Keith Urban is headed to SXSW on March 16 for a featured speaking engagement and performance, to be presented by Bumble, the female-first social networking app with over 27 million global users.

“Creation and Connection: A Conversation with Keith Urban,” will be held at the Austin Convention Center at 12:30 p.m. and will see Urban speak about his career, creative process and how he stays connected in an isolating age. Later that night, Urban will then take to the stage with a performance at Stubb’s BBQ outdoor stage (Waller Creek Amphitheater).

Openers for the show, which begins at 8 p.m., include Devon Gilfillian, Lauren Ruth Ward, and Larkin Poe.

Bumble’s Head of Brand, Alex Williamson, cited the impact of Urban’s song “Female,” and the importance of sharing its message.

“‘Female’ is a celebration of the power and the importance of women,” Williamson said. “We believe strongly in the song’s message as it aligns with our company’s mission of empowering women to make the first move in creating impactful relationships in every aspect of their lives.”

Music and Platinum badge holders receive primary access to official music showcases. SXSW Film and Interactive badge holders, along with Music Festival wristband holders and Showcasing Artist wristband holders have secondary access. All admissions subject to capacity.

Urban’s upcoming studio album, GRAFFITI U, is slated to come out prior to his “Graffiti U World Tour 2018,” which will kick off in St. Louis on June 15.

Hannah Miller

There is always a Nashville connection.

On this week’s episode of NBC’s This Is Us (titled “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life”) the voice carrying the song “Beauty And Pain” belongs to Nashville singer-songwriter Hannah Miller.

The song marks Miller’s second time recording a song that was included in the hit NBC series. Her acoustic rendition of the song “We Can Always Come Back To This” was included in Season 1’s powerful and pivotal episode “Memphis,” which centers on Randall Pearson (played by Sterling K Brown), the death of his biological father William Hill (Ron Cephas Jones), and Randall’s relationship with Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia), who adopted Randall at birth.

The song was penned by This Is Us composer Siddhartha Khosla and Chris Pierce. While a full-band version of “We Can Always Come Back To This” can be heard earlier in the “Memphis” episode, Pierce and Khosla sought a softer, female acoustic version to close out the episode.

“For ‘We Can Always Come Back To This,’ it was such a monumental episode and scene, and I was so thankful that it really worked,” Miller tells MusicRow. “That was one of the highlights of all of last year. I love the whole world of licensing and TV because music can bring so much emotion to a scene, but without the scene, the music doesn’t mean as much.”

Miller’s vocal placements came about through music licensing company Sorted Noise, and its Los Angeles partner Music Alternative.

“I had no context going into the show, we just got the song, the chart and a music video from the people who wrote the song. I filtered it through my style. Even with ‘We Can Always Come Back To This,’ I didn’t understand the song, really, until I saw it in the scene, and I could see how it was written to fit perfectly in that scene.

“I found out after the fact that several people had submitted acoustic demos and the composer actually called me the day after the episode aired and said, ‘When we heard yours, we knew it was the right one.’”

This week’s episode centered on the background of a newer character, a teenage girl named Deja, the foster child of Randall Pearson and wife Beth.

“The cool thing is I had seen every episode. I knew the story and what was going on, and it was so important to me that [the song] meant something and was special within the show. I didn’t want to distract or take away anything from the show. I just wanted to add. I had had placements over the years and I would sit down and watch the shows because my song was in it, but I had no real relationship to the show at all. Part of the reason I was so excited to do this was because I found out it was for This Is Us. I was like, ‘Yes, I’m going to do this no matter what!’”

Even with having songs featured in the episodes, Miller says she first saw the finished episodes when they aired on NBC, like everyone else. “It was so nerve-wracking. We got a little bit of information for this [latest] one. We knew the episode would be about Randall [Pearson] and Deja, the foster child they had taken in.”

Miller has plenty to celebrate this week, as her own latest album, Midnight Morning, released on Tuesday (March 6) via Sorted Noise Records. Eight of the 10 songs were produced by Jars of Clay member Charlie Lowell, and the album was recorded at Gray Matter studio.

“Sorted Noise paired Charlie and I together during a songwriting workshop for film and television and we liked what we did so much that I asked him to work on the whole album.”

The 10-track album also includes an updated version of “We Can Always Come Back To This.” Miller says she hopes for future songs to be included in the hit TV show. Miller recently traveled to Los Angeles to perform her rendition of the song for the Guild of Music Supervisors Awards, where the song was nominated for Best Song Recording Created For Television.

“My dream is for This Is Us to use one of my original songs, but I’m not complaining and I’ll record whatever song they want.” Miller says.

We’ll never lose these memories.

Catch up on #ThisIsUs now: https://t.co/fg8LZKtCE0 and special thanks to @hannahmiller for this beautiful rendition of “We Can Always Come Back To This.” pic.twitter.com/fAMVo8CsIL

— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) March 8, 2018

Michael Farren is releasing a new single, “Fighting For Us,” on March 9. The Grammy-nominated songwriter will release the song as part of his forthcoming new album and first-ever solo project via Integrity Music due out this summer.

The worship pastor for Gateway Franklin and former frontman of the band Pocket Full Of Rocks, Farren is the writer behind some of Christian music’s biggest songs, from Lauren Daigle’s “Trust In You” to Reba McEntire’s “Sing It Now.”  On “Fighting For Us,” Farren partnered with Dove Award-winning writer Krissy Nordhoff (“Your Great Name”) to pen the vertical anthem of praise.

“We wrote ‘Fighting For Us’ while I was weeping at my desk,” shares Farren. “Krissy and I were supposed to be working on another song but all I could get out that day was that… and I’ve never needed a song more. I’d been through a season where I was struggling, trying to follow what I believed God was asking me to do but getting nowhere and feeling defeated,” he continues. “In 25 years of writing songs, I have never clung onto a song as my own… but this was different. This song was the thing that kept me believing that He loved me. I kept singing it until I believed it. I hope it’s a lifeline for others…to anyone who has ever wondered if they are seen or known by God,” he adds. “It may come from a place of desperation, but we don’t need to stay there.”

Farren chose the single’s distinctive cover, noting the image represents the “fiercely protective, family-driven” nature of the wolf. “Wolves howl to protect their territory, their pack and to call to lost wolves,” he said. “For me, it’s a visual reminder of the furious, protective love of the Father.”

The new single will be available through digital and streaming platforms beginning March 9.