Original editorial guide · Whiskey Twang analysis

AMERICANAFEST’s September 15–19, 2026 dates are behind us, but its lineup remains a useful place to find your next artist. Start with Ken Pomeroy, Boy Golden and Crowe Boys: three names on both the festival’s official showcase list and the Americana Honors & Awards Emerging Act nominee list, with recordings you can explore right now.

This Next Up dispatch turns those discovery signals into a listening route. It draws on the official festival program, award nominations and artist and label releases. The selections are editorial picks; the order does not represent sales, streams or an awards result.

Ken Pomeroy: an original song, then the songs behind it

Ken Pomeroy gives you two distinct starting points. Cruel Joke, released May 16, 2025, is also a 2026 Album of the Year nominee. Coyote, her collaboration with John Moreland, introduces the Oklahoma songwriter through a song her official biography connects with Native storytelling and self-reflection.

Her newer release, Tonight’s News, arrived on August 21, 2026. Rounder’s recording notes describe six songs recorded in one day at Chicago’s Wilco Loft with producer Tom Schick, with the musicians playing live and no overdubs. The selections include Look at Miss Ohio, This Old Guitar and Late for the Sky.