Country music artist Marty Stuart will perform in Columbia State's Cherry Theater on Thursday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m.

First Farmers and Merchants National Bank is sponsoring the concert that benefits the Columbia State Foundation. Tickets for the show are $35 and go on sale Tuesday, March 2 at all 21 F&M locations.

Stuart was 13 when his precocious mandolin playing landed him a job in Lester Flatt's bluegrass band. After a six-year stint as lead guitarist with Johnny Cash's band, Stuart popularized the genre of “hillbilly rock” with more than half a dozen successful solo albums. In 2003, he released his first new album in four years, Country Music . The new album was inspired by Stuart's southern perspective of life.

“First Farmers and Merchants National Bank is pleased to sponsor a concert by such an acclaimed performer as Marty Stuart,” explains Waymon L. Hickman, Chairman of F&M. “This concert is a great way for people to enjoy a top caliber performer while benefiting a wonderful cause, the Columbia State Foundation.”

The Columbia State Foundation was chartered in 1971 to foster activities that benefit the college. With the culmination of the Enriching Lives. Securing Futures. gifts campaign, the foundation has secured over $8 million in additional support for the college.

First Farmers & Merchants National Bank, an independent community bank in the southern middle Tennessee area, operates offices in Maury, Marshall , Lawrence , Hickman, Dickson and Giles Counties . F&M has been ‘Dedicated to Community Service' for 95 years and continues to be a leader in every community it serves. The bank has been instrumental in furthering education, aiding numerous non-profit agencies and supporting historical preservation, along with area business development.

The college is located at 1665 Hampshire Pike in Columbia . For more information, call 931-540-2660 (or toll-free outside Maury County at 1-877-886-8823).