Singer/songwriter Guy Clark [ tickets ] and musician/songwriter/producer Marty Stuart [ tickets ] are among the artists to be honored during the sixth annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards, set for Sept. 9 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.

Emmylou Harris will present Clark with the Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting, while Steve Earle will present Stuart with the Lifetime Achievement Award for performance.

Clark and Stuart will also perform during the awards show, which will be taped to air Sept. 26 on the Great American Country (GAC) cable network. The show will also be broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio, and replays will air on Sirius Satellite Radio and BBC Radio 2, according to a press release.

The three founders of Rounder Records--Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton and Bill Nowlin--will receive the Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award for executives.

Folk singer Judy Collins [ tickets ] will receive the First Amendment Center/AMA "Spirit of Americana Free Speech" Award, and will perform "Amazing Grace."

"Alongside her stellar recording career, Judy Collins has worked for decades advocating and directly supporting a variety of important social and political causes," AMA Executive Director Jeff Green said in a statement. "We are thrilled that Ms. Collins will be here to receive this award."

The family of John Hartford [ tickets ] will accept the AMA's President's Award, which is traditionally given in posthumous recognition of outstanding contributions by an artist or group.

"We all miss John Hartford very much, but his legacy is enduring," Green said. "John made enormous creative and influential contributions throughout his amazing career, and it's fitting that he and his family should receive this tribute at the first opportunity."

Arlo Guthrie will lead a gathering of the evening's performers in singing Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind."

The evening will be hosted by two-time Americana Honors and Awards [ tickets ] recipient Jim Lauderdale. Other nominees scheduled to appear include Alison Brown, Hayes Carll, The Duhks, Earle, Mary Gauthier, Tom Gillam and Tift Merritt. There will be separate performances by Lauderdale as well as Buddy Miller, who will lead an all-star "house band."

A list of the 2005 Americana Honors and Awards nominees follows. More information is posted at the Americana Music Association's website.

Album of the Year
Steve Earle, "The Revolution Starts Now"
Mary Gauthier, "Mercy Now"
Tift Merritt, "Tambourine"
Buddy Miller, "Universal United House of Prayer"

Artist of the Year
Steve Earle
Tift Merritt
Buddy Miller
John Prine

Instrumentalist of the Year
Alison Brown
Jerry Douglas
Sonny Landreth
Gurf Morlix

New/Emerging Artist of the Year
Hayes Carll
The Duhks
Mary Gauthier
Tom Gillam
Martha Wainwright

Song of the Year (presented to songwriter)
Steve Earle, "The Revolution Starts … Now"
Mary Gauthier, "Mercy Now"
Mark Heard, "Worry Too Much"
Tift Merritt, "Good Hearted Man"