Mac McAnally's 2026 Vegas Countdown Begins

A Country Music Legend's Journey

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — One of the performers for Nexstar’s Coast to Coast Countdown to 2026 is a well-regarded country music artist and prolific songwriter, especially familiar to parrotheads, the dedicated fans of Jimmy Buffett. Mac McAnally, a 10-time Country Music Association Musician of the Year, is known for writing songs for Alabama, Jimmy Buffett, Shenandoah, George Strait, and Kenny Chesney.

A Career Rooted in Storytelling

McAnally, who said he’s excited about the New Year’s Eve show airing across the country, remains a folksy, down-to-earth kind of guy. He describes himself as a country boy from Mississippi with a knack, as a teenager, for writing short stories, which he turned into songs that touched people.

“I made a little singer-songwriter album when I was a teenager still, and the same guy that gave me the record deal was the guy that had given Jimmy [Buffett] his first record deal, maybe eight, 10 years before that. And he sent Jimmy a copy of my first album and said, ‘This kid is a storyteller like you.’” That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship and musical partnership between McAnally and Buffett.

A Partnership That Shaped His Career

“I hit the road with Jimmy, and I’ve gotten to travel the world and see things that I never would have seen if it weren’t for his well-chosen ambition. He was great at being an ambitious superstar. And he was also a generous superstar in that he took all of us with him on that plane, and we stayed in super nice hotels with him, and we saw things that we would never have seen without him,” McAnally said.

The collaboration with Buffett opened many doors for McAnally, allowing him to work with some of the biggest names in country music. His songwriting skills were recognized not only by Buffett but also by other artists who appreciated his ability to craft meaningful lyrics that resonated with audiences.

An Unexpected Encounter

Little did he know that Buffett’s last performance, an impromptu appearance, would be during a show McAnally was performing in Sunset Cove in Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 2023. This moment marked a poignant end to a long and fruitful relationship between two musical icons.

“If you want to role model … he left all of this, all of this human joy music, and his whole life was just a big smile, wider than his head that spread to everybody else like a virus. And, I’m not as good at that as he was, but I have some of that to spread still, and I’m doing, you know, a junior minor league version of what he did.”

McAnally is looking forward to spreading some joy on the New Year’s Eve show. He said Las Vegas is a one-of-a-kind place. His first visit—decades ago—was to meet Wayne Newton.

“And that was my first trip to Vegas … it was really glamorous and spoiled, and I was wearing hand-me-down overalls from my grandfather. I had sort of a Scottish afro because we didn’t know about conditioner in North Mississippi. And I’m in Las Vegas, and Wayne was just taking a scoop of Solo Cup full of hundred-dollar chips and saying, here we go, play.”

McAnally continues to perform at many of the same venues where Buffett played, honoring his legacy and spreading smiles through music.

Catch McAnally on Coast-to-Coast Countdown to 2026 alongside Cheap Trick, Styx, Foreigner, Kevin Cronin Band (former lead singer of REO Speedwagon), UB-40, The Marshall Tucker Band, 38 Special, and Bri Bagwell. Check your local listings for details on how to watch, or stream live on this website and enjoy exclusive bonus content not seen anywhere else.

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The impact of Buffett’s influence on McAnally’s career cannot be overstated. From their early days of working together to the countless tours and performances, their partnership left a lasting legacy in the world of country music. McAnally continues to carry forward the storytelling tradition that he and Buffett helped popularize, ensuring that their music lives on through new generations of listeners.