Americana Music Association Launches Livestream With Ed Helms, The Bluegrass Situation

The Americana Music Association has partnered with The Bluegrass Situation and its co-founder, actor/comedian/musician Ed Helms, to present Whiskey Sour Happy Hour, an online variety show benefiting MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund and Direct Relief. The show, presented in part by TX Whiskey and Allbirds, will debut on April 22 at 8 p.m. ET.

With Helms serving as host of the series, Whiskey Sour Happy Hour will draw on his long-running Whiskey Sour Radio Hour shows at LA’s Largo to bring music, comedy, and interviews directly into homes across the country and world. April 22nd’s edition of Whiskey Sour Happy Hour will feature music from Lee Ann Womack, Aubrie Sellers, Billy Strings, and Madison Cunningham, plus more surprise guests.

After the premiere on April 22, new shows will be broadcast every Wednesday at the same time for the following three weeks — April 29, May 6, and May 13. Confirmed guests for the series include Chris Thile, Yola, Sarah Jarosz, Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi, Rodney Crowell, Aoife O’Donovan, Robert Ellis, and Watkins Family Hour, to name a few. Additional guests will be announced in the coming weeks.

“As soon as we realized the severity of the current crisis, Ed and I both knew we had to do something to support both our musical and medical community — and not just a one-time thing, but something that could promote more sustained giving through multiple shows,” says BGS Co-Founder and Executive Director, Amy Reitnouer Jacobs. “In a short amount of time, our BGS family of artists have come together in such a big way to make this happen. It makes us feel like even though we’re all separated right now, we’re closer than ever before.”

Whiskey Sour Happy Hour can be streamed on the Association’s Facebook page, as well as on The Bluegrass Situation’s website, Facebook and YouTube pages. Fans are able to donate to MusiCares and Direct Relief here.