The Mavericks' main man holds an important place in country music

Raul Malo came to the podium twice during September's Americana Honors and Awards show at the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville's "Mother Church of Country Music." The first time was to join his longtime band, the Mavericks, in accepting the Americana Music Association's award for duo/group of the year. That capped a triumphant year for the quartet, which had rebounded from a 2004-2012 hiatus with two impressive reunion albums: 2013's "In Time" and last year's "Mono."