Discussing diversity in Americana. From left to right: Keith Harris, Kaia Kater, Allison Russell, Sam Beer, John Shortell
Started back in July 2012, when a hardcore of 50 people gathered on one day, the Americana Fest UK grew massively once it moved to London in 2016, evolving into a day-and-a-half’s conference, plus a dozen showcase acts on two stages. Since then, it’s expanded in size, scope, membership and vision every year. Five hundred people attended the awards show in 2017, and since then this final glittering evening has moved to the legendary Hackney Empire, with 1,200 attending a night that attracts performers from Robert Plant and Mumford & Sons to Graham Nash, all hosted by the estimable Bob Harris.
The meat and drink of AmericanaFest UK, however, is the conference, which is now spread across three days and attracts the cream of roots genres – with heated debates and insightful interviews – plus the amazing live showcases (covered on pages 20-23 of this issue), featuring 58 different acts (that’s double the 2018 total) in five venues in Hackney, over two thrilling nights.