Merle Haggard Tribute Concert to Finally Be Released

Unless you were there in person, you missed it. But now we’ll all get the opportunity to see the tribute concert that transpired on April 6th, 2017, when a hefty list of musical talent all assembled at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville to pay tribute to the legendary Merle Haggard, who had passed away exactly a year to the day. The tribute happened on what would have been Haggard’s 80th birthday.

Called Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard, it will feature 29 performances from the concert released as a 2 CD set of audio only, or a 2 CD/DVD combo with video of the event. It will be available on December 11th, and yes, it will make a good gift for any Hag fan, many of whom have been waiting over three years to be able to see this tribute. Portions of the concert did air on A&E on April 13th, but this will be the first time the full tribute will be available.

The concert features performances by Alabama, Ben Haggard, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Bobby Bare, Buddy Miller, Chris Janson, Connie Smith, Dierks Bentley, Hank Williams Jr., Jake Owen, Jamey Johnson, John Anderson, John Mellencamp, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Richards, Kenny Chesney, Aaron Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Lucinda Williams, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Miranda Lambert, Rodney Crowell, Ronnie Dunn, Sheryl Crow, Tanya Tucker, The Avett Brothers, Toby Keith, Warren Haynes, and Willie Nelson.

Like many of these major tribute shows, it was produced by Blackbird Presents. Don Was, Buddy Cannon, and Merle’s son Ben Haggard were the the musical directors for the event, and lead a star-studded house band as well as an assemblage of Merle’s backing band The Strangers behind the performers. Merle’s widow Theresa Haggard was also involved in the production and oversight.

Though we don’t have a proper track list for the 2 CD’s or DVD at the moment, you can find the complete set list that was logged during the tribute show below. Expect some of the order to change, and one or two of the performances to not be present, and extras as part of the DVD package.

Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard is now available for pre-order on 2 CD and on 2 CD/DVD.

Ben Haggard & the Strangers – “What Am I Gonna Do”
Ben Haggard, Aaron Lewis & the Strangers – “Heaven Was a Drink of Wine”
Tanya Tucker & the Strangers – “Farmer’s Daughter”
Bobby Bare & the Strangers – “The Fugitive”
Connie Smith & the Strangers – “That’s the Way Love Goes”
John Anderson & the Strangers – “Big City”
Toby Keith & the Strangers – “Carolyn/Daddy Frank”
Jake Owen and Chris Janson – “Footlights”
Miranda Lambert – “Misery & Gin”
Rodney Crowell – “You Don’t Have Very Far to Go”
Jamey Johnson – “Kern River”
Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss – “If I Could Only Fly”
Alison Krauss – “Sing a Sad Song”
Alabama – “Silver Wings”
Hank Williams Jr. – “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink”
Loretta Lynn – “Today I Started Loving You”
Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Honky Tonk Nighttime Man”
The Avett Brothers – “Mama Tried”
John Mellencamp – “White Line Fever”
Kacey Musgraves – “Rainbow Stew”
Ronnie Dunn – “It’s All in the Movies”
Billy Gibbons – “The Bottle Let Me Down”
Warren Haynes and Billy Gibbons – “Workin’ Man Blues”
Dierks Bentley – “If We Make It Through December”
Lucinda Williams – “Going Where the Lonely Go”
Sheryl Crow – “Natural High”
Keith Richards – “Sing Me Back Home”
Keith Richards and Willie Nelson – “Reasons to Quit”
Willie Nelson and Kenny Chesney – “Pancho and Lefty”
Willie Nelson and Toby Keith – “Ramblin’ Fever”
Willie Nelson and cast – “Okie From Muskogee”