I said I was done posting about the Americana Music Festival this week, but........

John Fogerty to Receive Americana Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting





NASHVILLE, September 15, 2009 – John Fogerty will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at the Americana Music Association’s 8th Annual Honors and Awards ceremony, slated for Thursday, September 17 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. As the 2009 honoree, Fogerty joins an elite list of previous recipients which includes John Hiatt, Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Cowboy Jack Clement, John Prine, and Billy Joe Shaver.



Throughout his prolific career, John Fogerty has celebrated and shaped American roots music.



He is a quintuple threat: songwriter, singer, lead guitarist, arranger, and producer. A roots classicist in love with Memphis-style rockabilly, New Orleans-drenched rhythm-and-blues, and classic country styles, Fogerty was ahead of his time in forging a hybrid of these genres before it was common or stylish to do so. He was more than prescient: As Springsteen said upon Creedence Clearwater Revival’s induction into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, “Creedence wasn’t the hippest band in the world, but they were the best.” Also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Grammy Award-winner, Fogerty began his work four decades ago, and thankfully, he never finished.



While his 60s contemporaries stretched into lavish musical experimentation, Fogerty wrote songs with defiant concision. Rarely has one songwriter been able to write about fun times and ominous times with equal power and clarity. Such self-confidence and panoramic awareness resulted in music that is timeless: “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” “Green River,” “Travelin’ Band,” “Lodi,” “Run Through the Jungle,” “Centerfield,” “Looking Out My Back Door” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” shift between head-banging escapism, subtly poetic self-reflection, and trenchant political analysis, all while remaining essentially and unrepentantly American.



On August 31, 2009, Fortunate Son/Verve Forecast released ‘The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again’ from John Fogerty. On this album, Fogerty brings back the concept behind his solo debut, 1973's The Blue Ridge Rangers. Fogerty dusts off a collection of his favorite classic songs, such as John Prine's "Paradise," Buck Owens' "I Don't Care," Delaney and Bonnie's "Never Ending Song of Love" and John Denver's "Back Home Again," as well as his own "Change in the Weather."



Slated for Wednesday, September 16 through Saturday, September 19, the 10th Annual Americana Festival and Conference will offer daily seminars, panels and networking opportunities at the Nashville Convention Center. The event’s climax will be the 8th Annual Americana Honors and Awards ceremony, slated for Thursday, September 17 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The festival evening brings more than 100 stacked Americana showcases to key venues throughout Nashville. Last year, approximately 1,000 industry professionals attended the conference, while more than 12,000 fans enjoyed the festival's musical events.



The Americana Honors & Awards at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Thursday September 17, 2009 at 7PM. Presented by the Gibson Foundation, features host Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller with his all star band and special appearances by Asleep at the Wheel, Jerry Douglas, Rodney Crowell, Nanci Griffith, Raul Malo, The Belleville Outfit, Reckless Kelly, John Prine, Sara Borges & The Broken Singles, Sam Bush, Justin Townes Earle, The Flatlanders, The Gourds, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit and John Fogerty are the latest artists to confirm their appearances at this year’s Honors & Awards show. Stay tuned for more announcements and be prepared for surprise guests in what has been described as the coolest show of its kind. Individual tickets are available for $55 via TICKETMASTER and the Ryman Box.