NASHVILLE, TN--(Marketwire - Oct 6, 2011) - ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) will honor The Civil Wars with the Vanguard Award, which recognizes the impact of musical genres that help shape the future of American music. The duo will be honored during the 49th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards, taking place Sunday, November 6, 2011 at Nashville's Gaylord Opryland. The invitation-only event will also honor the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP's most performed country songs from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011.
Past ASCAP Vanguard Award honorees include Sara Bareilles, Beastie Boys, Beck, Nine Inch Nails, Arcade Fire, The Killers, Jack Johnson and Björk.
"We are elated and honored to be receiving this year's ASCAP Vanguard Award," said Joy Williams and John Paul White of The Civil Wars. "Past winners over the years have been inspiring and influential to us in individual ways. We are thrilled to be added to such a list."
"The Civil Wars not only epitomize indie success in the ever-changing landscape of the music business, they also create beautiful, expressive art that has deeply connected with listeners," said Tim DuBois, Vice President and Managing Executive, ASCAP Nashville. "We are honored to present Joy and John Paul with the ASCAP Vanguard Award as an acknowledgement of their unique impact on American music."
Break-out duo The Civil Wars continue their milestone year in celebration of their full-length debut, Barton Hollow. Released to widespread acclaim, the album debuted at #12 on the Billboard 200 chart and has received critical praise from countless publications, including the Los Angeles Times, NPR, USA Today, Spin and the New York Post. The album has also sold over 180,000 units to date. The duo has appeared twice on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has been selected as a VH1 "You Oughta Know" artist to watch. In September, the band performed alongside world-renowned artist Adele on a series of special U.K. tour dates. They have been honored with nominations at the 10th annual Americana Honors and Awards and the 45th annual CMA Awards.
As previously announced, Don Williams will be presented with ASCAP's Golden Note Award. The 49th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards will also include the announcements of the Songwriter of the Year, Songwriter/Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Publisher of the Year. The evening will feature performances by several award-winning songwriter/performers.
About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization (PRO) representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 420,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP has representation arrangements with similar foreign organizations so that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world where copyright law exists. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American PRO owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com.