Grace Bowers Wins 'Instrumentalist of The Year' at Americana Awards
Bowers’ debut album, 'Wine On Venus,' was recently released.
By: Josh Sharpe Sep. 19, 2024
Grace Bowers, 18 year old, meteorically fast rising guitarist, songwriter and bandleader last night won “Instrumentalist of the Year” at The Americana Honor & Awards, yet another landmark moment for this remarkable and singular young artist.
Bowers’ debut album, Wine On Venus was released recently in partnership with The Orchard (stream/purchase here). Produced by John Osborne (Brothers Osborne), Wine On Venus continues to receive widespread acclaim with from Rolling Stone calling Bowers “Nashville’s new guitar hero,” to Forbes praising the album as, “an infectious, joyous party and a worthy introduction to Bowers”
Bowers also recently made her late-night television debut on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” was featured on “CBS Mornings” and NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and she will also perform in NYC on October 15 with the Roots in support of Why Hunger and in January, Grace will be joining The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir at his Dead Ahead Fest in Mexico for five nights of curated collaborations celebrating the Grateful Dead songbook. She has further headline shows in Japan and New York City, as well as at prominent festivals such as Bourbon & Beyond, Telluride and Bottlerock and Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival.
The release of Wine On Venus is just another milestone in a breakout year for Bowers, who made her Grand Ole Opry debut on her eighteenth birthday, was recently named a U.S. Global Music Ambassador by the U.S. Department of State and YouTube’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative and is nominated for Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2024 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards.
Originally from the Bay Area and now calling Nashville home, Bowers began garnering attention after sharing videos of herself playing guitar on social media during the pandemic. In the years since, she’s been featured on “CBS Mornings” in a piece focused on a new wave of young female guitarists, performed alongside Dolly Parton as part of her Pet Gala special on CBS, joined Lainey Wilson as part of CBS’ New Year’s Eve Live celebration, performed as part of the “Men’s Final Four Tip-Off Tailgate Presented by Nissan” and been sought after by everyone from Devon Allman to Tyler Childers and Susan Tedeshi to Kingfish. Of her 2023 Newport Folk Festival debut, Rolling Stone declared, “Her 20-minute performance gave the distinct sense that everyone lucky enough to have attended was witnessing a star in the making,” while The Tennessean calls her “a 17 year old Blues guitar prodigy,” with a, “heart as big as her talent is vast.”
Earlier this summer, Bowers also joined artists such as Slash and Brothers Osborne on the road, performed alongside Billy Idol at the Fired Up For Summer benefit concert and raised $30,000 with her 2nd Annual “Grace Bowers & Friends: An Evening Supporting Love, Life & Music” benefit show, $15,000 of which was donated to MusiCares®.
WINE ON VENUS TRACK LIST
1. Won No Teg
2. Get On Now
3. Tell Me Why U Do That
4. Holding Onto Something
5. Madame President
6. Lucy
7. Dance To The Music
8. Mookie’s Blues
9. Wine On Venus
GRACE BOWERS & THE HODGE PODGE CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
September 18—Silver Spring, MD—The Fillmore*
September 19—Pittsburgh, PA—Stage AE*
September 20—Louisville, KY—Bourbon & Beyond
September 22—Camden, NJ—XPoNential Music Festival
September 29—Franklin, TN—Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival
October 11—North Charleston, SC—Riverfront Revival
October 15—New York, NY—Irving Plaza – WhyHunger’s Amplified: Annual Hungerthon^ Kickoff Concert
November 1—Ebisu, Japan—Blue Note Place
November 2—Tokyo, Japan—Blue Note
November 3—Tokyo, Japan—Blue Note
December 7—New York, NY—The Beacon Theatre#
December 8—New York, NY—Mercury Lounge
December 14—St. Louis, MO—The Factory#
December 15—Kansas City, MO—Uptown Theater#
December 16—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium#
December 21—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore#
May 1, 2025—Miramar Beach, FL—Sun Sand and Soul
+supporting Gary Clark Jr.
*supporting The Red Clay Strays
^supporting The Roots
#as part of The Allman Betts Family Revival
Photo Credit: David McClister
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