NASHVILLE, TN–October 27, 2021– What started 20 years ago this October with an all-star concert at Tennessee’s notorious Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary has turned into over two decades of prison outreach and led to the development of custom music programs to help inspire, educate, and prepare individuals for reentry.

In October 2001, Collie traveled to Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary with an all-star band for a performance that became his classic live album, Alive at Brushy Mountain. The inmates were an enthusiastic audience, and the show was inspirational. Mostly, though, Collie showed up at Brushy Mountain with a mission.

“I believed the songs could matter. I wanted to make something that people could find hope in or redemption or restoration or forgiveness,” commented Collie.

A film team was present to capture the visits and performance for Mark’s documentary, The Mountain. Mark finished the film by visiting with the inmates years later after they re-entered society to see how his visits and music had affected their lives.

The Mountain documentary and Alive at Brushy Mountain live concert will be re-released by Harvest Entertainment on video streaming services this fall. CD and Double-Vinyl copies of the live album, Alive at Brushy Mountain are available at http://MarkCollie.com. The album is available on streaming platforms here: https://bit.ly/30Ilo63

Mark, along with his wife Tammy, have carried on with their message of hope in prisons from Tennessee to Missouri to Kansas to Colorado to Arizona changing hundreds of lives before and after re-entry and impacting families and communities. Mark’s belief in and commitment to the positive impact of music continues today.  His 10-week music and songwriting program, My Song for Life, developed in partnership with CoreCivic and The Change Company (the nation’s top producer of rehabilitation programs and interactive journaling) spans multiple facilities across the United States. This October, Mark will participate in My Song for Life Graduation Concerts in Colorado and Arizona Prison facilities. What Mark began at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary 20 years ago with his guitar and a mission continues today, bringing hope and light through the freedom and healing power of song.
In addition to Music Expression Programs, Mark’s humanitarian efforts include Addiction Treatment, “Mark Collie” endowed Chair at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for Diabetes Research, Support for Women and Men In Uniform and Law Enforcement.

About Mark Collie: Since Mark Collie burst onto the country music scene in the 1990s with hits like “Even The Man In The Moon Is Crying,” “Born To Love You,” and “Hard Lovin’ Woman,” he has spent a lifetime using his artist, actor and songwriting platforms to elevate and support his humanitarian passion.

Well known to his fans as an artist but perhaps lesser known are the songs he has written for some of Country Music’s most iconic recording artists, including Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus, Aaron Tippin, George Jones, and Alabama. Also, his film and TV roles including The Punisher with Thomas Jane and John Travolta, Fire Down Below with Stephen Seagal, Walker Texas Ranger and the TV series Nashville have allowed Mark the ability to cast a wider net for his charitable causes. Mark Collie’s musical legacy is about redemption and hope, themes that continue in his current new album Book of My Blues and his Music Supervision of the soundtrack for the #1 Netflix movie Ice Road.
More information at MarkCollie.com