Merle Haggard & Kris Kristofferson

For one night only, two country legends will be coming together at the Tennessee Theatre. Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson stop by Knoxville to share some songs and stories during what will be an intimate, acoustic set. Merle Haggard got his start playing music after his family moved from Oklahoma to California during the great depression. In and out of trouble at an early age, due to his father's untimely death, Merle got his start in music after seeing Lefty Frizell in concert. Frizell heard Merle singing along with his songs and enjoyed it so much he asked Haggard to join him on stage. Shortly after, Merle was back in trouble and heading to prison, San Quentin specifically. There, Merle decided to turn his life around and dedicated himself to music. Since then Merle has acquired 38 #1 hits and a slew of awards and honors including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the JFK Center for Performing Arts.

Texas native and Rhodes Scholar, Kris Kristofferson, was pushed towards a military career by his father and grandfather. After his service, Kristofferson decided to become a full-time musician. Kris moved to Nashville and began working as a janitor at Columbia Records where he met a number of country music stars, including Johnny Cash. Having a flair for writing, many artists began performing Kristofferson's songs which led to him being signed with Monument Records. Many fans had a hard time accepting Kris' rough voice and simple, outlaw style compared to the polished, honky-tonk sound of Nashville at the time. His career began to pick up however as more and more artists covered his songs resulting in major country hits for acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby Bare, and Ray Price. In 1985, Kristofferson teamed up with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings to form the country super group, The Highwaymen, which resulted in the Academy of Country Music's single of the year. Since then Kris Kristofferson has been inducted into the Singer/Songwriter's Hall of Fame as well as the Country Music Hall of Fame.