Berklee To Honor T Bone Burnett, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings At Music City Roots

T Bone Burnett

Berklee will present American Master Awards to T Bone Burnett, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings at Music City Roots, the weekly music broadcast from the Factory in Franklin, Tennessee. The special Tuesday night edition of the show will take place on March 15.

Rawlings and Welch met as students at the college of music in Boston and graduated in the Class of 1992. Among many other projects, Burnett produced Welch and Rawlings’ first album and the O Brother Where Are Thou? soundtrack, which featured Rawlings and Welch’s music.

The Music City Roots show will also feature performances from Berklee alumni Sierra Hull (’11), Liz Longley (’10), and Maureen Murphy (’99). Welch and Rawlings will perform as well, closing the show following award presentations.

The American Master Award honors industry leaders who have made a positive impact on young musicians, offering them opportunities to grow as artists and leaders. Past recipients include Grand Ole Opry manager Pete Fisher, music industry executive Jim Ed Norman, and drummer Eddie Bayers.

Pictured (L-R): Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch

“We’ve enjoyed the music of quite a few Berklee graduates and students on Music City Roots over the years, and we know what an important role the college has played in supporting roots and Americana artists to develop fresh and original takes on tradition, so this special show means a lot to us,” says journalist and interviewer Craig Havighurst, who co-hosts the show.

“This feels like a homecoming and a new beginning at the same time,” said Berklee President Roger Brown. “We’re thrilled to recognize T Bone, Gillian and David for their immeasurable contributions to music here in Nashville where so many Berklee alumni have become integral to the music community, and to forge a partnership with Music City Roots, a show that is so important to the tradition of live radio.”

The March 15 show and award ceremony coincides with and celebrates Berklee’s Nashville trip, now an honored annual tradition. For 31 years, a group of Berklee students has spent its spring break in Nashville, getting deep music industry insight through clinics and workshops with accomplished alumni artists, songwriters, producers and engineers. The trip, which began with five students, has grown to more than 100 students per year and is led by Pat Pattison, professor of songwriting, and Stephen Webber, program director for the Music Production, Technology and Innovation Program at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain. More than 3,000 students have attended the program since its inception. Longley and Hull participated in the Nashville trip as Berklee students. Welch and Rawlings first connected and started playing together as a result of the trip.

The show will be webcast free via Livestream at 7 p.m. CT at musiccityroots.com. The show is also open to the public, with tickets available at musiccityroots.com.