Neil Young to Be Saluted at AmericanaFest Pre-Grammy Concert Featuring Jesse Welles, Margo Price, Rhiannon Giddens and More

Neil Young will be the artist feted at this year’s Americana Pre-Grammy Salute, the Americana Music Association announced today today, with an annual tribute concert again scheduled for Grammy eve at the Troubadour in West Hollywood.

A partial lineup has been revealed, with many of the performers for the night nominated for the awards taking place downtown the following evening, including Jesse Welles, Margo Price, Rhiannon Giddens, I’m With Her, Maggie Rose, Molly Tuttle and Sierra Hull.

Other artists scheduled to participate include the Milk Carton Kids, Chris Pierce, Young the Giant, Katie Pruitt, Leif Vollebekk, Gold Star, Evangeline and Alex Amen.

About a half-dozen more artists will be added to the roster in the days leading up to the concert, according to Michelle Aquilato, the show’s producer.

“We are proud to continue our longstanding pre-Grammy salute tradition, and I can’t wait to see our extraordinary performers honor Neil and his incredible songs,” said Jed Hilly, Americana Music Association executive director. “Our organization prides itself on community. We hope this evening helps bring everyone together, as we pay it forward with a donation to MusiCares and their charitable efforts.”

Tickets are now available at the Troubadour’s website, here.

The artists who will be participating in the event the night before they join their fellow nominees at Crypto.com Arena are up in several different genre divisions, including folk, country, Americana, American roots and bluegrass. Price is nominated this year for best traditional country album (“Hard Headed Woman”) and country duo/group performance (for “Love Me Like You Used to Do,” with Tyler Childers). I’m With Her is nominated for best American roots performance and American roots song for “Ancient Light”). Welles is also up for best American roots song (“Middle”), as is Hull (“Spitfire”). The best Americana album category includes Welles (“Middle”) and Tuttle (“So Long Little Miss Sunshine”). Hull is up in the best bluegrass album division (for “A Tip Toe High Wire”). The AmericanaFest event also has three of the five nominees in the best folk album category: Giddens (“What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow”), I’m With Her (“Wild and Clear and Blue”) and Welles (“Under the Powerlines April 24-September 24”).

In 2025, the long-running annual salute transitioned from being an event that was tacitly approved by but not directly affiliated with the Recording Academy to an officially sanctioned Grammy Week event, as it turned into a fundraiser for MusiCares’ fire relief efforts. This year, the benefit element continues, with proceeds from $200 tickets for the intimate affair going to MusiCares as well as the Americana Music Association and Foundation.

The event was founded “because the Americana Music Association and Foundation wanted to acknowledge the artists who had won Grammys in the past or who were nominated at the time,” Hilly said last year, recounting the history. “It’s been really fun to put these incredibly talented musicians together and task them with choosing a song from an incredible songwriter, from John Prine to Willie Nelson to Loretta Lynn to Paul Simon.”

The 2025 Americana Pre-Grammy Salute honored John Hiatt, who came on stage at evening’s end to join a cast that included Brandy Clark, Los Lobos, Michael McDonald, Little Feat and Tom Morello. (Read Variety‘s coverage of last year’s concert here.)

Previous AmericanaFest salutes have celebrated the songs of Paul Simon (2024), Lucinda Williams (2023), Willie Nelson (2020), John Prine (2019), Emmylou Harris (2018), Loretta Lynn (2017), Glenn Frey (2016), Phil Everly (2014) and Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell and Friends (2013). The event has always been held at the Troubadour, except in 2018, when the Grammys took place in New York.