Merle Haggard had been scheduled to perform in Cary, North Carolina. On May 22, 2016, the concert went ahead with Merle Haggard’s sons Ben Haggard and Noel Haggard sharing the stage with Kris Kristofferson and The Strangers.
Just over six weeks after Merle Haggard’s death, the musicians were continuing a working life that Merle Haggard had specifically encouraged Ben Haggard to carry forward.
Learning a Different Place on the Stage
Ben Haggard had joined The Strangers as a lead guitarist at fifteen. Years spent playing alongside Merle Haggard provided an education in phrasing, timing, and handling an audience. But playing guitar in a familiar band and becoming a lead singer required different skills.
In the artist biography The Son Also Rises, Ben Haggard described longstanding stage fright and remembered singing in front of Merle Haggard only a couple of times. After Merle Haggard’s death, lessons absorbed from the bandstand began helping Ben Haggard grow more comfortable at the microphone.
Ben Haggard remembered watching the small adjustments Merle Haggard made while singing and the ways Merle Haggard responded to a crowd. Those observations became practical tools when Ben Haggard began taking responsibility for performances.
The Advice Merle Haggard Left Behind
Merle Haggard’s instructions were practical: keep the musicians working, take the bus and guitar, and continue performing. The description accompanying a May 2016 concert video on Ben Haggard’s own YouTube channel explains that Merle Haggard had encouraged Ben Haggard to finish the booked tour dates.
In a later interview with Stomp and Stammer, Ben Haggard recalled another part of that guidance: “don’t let the music die.” Merle Haggard also encouraged Ben Haggard to allow an individual career to develop without rushing the process.
Ben Haggard explained that becoming a bandleader meant learning how to help musicians support one another. Alongside the singing came responsibility for the whole performance.
Kris Kristofferson Beside the Haggard Brothers
At Koka Booth Amphitheatre, the opening set lasted about an hour. Kris Kristofferson and the Haggard brothers alternated lead vocals, bringing both song catalogs into the same performance.
Ben Haggard sang “The Running Kind” and “What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life).” Noel Haggard performed “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink,” while Kris Kristofferson contributed songs including “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.”
Writing for INDY Week, eyewitness Spencer Griffith recorded a standing ovation, Ben Haggard’s thanks to the audience for celebrating Merle Haggard’s music, and Kris Kristofferson wiping away tears.
Why “Footlights” Began to Mean Something Different
In an August 2017 interview with HollywoodLife, Ben Haggard explained that “Footlights” had acquired a different meaning after Merle Haggard’s death. The song’s account of an entertainer going onstage despite personal sorrow had become connected to Ben Haggard’s own experience of continuing to perform while missing a father.
Ben Haggard also remembered Merle Haggard encouraging continued practice and steady work until an independent musical direction emerged. Preserving the songs and developing an individual voice could happen together.
That later explanation gives the Cary concert additional context. Ben Haggard was learning to lead while continuing work Merle Haggard had asked Ben Haggard to do.
And despite the tears, the Cary set ended with a singalong: Ben Haggard and Noel Haggard led “Okie from Muskogee,” with Kris Kristofferson sharing the stage.