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Merle Haggard and Marty Stuart get off the beaten path
Country stalwarts Merle Haggard and Marty Stuart have teamed for the Electric Barnyard Festival, a co-headlining run that plans to stop in smaller towns throughout the U.S. this summer.
Described by organizers as "a rolling country music festival that's part tent show, part honky-tonk," the Electric Barnyard tour will also feature BR549, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, the Old Crow Medicine Show and Connie Smith (Stuart's wife), according to tour co-sponsor CMT.
All of the artists appeared at press conference in Mississippi on Monday (6/2) to announce the tour and briefly perform.
The 24-date run kicks off on July 6, and is due to touch down in 17 states, primarily in rural areas, before wrapping up on Aug. 31. In addition to musical performances, the event will also feature food and games. Ticket prices are set at $25 in advance and $30 on the day of the show. Gates open at 4 p.m., and the music starts at 6 p.m.
Haggard's most-recent album is 2001's critically acclaimed "Roots, Vol. 1." The album features Haggard's take on a number of '50s-era country classics, as well as three original cuts.
Stuart is due to release a new album titled "Country Music" on July 1. The set is his first for Sony Music Nashville. Electric Barnyard co-sponsor Waffle House will help promote the release by adding the album's first single, "If There Ain't There Oughta Be," to jukeboxes at 1,400 of its restaurants.
July 2003
6 - Sierra Vista, AZ - City Park
8 - San Bernardino, CA - National Orange Fairgrounds
10 - Tulare, CA - Tulare County Fairgrounds
11 - Dixon, CA - Dixon County Fairgrounds
12 - Klamath Falls, OR - Chalk Rocs Amphitheatre
14 - Walla Walla, WA - Walla Walla Fairgrounds
15 - Longview, WA - Cowlitz County Expo Center
17 - St. Clairsville, OH - Jamboree
18 - Hutchinson, KS - Hutchinson Fairgrounds
19 - Tama, IA - Meskwaki Hotel Grounds
20 - Peoria, IL - Peoria Civic Center
August 2003
14 - Rome, GA - Coosa Valley Fairgrounds
15 - Detroit, MI - To be announced
16 - Brooksville, KY - Foots Club Grounds
17 - Lynchburg, VA - Plaza Mall
19 - Tuscumbia, AL - Alabama Hall of Fame
21 - Marshall, MO - Saline County Fairgrounds
22 - Springfield, IL - Springfield State Fairgrounds
23 - Middletown, OH - Butler County Fairgrounds
24 - Medina, OH - Medina County Fairgrounds
26 - Bean Blossom, IN - Brown County Jamboree Park
28 - Saginaw, MI - Saginaw Fairgrounds
29 - Jackson, MI - To be announced
31 - Batavia, NY - Genesee County Fairgrounds