Rosalía will receive the international songwriter of the year award at The Ivors’ upcoming awards ceremony.

The Catalonian-born singer-songwriter will accept the honorary award at the May 21 event, held at Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The honor, according to The Ivors’ press release, is awarded to an “international songwriter whose released songs had a cultural and commercial impact in the U.K. over the past year.” In 2025, The Killers’ Brandon Flowers was awarded the special international award for his impact as a songwriter.

Presented by The Ivors Academy, one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe, the prizes are judged by a select panel of songwriters and composers.

First held in 1956, the ceremony routinely attracts big-hitters both domestically and internationally, with The Beatles, David Bowie, Adele, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and more among the artists to be recognized.

Rosalía released Lux, her fourth LP, in October 2025. The critically acclaimed album hit No. 4 on both the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart and the Billboard 200. The set features Rosalía singing in 13 different languages, including Spanish, Catalan, English, Latin, German and Arabic. She collected the international artist of the year prize at the 2026 BRIT Awards and performed Lux single “Berghain” at the ceremony, which featured a cameo from Björk.

Speaking on the announcement, Roberto Neri, chief executive of The Ivors Academy, said, “We are proud to celebrate Rosalía as International Songwriter of the Year. Her songwriting has captured the hearts and minds of audiences around the globe.”

He continued: “With lyrics in over 13 languages, Rosalía has broken down barriers and borders, and I’m delighted she will be celebrated by our community and industry as she picks up her first Ivor Novello Award. This recognition reflects our growing global outlook and celebrates songwriters defining music and culture.”

Olivia Dean, Wolf Alice, Lola Young and Coldplay are among the nominees for the upcoming ceremony.

The Country Music Association (CMA) announced the date of the 60th annual CMA Awards on Wednesday (April 29). The show will air live on ABC on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and be available the next day on Hulu. The show has been held at Bridgestone every year since 2006 (except for the pandemic-year show in 2020). The show has also aired on ABC every year since 2006. The host of this year’s show has not yet been named. (Lainey Wilson hosted last year’s show, and co-hosted the 2024 show.)

The CMA also announced the full ballot schedule for the 60th annual CMA Awards, as well as key dates for the CMA Broadcast Awards, Touring Awards, International Awards and Industry Honors.

“Country Music is shaped by the people who dedicate their lives to it, whether on stage, in the studio, on the road, or behind the scenes,” Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO, said in a statement. “At CMA, celebrating that work is at the heart of everything we do. Across our awards and honors, it is this community that determines what excellence looks like, and in our 60th year, I hope every member of this industry truly understands the significance of that. Their participation is how country music recognizes itself, and how it shapes its future.” 

This will be Trahern’s final show as CMA’s CEO. On Jan. 14, she announced her intention to retire at the end of the year. She has held the post since 2014.

Here is a summary of key dates, eligibility requirements and voting processes across CMA’s annual awards cycle.

Balloting Timeline — 60th Annual CMA Awards

Eligibility Period: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026

Voting Process: All CMA professional voting members may vote in three rounds. As of today, 6,678 professional members are eligible to vote.

Nomination Ballot: The nomination ballot will be emailed to eligible CMA members on Monday, July 6. Voting closes on Thursday, July 16, at 6:00 p.m. CT. Voters write in any artist or project they think deserves a nomination. If it fits the criteria for that category, it counts.

Second Ballot: The top 20 vote-getters from the first round move forward (only the top 15 for entertainer of the year). Members may vote for up to five candidates in each category. The second ballot will be emailed on Tuesday, Aug. 4. Voting closes on Monday, Aug. 17, at 6:00 p.m. CT.

Final Ballot: The top five from the second round become the official nominees. CMA members vote one last time to choose the winners. Members may vote for one nominee in each category. The final ballot will be emailed on Thursday, Oct. 1. Voting closes on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6:00 p.m. CT. The final nominees in each of the 12 categories will be announced later this summer.

All three rounds of voting will be conducted online by Election Services Corp. All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization Deloitte. 

Membership Deadline & Information: To vote in all three rounds, prospective CMA members must apply for membership by Monday, June 1, at CMAmember.com. Only CMA professional voting members receive voting privileges. The professional voting tier is offered to industry professionals who primarily work within country music.

CMA Broadcast Awards

The CMA Broadcast Awards recognize excellence in country broadcasting.

Eligibility Period:  Performances and events between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026

Submission Process: Apply starting Friday, May 1, at broadcast.CMAawards.com. Guidelines and entry instructions are available on the website. CMA membership is not required to submit.

Eligible Categories: Broadcast Personality of the Year and Radio Station of the Year in four market sizes: Major Market, Large Market, Medium Market and Small Market; National Broadcast Personality of the Year in two formats: Daily and Weekly.

Syndicated, Short-Form, Hub Voice-Tracking, Digital Service Providers and Satellite personalities with livestream broadcasts are eligible to apply for National Broadcast Personality of the Year.

Submission Period: Open Friday, May 1 through Tuesday, June 30, at 5:00 p.m. CT

Judging Process & Information: Entries will be reviewed and evaluated online by a panel of radio and industry professionals. CMA Broadcast Awards winners will be notified in October and recognized at the 60th annual CMA Awards ceremony. All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization, Deloitte.

CMA Touring Awards

The CMA Touring Awards honor excellence in country music touring, recognizing behind-the-scenes professionals across 20 categories for their contributions to the industry.

Eligibility Period: Oct. 1, 2025 – Sept. 30, 2026

Nomination Process & Information: 

Nomination Ballot: A nomination ballot will be sent to current CMA Professional voting members in the following member categories: Affiliated, Artist, Composer, Entertainment Services, Musician, Personal Manager, Record Company, Talent Agent, Advertising/Marketing/Communications, Venue, Talent Buyer/Promoter and Touring Personnel. Each member is eligible to submit one nomination for each award category. The nomination ballot opens on Monday, July 20, and closes on Tuesday, July 28 at 6:00 p.m. CT.

Second Ballot: Any candidate that meets the eligibility criteria and receives a minimum of three nominations will be placed on the second ballot. Eligible CMA members may vote for up to five candidates in each category. The second ballot opens on Tuesday, Aug. 25, and closes on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 6:00 p.m. CT. 

Selection of Final Nominees: The top 20 vote recipients from the second ballot will be presented to a CMA Touring Awards Task Force to develop a slate of at least five but no more than eight potential nominees for each of the CMA Touring Awards categories. 

Final Ballot: The final ballot consisting of the approved nominees is sent to eligible CMA members for voting. Each member may vote for one nominee in each category. All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization Deloitte. The final ballot opens on Tuesday, Dec. 1, and closes on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 6:00 p.m. CT 

CMA International Awards 

CMA International Awards recognize outstanding achievements and contributions to country music worldwide, celebrating individuals across six categories who champion the genre and expand its global reach. 

Nomination Process & Information: All CMA Professional voting members may submit nominations. A CMA International Awards Task Force reviews the nominations and makes finalists and winner recommendations to the CMA Awards & Recognition Committee, which approves the recipients. 

There are six CMA International Award categories: Jo Walker Meador International Award, Rob Potts International Live Music Advancement Award, Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award, International Country Broadcaster Award, International Artist Achievement Award and Jeff Walker Global Country Artist Award. Nominate at https://CMAmember.lnk.to/IntNoms26PR. The nomination ballot opens on Friday, May 1. Voting runs through Sunday, May 31.

CMA Industry Honors 

CMA Industry Honors recognize artists, executives and other professionals who have made exceptional contributions to the country music industry and community.

Nomination Process & Information: CMA professional members may submit nominations for the following CMA Industry Honors: CMA Foundation Humanitarian Award, Irving Waugh Award of Excellence, Joe Talbot Award, CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award, CMA Songwriter Advocate Award and CMA Award for Recording Excellence. 

Nominate at https://CMAmember.lnk.to/IndustryHonorsNoms26PR. The nomination ballot is open now through Sunday, Aug. 16. Final recipients are selected and approved by the CMA board of directors.

For questions regarding awards eligibility or voting and nomination processes, CMA members may contact Brenden Oliver, CMA director, awards stewardship, at BOliver@CMAworld.com. For inquiries related to CMA membership, reach out to the membership team at Membership@CMAmember.com.  

All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization Deloitte. 

ElevenLabs has launched a newly revamped iteration of ElevenMusic, its AI-powered music platform. Through it, fans can stream, create and remix music, turning them from “passive listeners into active participants,” according to a blog post. This follows the August 2025 launch of ElevenMusic’s original AI music model under the same name, which allowed users to create AI music from written prompts and to use those songs specifically for commercial purposes.

As of Wednesday (April 29), users of ElevenMusic can either make fully new songs — prompting first from a lyric, melody or mood to get an AI-generated song — or remix existing songs’ genres or tempos to make them their own. In a press release about the revamped service, ElevenMusic touts itself as “fully licensed” and “artist-first by design.”

This marks what appears to be a significant shift in ElevenMusic’s business plan. Originally, in August 2025, ElevenMusic announced licensing deals with Kobalt and Merlin (as well as synchronization licensing platform SourceAudio), and it was explained then that this would be a platform for users to create music for commercial purposes.

In an email to Kobalt signees after the 2025 ElevenMusic deal, obtained by Billboard, “the basic concept” of the new ElevenMusic model was described as a way “to help power a scalable, AI-driven production music library that creates custom audio for studios, brands and creators. It’s not meant to replace traditional uses of [one’s] repertoire, but to add value alongside them.” Use cases for the Eleven Music model were listed as “background music for brands, agencies and studios,” “novelty songs” and “UGC-safe content for social platforms.”

The newly launched ElevenMusic service is now chasing the everyday music fan as opposed to professional clients who are looking for production library music. ElevenMusic now touts itself as a “fan engagement layer, creating a place where artists can involve fans in the creative process,” while allowing its users to move “beyond tactic catalogs toward a more adaptive and participatory mode.”

At the time of its launch, the newly reintroduced ElevenMusic features about 4,000 human artists on the platform — mostly emerging acts — whose music can be streamed or remixed by users. It also features the two volumes of its self-assembled The Eleven Album series, which showcases AI-assisted music made alongside participating artists. Artists featured in the volumes include Liza Minnelli, Art Garfunkel, “BBL Drizzy” creator King Willonius, The Danger Twins and Justin Love.

The Wednesday press release about ElevenMusic notes that it gives users a “direct path to monetization while enabling fans to actively participate in the music itself,” but it does not provide details on how that compensation works. However, previous Billboard reporting on the original launch in August 2025 revealed more details on how artists and music companies would be paid.

An email to Kobalt signees at the time about the publisher’s deal with ElevenMusic noted that participants would receive a “pro-rata share of a royalty pool based on how many of [the artist/songwriters’] works were used to train the [Eleven Music] model relative to others.” A source close to the deal also explained that this meant participating artists/writers would receive royalties relative to how many songs they represented in the overall dataset.

The results would then be “weighted using digital proxies,” which the source noted meant that royalty payouts wouldn’t just take into account how many songs one had in the dataset but also the popularity of those songs, determined by looking at their metrics on other digital platforms. The source declined to specify exactly what Kobalt’s “digital proxies” were. It is unclear if the new changes to the platform will impact this payment structure. (Less is known about the nature of Merlin’s deal with ElevenMusic.)

“We’re building with the artist and songwriter communities, not around them,” said Derek Cournoyer, music strategy lead at ElevenLabs, about the launch. “Everything about ElevenMusic, from our fully licensed music model to our commercial approach, is designed with that principle at heart. We’re excited to give fans a more active way to experience the music they love, and create a new gateway into DJing.”

Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler has won a court ruling dismissing much of a lawsuit from a woman who says he sexually assaulted her as a minor.

Julia Misley claims the rocker “groomed” and “manipulated” her as a teenager decades ago — and that he essentially admitted it by referring to her as his almost “teen bride” in a memoir.

But in a ruling Tuesday (April 28), a Los Angeles judge said that much of the decades-delayed lawsuit was barred by the statute of limitations in Massachusetts, where the pair lived during their three-year relationship.

Judge Patricia A. Young ruled that Misley can sue over an alleged sexual encounter during a brief trip to California — where such time limits do not apply thanks to a special sexual abuse law — but dismissed her accusations over the rest of their relationship.

“This is a massive win for Steven Tyler,” said his lawyer, David Long-Daniels, in a statement. “Today, the Court has dismissed with prejudice 99.9% of the claims against Mr. Tyler in this case. The court has decided that only one night, fifty-plus years ago, out of a three year relationship is allowed to remain. We look forward to trying this case on August 31.”

An attorney for Misley did not immediately return a request for comment.

Misley (formerly Holcomb) sued Tyler in 2022, claiming she was the unnamed teenager he referred to in his memoir. She says he abused his fame to win control over her — including signing an agreement with her parents to take legal guardianship — and sexually assaulted her for three years starting in 1973, when she was just 16 years old.

In efforts to dismiss the case, Tyler hasn’t denied the basic facts. But his lawyers have characterized the pairing as a consensual “romantic relationship” between a man “in his mid-twenties at the time” and a woman “between the ages of 16 and 19” — arguing that it was legal under the age of consent.

In Wednesday’s ruling, Judge Young said that was likely true when it came to Massachusetts — a state where she noted that the age of consent “is, and was at all relevant times, 16.” But even if those claims were valid, the judge said the case had been filed far too late under that state’s statute of limitations.

“Plaintiff’s suit was filed more than 35 years after the alleged acts and more than 35 years after she turned 18,” Judge Young wrote. “To be timely, this suit must have been filed within seven years.”

Those same time restrictions do not apply in California, thanks to that state’s Child Victims Act — a 2020 statute that opened a special “lookback window” in which alleged victims could bring lawsuits that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations. The age of consent in the state was also 18 at the time of Tyler and Misley’s relationship.

“The parties travelled to California on one occasion and engaged in sexual relations here during that trip,” the judge wrote. “The age of consent in California is, and was at all relevant times, 18. Thus, it was against the law for plaintiff and defendant to engage in sexual relations with each other in California because plaintiff was legally incapable of consenting.”

The judge also dismissed accusations relating to conduct in Washington and Oregon, where the pair also briefly traveled, for the same statute-of-limitations reasons.

Rick Ross and French Montana have collided on a handful of tracks as rap titans of the 2010s, but now they’ll be foes on the Verzuz stage.

Rozay and the Bronx native are slated to clash for a Verzuz battle on May 7, according to Complex. It’s all going down at the Apple Music Studios in Los Angeles, as the match-up will stream live on Apple Music starting at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Rick Ross already touched the Verzuz stage when he faced off against 2 Chainz in August 2020, which saw Billboard‘s scorecard give the Biggest Boss a slight edge and the victory. Next month’s battle will mark French’s first time as a headliner in a Verzuz battle.

Rozay and French Montana have joined forces for plenty of hits over the years, so it will be interesting to see who takes ownership of anthems like “Stay Schemin,” “Pop That” and “Marble Floors” in the battle. They’ve also teamed up on tracks such as Rozay’s “Nobody” and “Minks in Miami,” the latter of which arrived in March.

“This will be Rick Ross easiest win ever,” former Hot 97 producer Scottie Beam declared. Tyrese, who faced off against Tank in a March Verzuz battle, is also backing Ross. “Let’s goooooo!!!!!!!!! I promise I Love French….Rick Ross got this one,” he wrote in Complex‘s comment section.

A fan on X joked that this could turn into a Drake concert with both artists boasting potent Drizzy collaborations. “This is gonna be a battle of who got the best Drake features,” they wrote.

Tune into the Rick Ross and French Montana Verzuz on May 7.

Duelo, one of the most influential Tejano norteño music groups, kicks off its Gravedad Tour this Friday (May 1) across 25 cities in the United States, a journey that will keep them on the road until November 28.

Promoted by Live Nation, the trek begins at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio and includes stops in cities across California, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arizona, Illinois and Texas, where they’ve surprised fans with a third date added at the Toyota Center in Houston due to high ticket demand.

“With Live Nation, we are working together for the first time. It’s a source of pride that such an important company is focusing on us to accomplish big things like this tour,” Oscar Iván Treviño, vocalist and leader of the group, tells Billboard Español.

Along the way, Duelo will also perform at key venues in Mexico, such as the Palenque de Aguascalientes (May 4), the Palenque de León (May 9), and the Arena Ciudad de México (October 20).

In January of this year, the group signed a partnership with Warner Music México after being independent for more than a decade. That same month, they released their first single under this agreement, “Te Cura El Tiempo,” which last week climbed to the summit of the Billboard Regional Mexican Airplay chart (dated April 24), marking their fifth No. 1 on the ranking.

“A milestone like this after two and a half decades of career is very important to me. We’ve had strong chart positions over the years, but after many years without a No. 1, it finally came,” adds Treviño, who founded the group in Roma, Texas, in 1996.

Known for hits like “Puño de Diamantes,” “Malabares” and “A Mí Me Gustas Tú,” Duelo is preparing to release its first album under their new label at the end of May, continuing the streak of good news in this stage of their career.

Preceded by bands like Intocable, and with Grupo Frontera as the leading representative of the new generation, Treviño reflects on the future of norteño music: “It will continue to be a central part of regional Mexican music, but I do think there should be a lot more young artists making this music, not just Grupo Frontera.”

He adds: “There’s an opportunity to grow within the genre. It’s a matter of working hard and giving it your all, just like institutions such as Ramón Ayala, who is one of my greatest idols, have done.”

For the full dates and tickets for Duelo’s Gravedad Tour, visit the group’s official website.

Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said on Tuesday (April 29) in an earnings call that the company’s board had approved the sale of half of UMG’s equity stake in Spotify, and that a portion of the proceeds will go to UMG artists.

But none of that was accidental, as UMG artist Taylor Swift sings in “Mastermind.” In March 2018, UMG pledged to give artists a share in any future Spotify divestment, following similar commitments from Warner Music Group and Sony Music Group. Seven months later, when Swift announced she was leaving her longtime label home, Big Machine, to join UMG’s Republic Records in November 2018, she said she negotiated a clause in her contract specifying that any such payout could not be clawed back.

In announcing the deal on Instagram, the “Shake It Off” singer wrote, “As part of my new contract with Universal Music Group, I asked that any sale of their Spotify shares result in a distribution of money to their artists, non-recoupable. They have generously agreed to this, at what they believe will be much better terms than paid out previously than other major labels.”

At the time, that distinction — recoupable or non-recoupable — was at the heart of an industry conversation around labels sharing divestiture revenue with artists. When Warner and Sony first announced in 2016 that they would share any profits from a sale of a stake in the streaming service with artists, there were concerns that any money earmarked for creators would be applied to outstanding advances, and that many artists would not actually receive these proceeds. Warner and Sony later clarified that they would structure payouts to artists according to their record contract terms; Sony said specifically it would not factor in recoupable balances. Two years later, when UMG said it would also share this income with artists, the company did not specify whether it would factor in recoupment — until Swift’s deal was announced in November.

That could be a big boon for many artists, including those who still owe back advances to the labels that initially signed them. While there is no data on how many artists have outstanding balances on the books (record contracts are generally private), Warner Music said in 2023 that a program it instituted to wipe out unrecouped balances for legacy artists had benefited some 4,500 artists in its first year of implementation. Sony, which was first among the majors to do so in 2021, and Universal also announced similar initiatives, while Beggars Group had also done so a few years before. In 2022, Sony said it had paid “millions” to “thousands” of artists through its program, and that it was expanding it to incorporate more of its roster.

How much individual artists stand to earn is not known. The decision by UMG’s board to sell half of its Spotify stake follows UMG investor Pershing Square’s suggestion that the company make this divestment in a non-binding offer Pershing made for the company on April 7.

In a letter to UMG’s board proposing a merger with its Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, Pershing founder Bill Ackman estimated UMG’s share in Spotify to be worth 2.7 billion euros ($3.1 billion), and said that if his offer were approved, Pershing would sell the stake and give 750 million euros ($865.4 million) to artists and use the remaining 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) of net proceeds after taxes to fund the transaction.

Now that UMG plans to sell half its stake — it has not sold any as of yet, the company confirms — that could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in payments to artists. UMG said in a statement on Wednesday (April 29) it would pay out part of the proceeds from the divestiture in accordance with artists’ contracts. “Consistent with the company’s approach to artist compensation, artists will share in the proceeds,” the release stated. “UMG’s share will initially be directed towards its buyback program.”

Grainge announced the board’s approval for the partial divestiture during the company’s first-quarter earnings presentation alongside a doubling of the label’s share buyback program. A representative of UMG declined to comment further.

Additional reporting by Dan Rys.

On April 28, the Musicians Hall of Fame welcomed a dozen new members, as it inducted its ninth class during a ceremony held at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University.

Dann Huff, Dolly Parton (recipient of the industry icon award), George Thorogood & the Destroyers, John Boylan (recipient of the producer award), Keith Urban, Leland Sklar, Michael McDonald and the late Nicky Hopkins were all inducted.

The evening launched with a private medallion ceremony, held in the Fisher Center’s Brad Paisley Ballroom, where Linda Chambers, Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum co-founder and CEO, presented Hall of Fame medallions and custom-made jackets to honorees, with help from guests and 2016 Musicians Hall of Fame inductees Ricky Skaggs and Don Felder.

Later, actor/musician Sam Palladio oversaw an all-star concert held to celebrate the honorees.

The Musicians Hall of Fame all-star band featured musicians Brent Rader, Mark Beckett, Paul Franklin, Mark Hill, Chris Leuzinger, John Jarvis, Michael Rojas, Sam Levine, Eric Darken, Alicia Enstrom, and Gordon Kennedy, as well as background vocalists Marcia Ware Wilder, Brent Rader and Tania Hancheroff.

Dweezil Zappa presented George Thorogood & The Destroyers (Thorogood, Jeff Simon, Bill Blough, Jim Suhler and Buddy Leach) with a Musicians Hall of Fame accolade, and joined the band for their first song, “Move It On Over.” The band followed with “Who Do You Love” and “Bad to the Bone.”

“With humility, we say thank you,” Thorogood told the audience in accepting the induction.

Producer/music executive Tony Brown honored bassist Sklar, known for his work with artists including James Taylor, Carole King and Lyle Lovett. Wendy Moten sang a powerful rendition of “Running on Empty” and Garth Brooks performed a joyous version of “How Sweet It Is.”

“You guys all light the paths that the rest of us try to follow,” Brooks told the evening’s honorees.

Bernie Leadon presented the accolade to John Boylan, known for his production work on Boston’s self-titled debut, as well as multiple albums recorded by Linda Ronstadt (whom he has also managed), Charlie Daniels Band and many more. Johnson performed “More Than a Feeling,” and Trisha Yearwood performed the Ronstadt-recorded songs “Love Has No Pride” as well as “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” joined by Felder and Alicia Enstrom.

To honor guitarist Dann Huff, known for his work as a producer and musician on scores of albums (including a 25-year relationship working with fellow inductee Urban), but also for his keen guitar skills on albums by everyone from Michael Jackson to Kenny Rogers and Taylor Swift — and even on the Celine Dion smash “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic soundtrack. Along the way, Huff also performed as part of the Christian rock band Whitesnake.

Wendy Moten performed “My Heart Will Go On,” while Buck Johnson performed the Whitesnake classic “Here I Go Again.”

Huff told the audience, “I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. I know it’s cliche to say this, but just to be inducted in the class with these people, it’s astounding.”

Peter Frampton honored the late pianist Nicky Hopkins, known for his work on albums by The Who, The Beatles, The Kinks and The Rolling Stones. Frampton called Hopkins “a piano player’s piano player,” while Hopkins was honored by performances of “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Revolution” and “Angie.” Vince Gill then sang a tender rendition of “You Are So Beautiful.” Hopkins’ wife Moira accepted the honor on his behalf.

Sheryl Crow presented the honor to Parton, who shared her acceptance remarks via a pre-recorded video message. While Parton is known for writing and performing all-time country hits like “9 to 5” and “Jolene,” she is also a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, banjo, piano, dulcimer and more.

“I am very humbled to be inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame,” Parton said. “My songwriting is more important to me than anything, but as much as I’ve crafted lyrics in my mind, and then eventually started writing them down on paper, I realized early on that if I was going to write songs, I needed to be able to play instruments to bring them to life. I knew this would allow people to hear them in ways that I heard them playing in my head… I understood how important it was to speak to the instrumentation. I learned to communicate what I wanted to hear on records because I could play them.”

Guitarist-vocalist-writer Steve Wariner then performed a medley of Parton hits including “I Will Always Love You,” “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “9 to 5.”

Gill and Skaggs presented the honor to Urban, who then took the stage to perform renditions of “Long Hot Summer,” “When Summer Comes Around” and “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me.”

“This is a bit surreal honestly,” Urban said in accepting his honor. To his fellow honorees, he said, “It’s a huge honor to be with every one of you in this class, it’s insane.” He said of his fellow inductee Huff, “I’ve grown so much from Dann about just being a better musician. I think when we started working together, I was just all stubble and rough as hell and all disheveled, like, that’s a vibe, let’s move on, next song. And Dann, who was from the Mutt Lange world, was like… play that solo 464 frickin’ times more. There was that learning curve. Somewhere in between the way the two of us were making records was how we ended up making records and I’m so honored that 25 years later we’re still making records together and have a new album coming out that we both got to do [Urban’s newly-announced yacht rock album Flow State, out June 12].”

Gill also presented the Musicians Hall of Fame accolade to McDonald, saying, “He possesses maybe the most identifiable voice.”

McDonald then sat at a keyboard to perform rousing versions of “What a Fool Believes” and “I Keep Forgettin’” and was then joined by his fellow honorees and the evening’s presenters for an all-star rendition of “Takin’ It To The Streets.”

Following the induction of the new members, the Musicians Hall of Fame has now inducted 200 musicians, producers, engineers and other industry members.

“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,” Chambers said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome these artists into the Musicians Hall of Fame.”

Throughout the evening, many also paid tribute to a producer and musical colleague who had been heavily involved in the making of the event, Musicians Hall of Fame Induction producer Cliff Downs, who died April 24 following a battle with cancer.