Names and faces
■ Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Rascal Flatts and other country artists were celebrated alongside prominent songwriters, producers and industry leaders at the Academy of Country Music Honors awards show. In front of a limited crowd at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, artists paid tribute to writers, bands and even documentarian Ken Burns for their work in the genre of country music. “Without the songwriters in this town, we would have none of this. We have none of the shows, none of the record sales,” said Dan Smyers of the Grammy-winning duo Dan + Shay, who were given the Jim Reeves International Award. Combs’ rise to stardom in the past few years has been unprecedented. He is the first artist to have his first 11 singles hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Country singer Ashley McBryde tore through a rowdy version of his song “She Got the Best of Me,” before presenting him with the Gene Weed Milestone Award. “There’s a whole helluva lot more country music in this boy right here, and I can’t wait for you to hear it,” Combs said as he raised the award in the air. Carly Pearce, Alan Jackson and Lee Ann Womack sang tributes to country icon Loretta Lynn, who received the Poets Award. Lynn, who spoke in an audio message but did not appear, called it the greatest award she could get.
■ A grand jury in Los Angeles has indicted adult film actor Ron Jeremy on more than 30 counts of sexual assault involving 21 women and girls across more than two decades, authorities said. Jeremy, 68, whose legal name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt, pleaded innocent in Los Angeles Superior Court to all of the allegations, which include 12 counts of rape. The indictment, which was returned Aug. 19 and unsealed Wednesday, covers allegations dating from 1996 to 2019 with victims aged 15 to 51. The counts appear to be identical to charges filed against Jeremy last year, which he also denied. In a tactical move, LA County prosecutors used secret grand jury proceedings to get an indictment that replaces the original charges, allowing them to skip a public preliminary hearing on the evidence and proceed to trial. Defense attorney Stuart Goldfarb said in an email that Jeremy’s “position is the same as when the criminal complaint was filed. He is innocent of all the charges.” Jeremy has been held in jail on $6.6 million bail since his arrest in June 2020. The indictment includes allegations that Jeremy raped a 19-year-old woman during a photo shoot in 1996, raped a 26-year-old woman at a nightclub in 2003 and raped a 17-year-old girl at a home in 2008. He is also charged with sexually assaulting a 15-yearold girl in 2004. No trial date has been set.