Musicians Hall Of Fame & Museum Announces 2026 Inductees: Dann Huff, Dolly Parton, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, John Boylan, Keith Urban, Leland Sklar, Michael McDonald and Nicky Hopkins 

Musicians Hall Of Fame Concert and Induction Ceremony
To Take Place at The Fisher Center for Performing Arts,
April 28, 7:30 PM

Tickets on sale Tuesday, February 10 at 10:00 AM CT., HERE.

Nashville, Tenn. (February 6, 2026) — Linda Chambers, Co-Founder and CEO of the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum announced its 2026 Class of Inductees into the Musicians Hall of Fame, today. The class includes (in alphabetical order by first name) Dann Huff, Dolly Parton, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, John Boylan, Keith Urban, Leland Sklar, Michael McDonald, and Nicky Hopkins (posthumously).

Presenters and artists performing during the induction ceremony and concert will be announced soon. Of this class of inductees, Chambers says, “The Musicians Hall of Fame has inducted over 170 musicians, producers, engineers and industry icons. Each new class of inductees reminds us why we do what we do-preserving and celebrating the legacy of the musicians who bring songs to life. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome these legendary artists into the Musicians Hall of Fame.”

An overview on each of the inductees, in alphabetical order by first name, is below:

Dann Huff took his first guitar lesson at 8 years old and immediately fell in love. While growing up, Huff listened to all types of music and practiced relentlessly for hours every day, hoping to become a studio guitarist. Music was always present in the Huff household. His father, Ronn Huff, was a beloved and accomplished arranger for many artists and also the conductor of the “Pops Series” for the Nashville Symphony. Ronn was later inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Huff’s mother is also a classically trained pianist.

Huff began his musical career in high school, working at night for free for young producers at Belmont University. After touring with several bands and attending Belmont himself, Huff started the contemporary Christian rock band Whiteheart. Huff got married, moved to LA, quit Whiteheart and developed into one of the music industry’s most sought-after studio players, working with artists such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Smokey Robinson, Amy Grant, Whitesnake, Celin Dion, Bob Seger, Reba McEntire, and Kenny Rogers, to name a few. In 1990, he moved his family back to Nashville after starting the classic rock band Giant with his brother and fellow studio players.

After two albums, Giant decided to call it quits. Huff struck out on his own and became one of the first-call studio musicians in the country music field. He played on numerous projects for
many top country artists, including Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Reba McEntire. Renowned producer Mutt Lange, after working with Dann, encouraged him to try his hand at production. It didn’t take Dann long before he was producing some of the biggest acts in the genre including Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Michael Bublè, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Lonestar, Reba, Kane Brown, Kelly Clarkson, Thomas Rhett, Wynonna, Jewel, LeAnn Rimes, Hunter Hayes, Brooks and Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, Brett Young, Lady A, Midland, Riley Green, Billy Ray Cyrus, Billy Currington, Maddie & Tae and many more.

During his thirty+ year career, Huff has won numerous CMA and ACM Awards for Album of the Year, Producer of the Year, Song of the Year, and Musician of the Year, Producer of the Year and even named Country Producer of the Decade (2010-2020) by Rolling Stone Magazine.

Dolly Parton is the most honored and revered multi-hyphenate of all time and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Recently, Dolly debuted Dolly: A True Original Musical in Nashville as a thank you to her home state and community that has uplifted her for decades. The musical will make its official Broadway debut in 2026. Her recent album Rockstar made history by scoring the biggest album debut sales week of her seven-decade career and earning her six #1s on the Billboard charts: Top Rock Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Country Albums, Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, and Independent Albums.

The landmark album also claimed the #3 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, her highest position ever. Achieving 28 RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, she has had 26 songs reach #1 on the Billboard Country Chart, a record for a female artist. Parton is the first artist to have topped Billboard’s Adult Contemporary, Christian AC Songs, Hot Country Songs, Christian Airplay, Rock Digital Songs, Country Airplay and Dance/Mix Show Airplay radio charts. Parton became the first country artist honored as Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year given out by NARAS. S

he has 49 career Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 120 career-charted singles over the past 50+ years. Her trilogy of New York Times bestselling coffee books began with Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, followed by Behind The Seams: My Life in Rhinestone, released on October 17, 2023. The series concluded with Star of the Show: My Life on Stage, published on November 11, 2025, which looks at her decades of performing on the road.

In 2014, the RIAA recognized her impact on recorded music with a plaque commemorating more than 100 million units sold worldwide. She has amassed 11 GRAMMY© Awards and 52 nominations, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, 10 Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year; five Academy of Country Music Awards, also including a nod for Entertainer of the Year; four People’s Choice Awards; and three American Music Awards. In 1999, Parton was inducted as a member of the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame.

Parton has the largest fan base of all measured music artists in the YouGov database at #1 with 198 million. She has the #1 Q Score of all performers, solo and group. She is one of only 25 celebrities in the E-poll database to have an E-score of 100 and has maintained that perfect rating for 8 years. She recently won Best Brand Award, Celebrity, Influencer and Fashion at the 2023 Licensing International Excellence Awards.

To date, Parton has donated over 308 million books to children around the world with her Imagination Library. Her children’s book, Coat of Many Colors, was dedicated to the Library of Congress to honor the Imagination Library’s 100 millionth book donation. In March 2022, Parton released the book Run Rose Run which she co-authored with James Patterson and sat at #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List for five weeks, a record for this decade. She also released an accompanying album of the same name with original songs inspired by the book which reached #1 on three charts simultaneously: Country, Americana/Folk and Bluegrass Albums. From her Coat of Many Colors while working 9 to 5, no dream is too big and no mountain too high for the country girl who turned the world into her stage.

For the past 5+ decades, over 8,000 live shows and more than 15 million albums sold, George Thorogood & The Destroyers have been “The All-American rock & roll party band” (Goldmine Magazine). And for their 53rd year of “playing rock & roll hot enough to melt the polar icecaps and flood the world’s major population centers” (Rolling Stone), the 2026 continuation of The Baddest Show On Earth Tour is a stage-shaking, roof raising, guitar-snarling blast.

George & The Destroyers have always delivered on their promises. In 1976, they debuted as the most explosive indie breakthrough act of the decade. Throughout the ‘80s/’90s MTV era, Thorogood was the epitome of snakeskin & shades guitar-slinger cool. And with chart-topping hits like “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” “Move It On Over,” “Who Do You Love?” “I Drink Alone’” “Get A Haircut” and their well-known anthem “Bad To The Bone,” George & The Destroyers became cornerstones of Classic Rock while their album catalog continues to dominate streaming charts worldwide. And whether it’s been their landmark performances at Live Aid and on SNL or recent smash tours with John Fogerty, ZZ Top and Sammy Hagar, they remain among the most reliable/formidable concert acts on the planet.

Celebrating over fifty years in the music industry, John Boylan is one of the most successful record producers in contemporary music. He has produced over fifty albums which have sold more than forty million records, earning a Grammy Award and three additional nominations. His work spans rock, country, children’s music, and film soundtracks.

Boylan served for 12 years as Vice President of A&R for Epic Records and was Linda Ronstadt’s personal manager for over twenty years. Through his company, Great Eastern Music, he produced numerous gold and platinum projects for artists including Linda Ronstadt, Charlie Daniels, Boston, Little River Band, Pure Prairie League, and Quarterflash. His film and television work includes soundtracks for Urban Cowboy and Footloose, as well as television projects such as The Simpsons. Most recently, he served as Music Supervisor for the Grammy-winning documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice. For over 25 years, John taught music industry courses at UCLA and Citrus College. He currently resides in Los Angeles and is co-producing a biopic on Linda Ronstadt starring Selena Gomez.

Keith Urban has spent the better part of his life harnessing a deep-seated passion for music. This, when combined with his authenticity, talent and driving musical inquisitiveness, helps to understand why he is one of the most successful and well-respected artists in the world. He’s won four GRAMMY© Awards, thirteen CMAs (including 2x Entertainer of the Year), fifteen ACMs (including the prestigious Triple Crown for winner Best New Artist, Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year), three AMAs, two People’s Choice Awards, celebrated nine consecutive gold (2), platinum or multi-platinum albums (11), which have produced more than 11 BILLION streams.

Urban’s latest studio release HIGH, has produced songs that feature huge hook choruses, optimism, celebratory fun and revelation, “Heart Like A Hometown,” Straight Line,” “Go Home W U” with Lainey Wilson, and “Messed Up As Me” amongst them. It’s these songs and Urban’s incredible catalogue of hits including “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Wasted Time,” “Somebody Like You,” “Long Hot Summer” and “One Too Many,” his duet with P!nk, that fueled his acclaimed HIGH AND ALIVE WORLD TOUR which concluded in October ’25. But for those who have experienced an Urban concert, and especially for those who haven’t, is his first full-length, live concert album of his career HIGH AND A(LIVE).

He’s been a judge on American Idol in the U.S., a coach on The Voice in Australia, a featured player on The Road and is recognized as one of Country music’s most influential artists with inductions into the Grand Ole Opry and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Urban’s career has been sprinkled with creative collaborations that have shown his brevity and thirst for musical possibility. They are what make him the musician’s musician. They’ve included, amongst others: Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, Jelly Roll, John Mayer, HARDY, Justin Timberlake, Dzeko, Miranda Lambert, Nile Rodgers, P!nk, Post Malone, The Rolling Stones and
Vince Gill.

In the midst of it all Urban gives back. His “All For The Hall” benefit concerts have raised $4.3M for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum©. He was the first Artist Ambassador of the CMA Foundation, is an advisory board member at the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and is a longtime supporter of The Mr. Holland’s Opus Fund and The GRAMMY© Foundation.

Urban consistently reminds music lovers around the globe why he is one of the world’s best live performers. His concerts have become legendary–as unpredictable as they are explosive. An experience of emotion, musical texture, energy and showmanship.

Leland Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an acclaimed American bassist and one of the most recorded session musicians in the history of popular music. He rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor’s backing band, which later evolved into The Section—the legendary group that became the de facto house band for Asylum Records during the rise of the iconic singer-songwriters of the 1970s.
Throughout his extraordinary career, Sklar has recorded and toured with an unparalleled roster of artists including James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Phil Collins, Toto, The Doors, Suzy Bogguss, and Lyle Lovett. As a band member, session player, and touring musician, he has appeared on more than 2,000 albums, in addition to contributing to numerous motion picture and television soundtracks.

Since 2018, Sklar has been the bassist for The Immediate Family, a band formed to reunite lifelong friends and fellow members of The Section, continuing a legacy that has shaped generations of music.

Michael McDonald’s career encompasses five GRAMMY© Awards, numerous chart-topping hits, and collaborations with some of the world’s most iconic artists, McDonald remains an enduring force in popular music. Originally from St. Louis, MO, McDonald emerged in the early 1970s as a studio musician before joining Steely Dan. He later became a defining member of The Doobie Brothers, contributing vocals, keyboards, and songwriting to classics such as “Takin’ It To The Streets,” “It Keeps You Runnin’,” “Minute by Minute,” and “What A Fool Believes.”

His solo career includes hits like “I Keep Forgettin’,” “Sweet Freedom,” and “On My Own” with Patti LaBelle, as well as the Grammy-winning duet “Yah Mo B There” with James Ingram. McDonald was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2025.
In 2024, he released his New York Times bestselling autobiography What a Fool Believes, co-written with Paul Reiser. McDonald continues to tour and record, with recent collaborations spanning genres and generations.

Nicky Hopkins (1944–94) is widely considered to be the most important session pianist in the history of rock, having worked with the Beatles and on solo albums of all 4 members of The Beatles (including John Lennon’s Imagine). He also worked with the Rolling Stones (appearing on 14 of their album), the Who, the Kinks, Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, Cat Stevens, Peter Frampton, Graham Parker, Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker, Art Garfunkel, Donovan, the Steve Miller Band, Joe Walsh, Harry Nilsson, Carly Simon… the list is endless.

About Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum:

Linda Chambers is CEO and Co-Founder of the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and one of Nashville’s premier attractions and event venues. The Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum is the only museum in the world that honors musicians of all genres and exhibits original artifacts and instruments that were played on hit records. The museum has also been the home to the GRAMMY© Museum Gallery since 2016. 

The museum, revered by artists including Keith Richards, Garth Brooks and Neil Young, recently added exhibits featuring Ringo Starr, Alan Parsons, Marshall Tucker Band and drummer, Stan Lynch.

The mission of the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum is to honor all great musicians regardless of genre or instruments. This is done by exhibiting the actual instrument they used to record some of the most iconic songs in recorded history. Not only does the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum entertain local and international visitors but also educates them about the musicians who actually played on the “soundtracks of their lives.”

“Where else are you gonna get all the cats that are in this room?” — Keith Richards

“You can see the hood ornament on the car if you go to The Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
But, if you want to look at the engine and see what’s making it go, then you go to
The Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum.” — Neil Young

“There’s so many things that an artist sings that aren’t his or her own creation. There’s so many things that you hear that make you love a record that, the truth is, ‘Joe Blow’ could have sang them. Because the song was so great and the signature licks were so identifiable that it didn’t matter who sang them. There are very few records that the artists made, but there’s a hell of a lot of them that the musicians made.” — Garth Brooks