Gig Alert: Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson Tonight at Bass Hall in Cowtown

Two giants of country music converge on Cowtown tonight as Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson play the prestigious Bass Hall. (Pardon that bout of excited alliteration.)Approaching his 73rd birthday, Haggard hasn't shown many signs of slowing down. Plus, he's just one tough son of a bitch. Case in point: It...

By Darryl Smyers

February 17, 2010

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Two giants of country music converge on Cowtown tonight as Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson play the prestigious Bass Hall. (Pardon that bout of excited alliteration.)

Approaching his 73rd birthday, Haggard hasn't shown many signs of slowing down. Plus, he's just one tough son of a bitch.

Case in point: It was announced late in 2008 that Haggard had been diagnosed with lung cancer and had surgery to have part of his lung removed. Less than two months after his cancer surgery, Haggard played two shows on January 2 and January 3, 2009.

Seems the man who once sang "You're walking on the fighting side of me" wasn't lying.

Kristofferson, meanwhile, is already 73 and also acts like an old train unwilling to come to halt. His 2009 album, Closer to the Bone, was produced by Don Was and featured a warmer and wiser Kristofferson musing on a life spent in the fast lane. Sure, he never could really sing all that well, but the guy who wrote "Me and Bobby McGee" and other gems deserves some serious kudos from just about every singer-songwriter who ever walked on a stage.

It's not often that two living legends play the same area stage, so it is well worth a shuffle west on I-30 to catch Haggard and Kristofferson this evening. We'll be there, of course--expect a slideshow and review in this space come morning.

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