John Prine to Receive Icon Award and Perform at A2IM’s 2020 Libera Awards

By Jem Aswad

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – John Prine and Alejandro Escovedo will be featured performers at the 2020 Libera Awards, which celebrate independent artists and labels and are hosted by the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM). The annual awards show will take place at New York’s Ziegfeld Ballroom on June 18, and also will celebrate ’s 15 th anniversary.

Prine will receive the Independent Icon Award, recognizing his enormously influential career as a country and American leaning singer-songwriter via his oft-covered hits like “Hello in There,” “Illegal Smile” and “Angel From Montgomery,” the latter of which was a hit when performed by Bonnie Raitt. She, Norah Jones, Stephen Colbert and many others performed at a tribute concert for Prine in New York last year.

Prine won Best Country/Americana Album and Best American Roots/Folk Album for his “Tree of Forgiveness” collection at the 2019 . He is a 2019 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee and will receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award later this year.

Escovedo, who will receive the Independent Icon Award, has had a 40-plus-year career that has traversed the genres of Latino music, Americana, punk, and rock ’n’ roll. He was nominated in 2019 in the Best Country/Americana Album category for his album The Crossing.

More Libera Award and performer announcements will be forthcoming shortly. Partners for the A2IM Libera Awards include Merlin, The Orchard and Ingrooves.

The A2IM Libera Awards offer members of the independent music community the opportunity to recognize the talent and work of their peers. Nominees (soon to be announced) include a diverse array of artists and labels across the independent music spectrum, as well as organizations that have championed the success of independent music.

Each year, the A2IM Libera Awards serve as the culmination of A2IM’s Indie Week, an international conference that brings together leaders and visionaries from the independent music world for four days of keynotes, workshops, panels, and community. This year’s Indie Week will take place June 15th through the 18th at the NY Law School (185 W. Broadway).

Tickets for the 2020 Libera Awards will go on sale to the public on January 13th. Partners for the A2IM Libera Awards include The Orchard and Ingrooves.

“The 2020 Libera Awards serve as a dual celebration for A2IM: one that applauds the extraordinary talent of so many artists, labels, and independent champions, as well as the commemoration of 15 years of A2IM and all that our board, our members, our team, and my predecessors have worked to accomplish,” said A2IM CEO Richard James Burgess. “We are proud of the increased visibility of independent music in the global market and are energized and excited to dive into the next fifteen years of events, advocacy, and work in this remarkable community.”