Booker T., Richard Thompson to be Honored By Americana Music Association

The Americana Music Association will present Booker T. Jones and Richard Thompson with Lifetime Achievement Awards at its 11th Annual Honors and Awards ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 12 at the Ryman Auditorium.

Jones will be given the award for Instrumentalist, and Thompson will receive his for Songwriting. The two join previously announced Bonnie Raitt, who will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance. All three artists are set to perform during the Awards ceremony, and Thompson has also been confirmed to do a showcase during the Americana Music Festival and Conference Sept 12-15.

Known primarily as Booker T., the famed Memphis instrumentalist Jones is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has earned a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. His group Booker T and the MGs (Steve Cropper, Lewie Steinberg, and Al Jackson Jr.) helped create the template for Southern soul, playing on hundreds of recordings for Stax Records including Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and Bill Withers as part of the Stax house band. Additionally, Jones has produced albums such as Willie Nelson’s Stardust, and received an instrumental Grammy for his 2011 album The Road To Memphis.

Richard Thompson is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, in addition to being a revered songwriter, having received the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriting and the BBC Lifetime Achievement Award. He debuted with the UK band Fairport Convention, early purveyors of the English Folk Rock sound, and has since recorded over 40 albums between work with his ex-wife Linda and as a solo artist.

“Booker and Richard’s artistry and influence are part of the rich tapestry of Americana,” noted Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the Americana Music Association. “We are thrilled they are coming to AmericanaFest; their contributions exemplify the broad reach of our community, from the common ground of folk rock to R&B born in Memphis.”

Register for the Americana Music Festival & Conference here.