Bob Harris - 19/09/2009

During the week of the Americana Music Awards, tonight's programme comes live from Nashville. Bob is joined in his Music Row studio by guests who are in town for this annual celebration of Americana music including Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith who performs songs from her brand new album 'The Loving Kind'.Nanci's musical career started in the folk clubs of Austin, Texas and has seen her release more than twenty albums and be hailed as 'Queen of folkabilly' by Rolling Stone Magazine.Originally a kindergarten teacher, Nanci Griffith released her first two albums in 1978 and 1982 on a local Austin label. Her breakthrough came in 1986 with the album 'Last of the True Believers', which earned her a Grammy nomination and led to her being signed by MCA. She went on to release 'Lone Star State of Mind', which included the hugely acclaimed Julie Gold composition 'From a Distance' . Her 1989 album 'Storms', and 1991's Late night Grand Hotel' moved her music further into the pop mainstream, before she returned to her country-folk roots with 'Other Voices, Other Rooms', an album celebrating folk songwriters including Bob Dylan, Ralph McTell and Tom Paxton. Since then Nanci Griffith has recorded several more studio albums including a collection of reworked songs with the London Symphony Orchestra, a sequel to 'Other Voices, Other Rooms' and an album of intimate torch songs 'Ruby's Torch' where she is once again accompanied by her band, The Blue Moon Orchestra. Other guests will include J.D. Souther and John Prine who will be both be playing live in the studio plus the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting John Fogerty.In amongst tonight's live studio sessions Bob selects some of the best new music in Nashville's record shops, and features artists performing in town at the Americana music showcases.