McAnally, Emerick to perform in Beaver Dam

Grammy-nominated and 10-time Country Music Award Association-winning singer-songwriter Mac McAnally will headline a concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Beaver Dam Amphitheater as part of the First United Bank & Trust 2024 Concert Series.

The performance will be part of McAnally’s ongoing “Margaritas & Memories” show and will include fellow Grammy Award nominee and country music artist Scotty Emerick as a special guest.

Born in Red Bay, Alabama, McAnally, 66, began playing piano and singing in church during his youth before going off to Muscle Shoals to work as a session musician.

McAnally inked his first recording deal in 1977 with Ariola and released his self-titled debut album the same year. The record included the song “It’s a Crazy World,” which went onto become McAnally’s first hit peaking at No. 37 on the all-genres U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Follow up records, “No Problem Here” in 1978 and “Cuttin’ Corners” in 1980, did not find chart success, but McAnally bounced back in 1983 with the soft-rock single “Minimum Love” — off his third record “Nothing But The Truth” — which charted at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1994, McAnally started his longtime stint playing guitar and providing vocals for the late Grammy-nominated and soon-to-be Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band — a collaboration that lasted nearly 30 years until Buffett’s death in September 2023 from Merkel cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.

McAnally was also nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Country Collaboration With Vocals” for the 2008 re-recording of his song “Down the Road,” which was performed as a duet with country superstar Kenny Chesney, and has received the Country Music Association Awards’ ”Musician of the Year” award 10 times — six of which were consecutive wins from 2010 to 2015.

Additionally, McAnally has become known for his work as a writer, penning hits for the likes of Buffett, Chesney and the country bands Alabama and Sawyer Brown, and as a studio musician on albums for artists like the late Toby Keith, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and George Strait.

Born in Hollywood, Florida, Emerick, 50, started his career in songwriting in the 1990s before becoming known for his work with Keith on the latter’s No. 1 country tunes “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight,” the Grammy-nominated “Beer for My Horses” with Willie Nelson, “I Love This Bar” and “Whiskey Girl” among others.

Emerick has also found success as a solo artist with his 2003 song “I Can’t Take You Anywhere,” which included Keith, becoming a top 30 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and a minor hit on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at No. 91.

His other tracks — “The Coast Is Clear,” “The Watch” and “What’s Up With That” — have also experienced chart success on the Country Songs chart.

Heath Eric of The Eric Group, promoter of the event, said this will be the first time working with McAnally and Emerick. The idea of bringing the pair to the Dam came about when Darren Luttrell, vice chairman of the Beaver Dam Tourism Commission, wanted to integrate a show that honored Buffett.

“(Darren) is one of the biggest Jimmy Buffett fans on the planet I’d say, and as we all know, we sadly lost Jimmy Buffett last year,” Eric said. “Mac played in (Jimmy’s) band … for 30 years (and) he’s a hitmaker in his own right as well … and he’s written songs for some of the biggest names in the business.

“We’re really thrilled to have a musician and an artist of his caliber coming.”

The show will take place on the one-year anniversary of Buffett’s passing.

Eric finds Emerick’s inclusion is also fitting for the bill as the show will also aim to honor Keith, who recently died following his battle with stomach cancer.

“Scotty has also worked with Jimmy Buffett, written songs for George Strait and a lot of songs for Toby Keith — many of his biggest hits — and as we all know earlier this year, we lost Toby in February,” Eric said. “... He’s another musician’s musician (like Mac).”

The 2024 season at the Dam, which began on Saturday with country-folk singer-songwriter and viral sensation Oliver Anthony, got off to a strong start, according to Eric, who said it was a “sold-out, record-setting show” and highlights the behind-the-scenes team to be integral to its success.

“There were nearly 6,000 people there at the Dam,” he said. “... It feels incredible. … There is a massive team of leaders, staff, volunteers, community members, commissioners, city staff who come together in a way that is really hard to properly articulate the magical combination that makes the Dam special.”

And Eric finds that the venue has continued to create an impact throughout its 10-year history.

“Certainly it positively impacted Beaver Dam and Ohio County, but when you consider Beaver Dam (being) a town of just over 3,000 people and you had almost double that (with people) from nearly 20 states on one night, that’s an economic impact felt throughout the whole region,” he said.

A password presale for the “Margaritas & Memories” concert will run from 9 a.m. to 11:59 a.m. May 9.

Password can be received by signing up for the email newsletter at beaverdamamp.com.

Tickets go on sale to the general public starting at 9 a.m. May 10.

For more information, visit beaverdamamp.com.