Inside the Americana Music Association’s Aus Advisory Group

Earlier this month, the Americana Music Association announced an Australian advisory group, assembled in order to provide US opportunities to Australian artists. This follows the March appointment of Nashville-based, Australian-born producer Mark Moffatt as President of the AMA. We spoke to Moffatt to find out more about what the group hopes to achieve.

An Australian Americana Advisory Group seems like a contradiction in terms. What spawned the group and what, in a nutshell, does it do?

One of the misconceptions the group is aiming to dispel is the idea that Americana music is only music by Americans. What the term actually refers to is contemporary music that is inspired by and derived from American roots music: folk, blues, bluegrass, soul, and country.

The purpose of the group is to raise local awareness of the genre and to strengthen ties between Australian artists and the Americana community in the US. There are many performers in Australia who fall under the Americana banner but don’t realise it; similarly, there are many people in Australia who love The Civil Wars, Ryan Adams and Emmylou Harris – or Mumford & Sons, Kasey Chambers and Jason Isbell and don’t realise that they’re Americana artists.

Americana’s ever-increasing rise to prominence in the US – along with industry moves like the establishment of UMG’s Lost Highway Australia imprint – prompted the AMA to bring together a group of Australian industry professionals who are passionate about this music and are well-placed to identify local Americana performers and help the genre flourish locally.

How have you found Australian country artists are regarded in the US?

Since Rattlin’ Bones reached #1 in the US Americana chart, obviously Kasey [Chambers]and Shane [Nicholson] are very highly regarded – but they’re not categorised as country artists in the US. On the other hand the mainstream country industry pays little attention to Australian artists unless they are on the ground here, an example being The McClymonts who built a solid reputation and made great inroads at mainstream US country radio while they lived in Nashville.

I understand group members met with Kasey, and Steve Earle last week. What was this in aid of?

Steve and Kasey have long been supporters of the Americana Music Association and saw this as an opportunity to help raise awareness of Americana in Australia by meeting with members of the advisory group.

How did Brian Taranto get involved in the group? Judging by the acts Love Police have dealt with, this seems an odd fit.

Brian is a strong advocate for the Americana genre and has toured some of the hottest Americana acts of recent years, including Old Crow Medicine Show, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, the Milk Carton Kids, Justin Townes Earle, and this year, Jason Isbell and Tift Merritt. As one of the most frequent promoters of Americana artists in Australia, he was a natural choice for the group. Of course there are other managers and promoters active in this area and over time we’ll be seeking their input, also.

Will there be more scope for Australian artists to perform at September’s Americanafest?

Yes. There is a long history of great Australian artists performing at Americanafest, including Catherine Britt, Wagons, Melody Pool and Paul Kelly, among many others. Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson performed on the Americana Music Awards show in 2012, an Australian first. We hope the establishment of this group will lead to the number of Australian artists at the festival rising, as we are able to identify up-and-coming Americana artists and help connect them to the association in the US. Sounds Australia has been very active in this area and organised 35 performances for Australian artists at Americanafest last year and the organisation is involved again this year.

Finally, how do you feel about the state of Australian Americana music?

Already awareness is on the rise and people are beginning to understand that Americana is simply a very cool musical genre and not some sort of American cultural invasion. Emerging local artists like Lachlan Bryan, Breaking Hart Benton, and Melody Pool are just the tip of the iceberg. We know there are dozens of artists and bands playing this music around Australia and we have made a good start towards creating a home and platform for them, similar to what’s happened with the Americana community in the US.