Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Shovels & Rope win big at 2013 Americana Music Honors & Awards

Shovels & Rope perform at the 2013 Americana Music Honors and Awards Wednesday night at The Ryman. (Photo: Larry McCormack/The Tennessean)

Shovels & Rope perform at the 2013 Americana Music Honors and Awards Wednesday night at The Ryman. Click here for a photo slideshow from the awards show. (Photo: Larry McCormack/The Tennessean)

Solo stars and bands certainly shined at the Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday night for the Americana Music Honors & Awards show — but it was a particularly good night to be a duo.

More than half of the top prizes at the 12th annual awards show — recognizing musicians inspired by American folk, country, blues, bluegrass, gospel and rock ’n’ roll — went to two musical pairs with local ties. Revered Nashville songsmiths Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell took home duo/group and album of the year honors, while roots-rock newcomers Shovels & Rope —featuring Nashville native Cary Ann Hearst – won emerging artist and song of the year awards.

Though they’ve been working together for decades, Harris and Crowell’s winning “Old Yellow Moon” was their first album as a duo. Speaking before the show, Crowell said the recognition from the Americana Music Association “means that we’re still able to do what we started doing, and I think better. We’re still standing.”

Click for more photos from the red carpet at the 12th annual Americana Honors & Awards show (this photo of Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell: George Walker IV/The Tennessean)

Harmony also ruled throughout the night’s dozen-plus musical performances, from Hearst and bandmate Michael Trent singing their hearts out on song of the year winner “Birmingham,” to genre-crossing collaborations. New Orleans mainstay Dr. John set the tone for the wide-ranging evening, teaming with Nashville rocker Dan Auerbach, local gospel group The McCrary Sisters and a house band led by Americana stalwart Buddy Miller.

Dr. John was also on hand to receive a lifetime achievement award — one of seven special honors given by the association on Wednesday. That included the Grateful Dead’s Robert Hunter, guitar great Duane Eddy, Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Famer Stephen Stills and Hank Williams, whose granddaughter Holly Williams performed in tribute to the late country legend. Williams told The Tennessean she felt at home with the Americana crowd, and believed her grandfather would, too.

“It’s just such a great mix of things,” she said. “I feel like if Hank was alive today, this may be the genre he would be in.”

The show also ceded plenty of spotlight to younger performers. Another duo — California’s Milk Carton Kids — earned a swift standing ovation for “Hope of a Lifetime,” and the room was similarly warm to newcomers John Fullbright and JD McPherson. About 24 hours after joining the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville string band Old Crow Medicine Show was presented the association’s trailblazer award by TV/film star Ed Helms, who said listeners didn’t even have to like music to love the band’s million-selling song “Wagon Wheel.”

That certainly wasn’t Wednesday’s sold-out audience, which cheered for instrumentalist of the year winner Larry Campbell and groaned when they learned artist of the year winner Dwight Yoakam couldn’t attend due to schedule conflicts.

Artists like Shovels & Rope were no less emotional as they accepted their awards, thanking family members who’d driven through several states to see them at the Ryman. Even before they had taken that stage on Wednesday, the duo was eager to be part of Americana’s family, too.

“We feel very grateful and pretty shocked that we got let in the club,” Trent said. “At least for tonight.”