Merle Haggard will celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday next week by hitting the road with a vengeance. The country music legend has lined up twenty-eight dates thus far, beginning April 11th in Tucson, Arizona. The tour will run until the end of June, with a short break before resuming on August 14th in Rifle, Colorado. The dates stretch through September 28th in Memphis.

Haggard's jaunt is in support of Roots, Vol. 1, last year's release that included three new, original tracks as well as tributes to Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams and Hank Thompson. The album was Hag's second for Epitaph/Anti- and the singer suggests that there are additional Roots volumes on the way.

"We did twenty-three sides and so that was the reason for volumes, because we were really strapped as to which ones to put out," he said. "It gives us a really wide direction to drive in. We're gonna do some things like touch on Chuck Berry and the early Marty Robbins; things of that nature that really influenced us. That includes the rock & roll players, too. I have to be honest and let everybody know, when I was a kid I liked Lefty Frizzell, but I also loved Fats Domino and Chuck Berry."

Merle Haggard tour dates:

4/11: Tucson, AZ, Desert Diamond Casino
4/12: El Paso, TX, Far West Rodeo
4/13: Helotes, TX, Floores Country Store
4/14: Austin, Stubb's Barbeque
4/16: McAllen, TX, Villa Real Convention Center
4/17: Montgomery, TX, Haven's Landing
4/18: Gainesville, TX, Silver Spur II
4/19: Topeka, KS, Performing Arts Center
4/21: Denver, Fillmore Auditorium
5/11: Phoenix, Celebrity Theater
5/12: Carlsbad, NM, Carlsbad Civic Center
5/13: Albuquerque, Sandia Casino
5/15: Irvine, CA, Crazyhorse Saloon
5/16: Ventura, CA, Ventura Theater
5/17: Kelseyville, CA, Konocti Harbor Resort
5/18: Longview, WA, Columbia Theater
5/19: Tacoma, WA, Emerald Queen Casino
6/15: Saratoga, CA< Historic Mountain Winery
6/28: Bossier City, LA, Horseshoe Casino
6/29: Marksville, LA, Mari Center
8/14: Rifle, CO, Garfield County Fairgrounds
8/15: Lehi, UT, Thanksgiving Point
8/16: Big Sky, MT, Summer Music Festival
8/22: Mt. Pleasant, MI, Soaring Eagle Casino
8/23: Louisville, KY, Kentucky State Fair
9/20: Chattanooga, TN, Bell South Park
9/21: Myrtle Beach, SC, Alabama Theater
9/28: Memphis, Mid-South Fairgrounds

ANDREW DANSBY
(March 28, 2002)