Artist Updates: Keith Urban, Willie Nelson, Sam’s Place, Mark Collie, Marshall Tucker Band

Keith Urban to Jam with John Mellencamp on CMA Awards

Keith Urban and John Mellencamp will perform together during “The 49th Annual CMA Awards” airing live Wednesday, Nov. 4 (8:00-11 PM/ET) from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on ABC.

Urban’s “Raise ‘Em Up” featuring Eric Church is nominated for Musical Event, a category Urban has won three times: “Start A Band” with CMA Awards host Brad Paisley (2009), “Highway Don’t Care” with Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift (2013), and “We Were Us” with fellow nominee Miranda Lambert (2014).

Nelson Postpones, Cancels Tour Dates Due To Illness

Willie Nelson performs the final night of Franklin, Tenn.’s Pilgrimage Festival. Terry Wyatt

Willie Nelson recently postponed the start of his 2015 Django and Jimmie Tour with Merle Haggard, due to “feeling under the weather,” according to his Facebook page. The tour’s launch date on Thursday, (Oct. 15) at Florence, S.C., is rescheduled for April 6, 2016. Friday’s performance in Roanoke, Va., has been rescheduled for Monday, Oct. 19. This Saturday’s show in Reading, Pa., has been canceled.

Nelson is slated to return to the tour on Sunday for the American Roots Music and Arts Festival in Raleigh, N.C.

Artists Named for ‘Sam’s Place’ Series at the Ryman

Steven Curtis Chapman will host the fall return of Sam’s Place-Music for the Spirit at the Ryman Auditorium on Sunday, Nov. 8. The shows will run one Sunday per month through May. The lineup for Nov. 8 includes EmiSunshine, Jeremy Camp, Jimmy Wayne, Natalie Grant, and TLC stars The Willis Clan.

Additional artists performing during the series for upcoming dates include Chonda Pierce, Chris Tomlin, Dave Barnes, Fisk Jubilee Singers, Hunter Hayes, Love and Theft, Matt Maher, Plumb, Rend Collective, Ronnie Milsap and more who will be announced throughout the run.

Portions of the Ryman concerts will be used to produce a one-hour radio show set to air monthly on the K-LOVE radio network in 2016. K-LOVE can be heard locally in Nashville on 97.1 FM.

“Sam’s Place – Music for the Spirit” dates: November 8, January 10, February 14, March 6, April 10 and May 1. For more information visit ryman.com/samsplace

Mark Collie Joins Cast of ‘Nashville’

Mark Collie

Country entertainer, actor and filmmaker Mark Collie joined the cast of the ABC drama Nashville as a guest star for a multi-episode arc beginning on the Oct. 14 episode. Collie’s character Frankie, a musical talent and recovering alcoholic, is described as follows:

Frankie is rough around the edges, and it shows. Frankie is rock solid in working the program — so much so that being a bar owner poses no problem to his sobriety. After bottoming out 20 years ago and getting sober, Frankie stopped pursuing his dreams of becoming a star and instead focused on helping others make their dreams come true by opening a small performance venue. Of course, Frankie manages to perform there as often as possible, too. But tough economic times are pushing the bar toward bankruptcy… and when longtime friend steps in with a financial lifeline and a big renovation, jealousy starts to brew and temptation becomes harder to resist.

Marshall Tucker Band To Release ‘Live in the UK 1976’ 

After touring the United States for four years, The Marshall Tucker Band crossed the Atlantic and hit Europe for the first time in November 1976. The band recorded and archived the European tour and now for the first time, the nearly 40 year old live recordings will be available for purchase when Live in the UK 1976 (Ramblin’ Records / Sony RED) is released on Oct. 30, 2015.