Artist Updates: Merle Haggard, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Chris Young

Merle Haggard Cancels Tour Dates

Merle Haggard has cleared his touring calendar to recover from illness, according to a statement from his media representative:

“Haggard has had to cancel his February tour due to his health. He is still feeling weak from his recent struggle with double pneumonia and has decided to seek further treatment for it. Merle is hopeful he will be back on the road later in the spring. Check back at www.merlehaggard.com for updates.”

Carrie Underwood Begins Storyteller Tour

Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller Tour – Stories in the Round launched on Saturday (Jan. 30) in Jacksonville, Florida, and continued Monday in Atlanta, both to sold-out 360-degree crowds. Her next tour stop will be Friday (Feb. 5) in Louisville, Kentucky. Barry Lather is the tour’s Creative Director and Butch Allen is Production and Lighting Designer. The Storyteller Tour required many weeks of technical planning and rehearsing to program lighting cues, automation, and special effects, followed by numerous performance rehearsals with Underwood and her band.

Keith Urban Adds Three Tour Dates

Keith Urban has added three new ripCORD World Tour 2016 performances.

On Aug. 4, Urban will mark his first performance in Bozeman, Montana, since 2005. He’ll follow that with his first-ever show in Pocatello, Idaho, on Aug. 5. In addition, Urban will return to Sioux City, Iowa, on Oct. 7 for his first concert there since 2004.

Urban’s ripCORD Tour will kick off on June 2 in Kansas City, Missouri. Special guests are Brett Eldredge and Maren Morris.

Chris Young Joins T.J. Martell Gala

The T.J. Martell Foundation has announced that Chris Young, Joe Walsh and Ruby Wilson will join host Charles Esten and previously announced performers Don Henley and Ronnie Milsap at the 8th Annual Nashville Honors Gala taking place at Nashville’s Omni Hotel on Feb. 29.

This year’s previously-announced honorees are:

Aubrey Harwell: Spirit of Nashville Award
Brian Philips: Frances Preston Outstanding Music Industry Achievement Award
Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D.: Medical Research Advancement Award
Kenny Rogers: Tony Martell Lifetime Entertainment Achievement Award
FedEx Corporation: Outstanding Global Citizenship Award with Frederick W. Smith accepting on behalf of more than 350,000 team members around the world

Honors Gala co-chairs this year are board members, Dave Berryman, president of Gibson Guitar Corporation, and Leslie Fram, CMT’s senior vice president of music strategy. The evening is produced by Martin Fisher and Edie Hoback of High Five Entertainment.

The Honors Gala has raised over $3.5 million since its inception in 2009.