Charley Pride to Receive Master Award at 3rd Annual Ameripolitan Music Awards

The 3rd Annual Ameripolitan Music Awards will be held Tuesday, February 16th, 8:00 pm at the historic Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Avenue in downtown Austin, Texas with music legend and past Ameripolitan winner Ray Benson as host. Charley Pride (Master Award) will join Wanda Jackson (Founder of the Sound) and Red Simpson (Founder of the Sound) as special award recipients. Tickets are available at austintheatre.org, the Paramount Theatre box office, and by phone at (512) 474-1221.

"Charley Pride is the first living male to ever receive the Ameripolitan Masters Award, preceded only by the amazing Ray Price, who was instrumental in creating the awards," exclaims Dale Watson, founder of the Ameripolitan Awards. "Charley Pride's music spans several generations, blazed new trails, and has never compromised his roots. This makes him perfect for the highest honor we can bestow, the Ameripolitan Master Award."

Celebrity presenters include Mike Wolfe of American Pickers and Todd and Don of KLBJ-AM with Sirius XM's Dallas Wayne jumping into the announcer's seat for another year.

Artists slated to perform at this year's ceremony include Charley Pride, Wanda Jackson, Bill Kirchen, Billy Joe Shaver, James Hand, Doyle and Debbie, Georgette Jones, Justin Trevino, Rosie Flores, James Intveld, Whitey Morgan, Kim Lenz, Charlie Thompson, The Country Side of Harmonica Sam, Jason Roberts, Unknown Hinson, and other special guests.

Voting online or by app is available now through December 26, 2015. Winners will be announced live during the 3rd Annual Ameripolitan Music Awards on

Tuesday, February 16, 2016.

Fans may vote in the following categories: Honky Tonk - Female, Male, Group; Western Swing - Female, Male, Group; Rockabilly - Female, Male, Group; Outlaw - Female, Male, Group; Ameripolitan DJ; Ameripolitan Venue; Ameripolitan Festival; and Ameripolitan Musician. A full list of nominees can be found here.

Designed by Ballot Blaster, the 'Ameripolitan 2016' app is available for purchase ($1.99) with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Fender Music Foundation, which aims to keep music education alive and available in our nation's schools and communities. Fans may also vote online beginning November 26th without purchasing the app at Ameripolitan.com. Only one vote is permitted, per valid email address.

Tickets to the 3rd Annual Ameripolitan Awards are available at www.austintheatre.org. For updates and breaking news, please visit Ameripolitan.com as well as the Ameripolitan Awards social networks on TWITTER and FACEBOOK.

Sponsors: The event is made possible by the generous sponsorship of presenting sponsor, Lone Star and co-sponsor, Fender.

About Ameripolitan Music Awards: The Ameripolitan Music Awards, a 501(c)3, was created under the leadership of Texas Honky Tonk legend, Dale Watson, to acknowledge the exceptional creativity and dedication of roots artists whose work does not readily conform to the tastes of today's "Country", or other music genres and organizations. Ameripolitan Music LLC and The Ameripolitan Music Awards were founded to benefit and acknowledge these artists. It also provides fans with a means of finding these artists and their music.

The Ameripolitan Music Awards acknowledges those Ameripolitan artists whose music honors tradition while demonstrating exceptional originality, creativity, and musicianship. Through their work, Ameripolitan music is now being defined. The Awards also acknowledge Ameripolitan DJs and venues that promote these artists and their music along with honoring a living legend who has kept the tradition alive through their music and perseverance.

Ameripolitan is a new music genre with prominent roots influence. It is broken into four related subcategories: Honky Tonk, Western Swing, Rockabilly and Outlaw. Artists and bands can fall into one or more of these categories. Musical and lyrical creativity is critical but to be considered Ameripolitan music, it must retain some of these traditional elements as well.

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