Willie Nelson to perform tonight

The crooning of country-western star Willie Nelson will fill the IU Auditorium at 8 p.m. tonight when he performs as part of his latest tour.\nThe visit marks Nelson's second time at IU. Director Doug Booher said the IU Auditorium has been looking for a way to get Nelson to come back since his last performance in 2001. The chance came up earlier this fall when a promoter offered Nelson up for the auditorium's taking.\nNelson will also sign his new Christmas CD from 4 to 5 p.m. today at Texas Roadhouse, 110 Franklin Road.\nNelson's publicist Abby Oliver said Nelson is on his third tour bus -- this one called "Honeysuckle Rose III." Oliver said Nelson is living out of his tour bus most of the time. He only stops when it's golf time, Oliver said.\nBorn April 30, 1933, in Abbott, Texas, Nelson and his sister were raised by their paternal grandparents who encouraged both children to play music. He began writing songs in elementary school and played in bands as a teenager. After high school, Nelson served a short stint in the Air Force, but music was a constant pull.\nBy the mid-fifties, he was working as a disk jockey in Ft. Worth, Texas, while continuing to try and make it big in the music business. Along the way he wrote some songs that others made famous -- such as "Crazy" sung by Patsy Cline.\nEarlier this year, Nelson embarked on a warmly received tour of minor league baseball parks with Bob Dylan. He recently played Farm Aid in Seattle, an event he continues to support after co-founding it in 1985. Last year found him enjoying yet another No. 1 single, this time a duet with Toby Keith titled "Beer For My Horses." He also had a second USA Network special became the highest-rated live musical event in the history of cable television. With four Grammy nominations, 2003 proved to be a fruitful award year for Nelson, who also earned a President's Merit Award and a Grammy Legend Award.\nIn order for IU Auditorium shows to be successful, Booher said he must not only find acts which fit the venue's size, but also are something attractive to the IU and Bloomington area communities. \nBooher said despite Nelson being a country-western singer, he fits in well with the college-town audiences Bloomington has to offer.\n"He has significant cross-over appeal," Booher said. "(Nelson) is a tried and true country artist. With this combination, we are able to draw enough audience to make the show a successful one."\n-- Contact staff writer Brandon Morley at bmorley@indiana.edu.