I get to see Merle on the July 20th....my first time and I am so excited to be able to see this country artist icon perform in person.

I attended Merle's concert with George Jones in Corpus Christi, Texas last Sunday and he was excellent. He looked to be in good health, was in a great mood and played all the favorites he could pack into his set list, given his time constraints. He interacted with the crown, joking and cutting up, and it was a real treat. His wife, Teresa, was there and sang backup vocals. Also, if I'm not mistaken, the young slender lead guitar player is his son ... and he nailed it. I've seen Merle several times in Texas and this stands right up there as one of his best shows. The man still has it and he's got a full head of steam. Go Merle!

Hi UpCloseConcerts...I really do appreciate you telling us Merle fans all about the show & as I said in my earlier post I just wish I could get the chance to get to see Merle perform "live" in concert (or even just to get to see Merle would be a dream come true for me) but seeing as I live over here in Ireland I don't hold out much chance of that (unless Merle wants to pay our shores a visit sometime!!) Anyhow, I just wanted to thank you for telling us all about Merle & his band The Strangers & also about his wife Teresa, as I've said before it is very difficult to get to hear much news about Merle over here in this part of the world so your info is really very much appreciated...Heather (Ireland)

Connie, as you posted elsewhere, we understand you did not enjoy Merle's concert. Although you are the only complaint we received about the performance I appreciate your comments. However, you state as fact some things that are simply not true, and wish you would be more careful in the future about posting misinformation. The band backing Merle was indeed his own band The Strangers, many members of which have been with him for more than 30 years. The woman singer is his wife Teresa. She has been singing backup for Merle for about ten years or so, becoming more active after the death of Bonnie Owens a few years ago. The amount she sings depends on the songs Merle chooses each night. He has so many hits that you never see the same show twice. If he plays songs that do not have female backing vocals then she does not sing. Some nights they even do a duet together on "Jackson," the great Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash hit.

I spoke with Merle and the band at length before the show and they were all very happy to be there and in excellent moods. They are coming back to Branson on September 21, 2009 with Grand Ole Opry star Jack Greene as the opener. Apparently you have not attended many concerts by folks like Merle and Willie. They do not tell lots of tired jokes and fill time. Instead, they let their music do the talking. Go to a Willie Nelson concert and you will think Merle is a chatterbox by comparison. Waylon Jennings was the same way. And Merle did say hello, he said, "Good evening my name is Merle Haggard and these are The Strangers." Perhaps the loud applause the moment he said his name made it difficult for you to hear the rest of what he said.

Again, we repect your opinion, but you were factually incorrect in some of your statements. I hope some time in the future you have the chance to hear Merle again.

Connie...I was sorry to hear you didn't enjoy Merle's performance at the show, like Patty says maybe Merle just wasn't feeling too good, glad you enjoyed Gene's part of the show (us fans of Gene's know just what a great show Gene & the boys in his Farewell Party Band put on)...my friend Oprylady (below) can also vouch for that...I've been a fan of Gene's for as long as I can remember but I also have had a great admiration for Merle for many years too, Patty I do hope you have a nice time at the concert you are going to see Merle at, just wish I could be there with you!!...I would LOVE to get to see Merle in concert but I guess there's not much chance of that (unless he decides to come over to Ireland!!)...Heather

It is good to read about the reports about the Gene Watson & Merle Haggard
concert in Branson. I would love to have been there. I am glad that Patty enjoyed her CD of Gene. He is one of the greatest. ELPasolady & I both agree on that. We just love him.

Connie, thanks for sharing your experience. Have you seen Merle in concert before? I will see him for the first time in July and I am looking forward to it. I just have 2 hours to travel, no big trip. Maybe Merle was not feeling good that night. Maybe he would be different at another concert.

I bought a Gene Watson cd after hearing ElPasoLady brag about him and I really like him. I have been looking to see if he is playing near me, but no luck so far.

Saw Merle in Branson on June 11, 2009 with Gene Watson. We made a full weeks trip to see Merle, hotels and driving 400 miles and spending money for our tickets 2 months ahead of time, what a disappointment. I don't really know what the problem was, he never even said hello, nothing. He just sang some old songs for 1 hour and left, no talking nothing. It was obvious this was not his back-up band or back-up singers. There was one women but she hardly sang. No interduction for the band players,, nothing. It seemed like he didn't want to be there and same with the band. Now Gene Watson was fantastic as always and he made the show. We will never attend another Merle concert again, that was our first and last.

Nice to see you here Eden. Eden, you have a very nice Merle Haggard MySpace page. I enjoyed reading your blog articles about Merle. From your latest article posted:

"Not content to slow down or rest on his laurels, Haggard is wrapping up a new album, which is being produced by Bob Dylan’s drummer, George Receli, a New Orleans native who played on several songs on Haggard’s 2007 album Working Man’s Journey."

So we will have a new album soon from Mr Haggard. Great news.

Hey, folks. Sorry I haven't been by for a while, will try to get here more often. Thanks for the kind words, Patty, but I want to say that I am no authority on Merle, just a fan of his music like everyone else here. I do maintain a MySpace fan page in tribute to him, check it out if you're interested. The profile name is mhaggardfanpage.

Thanks Patty, it must be great having the concert to look forward to....
"Getting to see Merle & hear that great voice!!" That really would be a dream come true for me for sure, I do hope you get the chance to meet with Merle, I think it is lovely when the "Stars" can take the time to meet with their fans but I also know that it isn't always possible for them to do that as I'm sure there would be SO many fans looking to meet with them & we can appreciate they must feel very tired too when they get off the stage BUT we (us fans) really do appreciate our hero's giving of their time when they are able to...I do wish the venues would permit fans to take photos too, after all it might be the one & only chance that we ever get to see these "Stars" it just might be the once in a lifetime chance that some of us ever get, I just can't understand why some places are so strict on the no photos policy?? It's the same over here in some places (but that doesn't stop us sneaking a few little pics either Patty!!)

Yes, I had heard about Merle's health issues earlier in the year, I do hope he has made a good recovery & going by his tour schedule (like you say Patty) thankfully it looks to be that way, we just never hear any news over hear about Merle, nor about most of the American Stars for that matter (except when I go online & search that's the only way I have to find out any news!) So thanks again Patty, much appreciated & if Eden is still out there & is reading this thread then we sure would appreciate anything you can add to this about Merle, we just love to know what's going on in his world!!...Love you Merle...Heather

Heather, this is my first Merle Haggard concert and it is at a venue that does not allow fans to take pictures. I am so upset about that...I just might have to sneak a few on my cell phone. I don't know how accessible he is to his fans, or if you can get a autography or not. I'll let you know in July when I see his concert and also post pictures that I sneak(lol).

I guess you had heard he did have some health issues early this year, but he seems to be doing well. He sure is not slowing down,he has a pretty full tour schedule. I wish the gal that started the Song thread would post. Eden is a big fan of Merle's and even has a fan page dedicated to him on MySpace. She would probably have some interesting tidbits to share about Merle.