NASHVILLE – The Music City Walk of Fame has announced three new inductees: multi-platinum Country artist Eric Church; Joe & Linda Chambers, co-founders of the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum; and Butch Spyridon, who after 32 years is retiring from the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.
The induction ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Music City Walk of Fame Park. Members of the public are invited to view the ceremony. Joe Chambers passed away on September 28, 2022, and will be inducted posthumously.
“This class of inductees represents what makes Music City special with Country artist Eric Church who is at a highpoint of his career with his music and new Lower Broadway venue, along with the Chambers, who have made it their life’s work to recognize the hard work of Nashville’s musicians through the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum,” said Kevin Lavender, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nashville Convention Visitors Corp and Executive Vice President at 5/3 Bank. “Butch is the architect of the Music City brand that has made Nashville a top global destination. He has championed many major initiatives to showcase the Music City story, including the Walk of Fame attraction. His impact on the Nashville community is undeniable.”
The induction ceremony will bestow the 98th, 99th and 100th stars on the Music City Walk of Fame. Inductees are recognized for their significant work of preserving the musical heritage of Nashville and for contributing to the world through song.
Global superstar Garth Brooks will be in attendance to induct Spyridon and the Chambers, and Church’s presenter will be announced in the weeks to come.
As the 2020 CMA Entertainer of the Year, Church is a 10-time GRAMMY nominee whose most recent chart-topping album was the Heart & Soul triple album. His 2011 Chief was a 3x Platinum-certified album that included the iconic “Springsteen.” In 2019, he set Nissan Stadium’s concert attendance record during his Double Down Tour with more than 56,000 fans and became the first artist to sell out the venue with a solo lineup. He plans to open a six-story bar, BBQ restaurant and music venue called Chief’s on Lower Broadway. Joe & Linda Chambers’ non-profit museum honors musicians of all genres of music by preserving and showcasing the historical instruments played on recorded songs. The Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium also includes the GRAMMY Museum Gallery.
Spyridon has led the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp for 32 years, guiding Music City into a top global destination with record visitation, a global reputation and world-class amenities. He branded it as Music City, making it attractive to professional sports teams and corporate relocations and elevating the quality of life by drawing world-class events, restaurants, retail and hotels. As part of the Events Industry Council Global Awards, he is a 2022 Hall of Leaders inductee, considered the lifetime achievement award in the meetings, conventions, exhibitions, hospitality and travel industry. He was named to the global Top 100 Most Influential People in the Events Industry list in 2022.
The Music City Walk of Fame was created in 2006 on Nashville’s Music Mile, a roughly one-mile stretch that connects downtown to Music Row. Permanent sidewalk medallions with the names of inductees are displayed in a star design.
The Music City Walk of Fame is an official project of Music City Inc., the charitable foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and is produced with the support of founding sponsor Gibson. Additional sponsors include the City of Nashville and Metro Parks and Recreation. Nominations are open to the public and are accepted in the categories of Artist, Musician, Songwriter and Producer/Music Industry Executive. Application forms are reviewed by the Music City Walk of Fame anonymous selection committee. For more information about the Music City Walk of Fame, go to visitmusiccity.com/walkoffame.
Eric Church
A seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner (including the 2020 award for Entertainer of the Year) and 10-time GRAMMY nominee, Eric Church has amassed a passionate fanbase around the globe known as the Church Choir in addition to a critically acclaimed catalog of music including 30 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified songs. His most recent chart-topping project, the Heart & Soul triple album (“Hell of a View,” “Heart On Fire”), features the results of a marathon session during which he spent nearly a month writing and recording a song per day while sequestered in rural North Carolina. Prior releases include the Gold-certified Desperate Man, which earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album (his third nod in the category), the Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), the Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and the 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”). Just as unique as Church’s approach to recording and releasing music is his tenacity on the road, with his upcoming Outsiders Revival Tour bringing a rotating lineup of emerging artists along for the first fully outdoor tour of his career. His prior outing, the 55-city The Gather Again Tour, offered fans an in-the-round show and earned the Billboard Music Award for Top Country Tour. Church also performed one-of-a-kind headlining stadium shows at Milwaukee’s American Family Field and Minneapolis’s U.S. Bank Stadium in 2022 and performed the National Anthem with R&B star Jazmine Sullivan ahead of Super Bowl LV in 2021. During 2019’s Double Down Tour, he played back-to-back nights of two unique shows in each market sans opening act, giving every city’s fans six-plus hours of his iconic music. The tour also featured a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where he broke the venue’s concert attendance record with more than 56,000 fans in attendance and became the first artist to sell out the venue with a solo lineup.
Joe & Linda Chambers
Joe Chambers moved from Columbus, GA to Nashville, TN in the 1970s to pursue a career as a musician, songwriter and producer. In 1985, as a couple Joe and Linda Chambers opened a chain of guitar stores, Chambers Guitars, with locations in Smyrna, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Nashville and Bowling Green, KY. In 2006 Joe and Linda opened the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum on Sixth Avenue South, a non-profit museum honoring musicians of all genres of music by preserving and showcasing the historical instruments played on recorded songs. In 2012 Joe & Linda restored and renovated the first floor of the Nashville Municipal Auditorium bringing light not only to musicians, engineers, producers and women behind the music, but also helping preserve the history of the Nashville Municipal Auditorium as a historical venue and giving the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum a new home. In addition to thousands of historical musical artifacts, the museum also houses the GRAMMY Museum Gallery. For over 20 years, Joe and Linda dedicated themselves to this world-renowned Nashville destination, highlighting the incredible musicians that played on the soundtrack of everyone’s lives. Joe Chambers passed away in September of 2022, and Linda continues as Co-Founder and CEO of Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum.
Butch Spyridon
Butch Spyridon has served as the head of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC) since 1991. He is retiring on June 30, 2023 and will transition to a role as a strategic consultant. Under his leadership, the NCVC has led the strategic development of Nashville’s hospitality industry, and Music City has evolved into a top global destination, generating $8.8 billion in visitor spending annually. During Butch’s tenure, the NCVC has been involved with development initiatives that include the Tennessee Titans, Bridgestone Arena, July 4th, New Year’s Eve, the Music City Center, Music City Walk of Fame, and the city’s branding. He also helped lead efforts to bring British Airways’ nonstop flight to London in 2018, and he led the recruitment and execution of the 2019 NFL Draft, which became the most successful event in NFL history. In addition, the NCVC has produced two award-winning documentary films, winning Silver Lion Awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Combined with the NCVC ongoing sales and marketing initiatives, Nashville hotel demand has grown faster than any other top 30 U.S. city since 2013 and was named a top destination in the world by multiple publications for 12 consecutive years. Spyridon served on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Travel Association and as past Chair of Destinations International. He was named to the prestigious Hall of Leaders by the Events Industry Council’s 2022 Global Awards. Hall of Leaders is considered a lifetime achievement award in the industry. He was recently named in the Top 100 Most Influential People in the Event Industry 2022. Raised in Pascagoula, MS, Spyridon graduated from Vanderbilt University. In addition, he is a graduate of the Institute of Comparative Political and Economic Systems at Georgetown University. He and his wife, Sunny, have four children and five grandchildren.
The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp
The mission of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and Visit Music City is to maximize the economic contribution of the convention and tourism industry to the community by developing and marketing Nashville as a premier destination. Visit the NCVC’s website at www.visitmusiccity.com, and follow Visit Music City on social media:
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