Holdrege, Neb. — Songwriter and music industry executive Bart Allmand, Jeff Bower of the Emmett Bower Band, and Borderline & TR Anderson will be inducted into the Nebraska Country Music Hall of Fame during a Nov. 14 banquet in Kearney.
The Nebraska Country Music Foundation will host the event at Legacy on the Bricks, recognizing careers that span Nashville songwriting, independent recording and decades of live performances across the Midwest.
Allmand, a Holdrege native, moved to Nashville in 1987 and built a career in record promotion and artist development. His work included positions with RCA, Monument Records and Big Loud Mountain, helping promote artists including Clint Black, Alabama, Martina McBride and Florida Georgia Line.
His songwriting credits include Brooks & Dunn’s “You Can’t Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl,” a top-five country hit, and Steve Holy’s “Brand New Girlfriend,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart in 2006.
Bower formed the Emmett Bower Band in Lincoln in 2010, combining traditional country with rock and Nebraska-rooted storytelling. The band takes its name from his grandfather, Emmett Marker, a fiddle and guitar player from the Bartlett area.
According to the NECMF, the group performs nearly 100 shows annually and has shared stages with Cody Johnson, Jon Pardi, Thomas Rhett, Whiskey Myers and Sammy Kershaw. The band established its own label, It’s A Party Records, and has released four studio albums. Its songs include “Main Attraction,” “Never Let It Go,” “Chasin’ the Sun” and “Emmett and Darlene.”
TR Anderson founded Borderline with Kevin McKenney in 2000. The group’s first booking came after a visitor heard the two playing in a wooden shed and offered them a show at the American Legion in Wood River.
The band has since performed at honky-tonks, county fairs, street dances and festivals across the Midwest. Its music draws on traditional country artists such as Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash, along with classic rock and contemporary country.
Borderline’s current lineup includes Anderson’s wife, Cassie, and son, Braxton, along with Andy Martin and Noah Eggleston. The foundation said the band performs 80 to 130 shows annually and travels across seven states.
The banquet also comes during a leadership transition for the foundation, which was established in 1980 to recognize and preserve Nebraska’s country music heritage.
A new board took office in April, led by President Luke Mills, a 2023 Hall of Fame inductee. Mills credited former President Deb Shaw and previous board members with helping him learn about the organization.
“I look forward to adding to and building onto the legacy of the foundation as we move into the future,” Mills said in the announcement.
Other board members are Vice President Heath Smallcomb, Treasurer Summer Martinez, Secretary Jennifer Mills, Adam Smith, Hunter Arterburn, DJ Bridwell and James Royle.
The foundation said its new leadership plans to continue honoring established musicians while expanding support for emerging songwriters, performers and independent recording artists.
The 2026 Nebraska Country Music Hall of Fame Banquet will be held Saturday, Nov. 14, at Legacy on the Bricks in Kearney, with performances to follow at Joe’s Honky Tonk. The foundation will announce additional banquet details and ticket information in the coming days.
