. BR5-49 is a band that was Americana before Americana had a name and Mead is the consummate performer. While I said above that there won't be a party the likes of Shovels & Rope, the alt-country sounds and sense of humor of Chuck Mead might just give them a run for their money. If you haven't seen him before, you need to fix that. If you have seen him, you don't need me to tell you why you should see him again.

The Americana Music Festival and Conference will take place Sept. 19-23 in venues scattered throughout Nashville. You can get tickets to the festival here. You can see the full list of currently announced artists for Americanafest 2023 here.