Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson on Sunday, September 25th at the INB Performing Arts Center
It was a complete honor and a treat to see Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson on one stage in Spokane. I couldn’t believe I had the opportunity to see these two icons, and the night was remarkable. At one point in the night Kris even said “I always feel like I am dreaming when I’m up here with Merle.” Kris and Merle warmed up the INB Performing Arts Center with their love for songwriting, their humor, and their music. The crowd would chuckle in between songs or when Merle or Kris would add in a funny line to a song.
Merle, Kris, and the Strangers performed 28 songs for us! How incredible is that?! 28! The Strangers were an incredible band too, top notch musicians. There were quite a handful of knock your socks off solos tonight as well. My favorite part about the night was seeing how much fun these two were having on stage together. They would joke and laugh but when you would see Kris sing along in the back as Merle sang lead, that was cool. Another part of the performance tonight that made it so much fun was the crowd. There were plenty of whistles, hollers, and singing along. The gentlemen that sat behind me knew every word, and he didn’t miss a beat to sing along to every song. He was so stoked to be at the show. At one point he even called his son, held up the phone, and at the end of a Merle Haggard song said “Son now that is a true American legend.” I also loved being able to look down the row I was sitting in and see every single pair of feet tapping along.
Out of the 28 songs Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, and the Strangers performed for us tonight, a few of them included:
“Shipwrecked” – Kris Kristofferson
“I Had a Beautiful Time” – Merle Haggard
“Movin’ On” – Merle Haggard
“I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” – Merle Haggard
“Big City” – Merle Haggard
“Me and Bobby McGee” – Kris Kristofferson
“Help Me Make It Through The Night” – Kris Kristofferson
“They’re Tearin’ The Labor Camps Down” – Merle Haggard
“The Bottle Let Me Down” – Merle Haggard
“I Take A Lot of Pride In What I Am” – Merle Haggard
“Sunday Morning Coming Down” – Kris Kristofferson
“Mama Tried” – Merle Haggard
“It Always Will Be” – Merle Haggard
“Workin’ Man Blues” – Merle Haggard
“T.B. Blues” – Merle Haggard
“Little Ole Wine Drinker Me” – Merle Haggard
“Here Comes That Rainbow” – Kris Kristofferson
“If I Could Only Fly” – Merle Haggard
“Pilgrim” – Kris Kristofferson
“Okie From Muskogee” – Merle Haggard
“Walkin’ on the Fightin’ Side of Me” – Merle Haggard
“Moment of Forever” – Merle Haggard
“Why Me” – Merle Haggard
There was even a cover of “Folsom Prison Blues” in which we all clapped our hands too! It might sound cheesy but this was a hard working American kind of show. I loved it!!! I grew up listening to old country music and the set tonight just put the biggest smile on my face and was a great way to end the rough weekend I had.
Photos courtesy of Matt Auclair.
Comments
I’m so made we missed it!!!!
Sorry, I mean I’m so mad we missed it.