Merle Haggard

Dude Awakening

Six New Times Contributors Name Their Top 10 Records of 2010

No. 9 Merle Haggard - Countdown of the Best Concerts of 2010

​Over the last ten weekdays of 2010 Up On The Sun will be counting down the best live shows of 2010.Today we look at the #9 show of the year, outlaw country legend Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center.

New Riders of the Purple Sage @ The Compound Grill

​Over the last ten weekdays of 2010 Up On The Sun will be counting down the best live shows of 2010.Today we look at the #9 show of the year, outlaw country legend Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center.

Toby Keith's Boot Still Fits a Lot of Asses

​Over the last ten weekdays of 2010 Up On The Sun will be counting down the best live shows of 2010.Today we look at the #9 show of the year, outlaw country legend Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center.

Snake! Snake! Snakes!, Toby Keith, Ted Nugent, and More in This Week's Issue

Snake! Snake! Snakes!​This week's music feature is on the local band Snake! Snake! Snakes!, who are starting to get a lot of national attention, particularly from the college radio world. Despite their burgeoning success, the group has a bit of a problem a la Spinal Tap: They can't hold onto a dru ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: Delta Spirit, Stereo Total, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Cringe, The Dig, and more

​Let's clear off the desk, shall we?Stereo Total: Baby Ouh! -- This band on the Kill Rock Stars label is a multi-lingual new-New Wave boy-girl band with songs sung in English, German, and French. It's quirky with a capital "Q" and not nearly as charming as it thinks it is. Still, most songs are un ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: CocoRosie, Natalie Merchant, Disco Biscuits, The Sadies, Small Black, and more

​It's been a pretty big past two weeks for indie rock: Hold Steady, New Pornographers, Flying Lotus, The National, The Dead Weather. That's a lot of heavy-hitters. Meanwhile, some lower-profile stuff has been piling up on my desk, so it's time to give you a rundown of the other stuff I've been lis ... More >>

Nothing Not New: Podcast #5

Peter M. Storch​They said it couldn't be done. Nothing Not New is well into its fifth month. That's something like 100 records that I've listened to so far. That's a lot of songs, and here are 11 more standouts from the past four-plus months.On this podcast, music editor Martin Cizmar and I discus ... More >>

Male Bonding: Nothing Hurts

​Artist: Male BondingTitle: Nothing HurtsRelease date: May 11Label: Sub PopRemember all the buzz about Wavves last year? I thought they were just okay. Hopefully, their next record (slated for release this year) will be better. In the meantime, I'll be listening to the new record by Male Bonding, ... More >>

Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center

​Go to see a few country legends in concert and you begin to notice a strong correlation between the number of drinkin' songs in those artists' catalogs and the condition of the specimens on stage. George "No Show" Jones, for example, looked about how you'd expect a man who first had a hit in 1959 ... More >>

Phase 54, Merle Haggard, First Friday, and the Trailer Park Over the Weekend

​Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center Merle Haggard's Sunday show at Mesa Arts Center demonstrated the old outlaw to be an outlier. The California native didn't play a long set -- just a little over an hour, actually -- but he looked and sounded great, despite songs like "Tonight, The Bottle Let ... More >>

May 10 In Blogs: SB 1070, Cypress Hill, Calabria Italian Kitchen, and Fireworks

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: 9500 Liberty a Must-See for Those Concerned by SB 1070 Joe Arpaio Arrested Elvis ... More >>

Merle Haggard Is Long Past His Angry-American Phase

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: 9500 Liberty a Must-See for Those Concerned by SB 1070 Joe Arpaio Arrested Elvis ... More >>

Angry Cocktail Waitresses and Merle Haggard on SB 1070 in This Week's Issue

Beware of angry cocktail waitresses.​This week's music feature is a cold, hard look at why your cocktail waitress hates you, written from the perspective of a drink-slinging, cork-topped tray carrying, waitress.Martin Cizmar does an interview with none other than country music legend Merle Haggard ... More >>

Merle Haggard Thinks SB 1070 is a Bad Idea

Sure, Latina pop sensations, Latino comic legends, and Canadian Indie bands, are upset with Arizona's crazy new immigration law, SB 1070. They're the usual suspects, right? You might, however, expect the "Okie From Muskogee" to be on board.Nope. Merle Haggard, the outlaw country star who made a lot ... More >>

April 28 In Blogs: Linda Ronstadt, Merle Haggard, Salsa, and iPhones

​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Linda Ronstadt Returns, Joe Arpaio Hunts Hispanics, and ACLU Announces Plans to Sue O ... More >>

In Search of Real Honky-Tonk at the Arizona State Fair

​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Linda Ronstadt Returns, Joe Arpaio Hunts Hispanics, and ACLU Announces Plans to Sue O ... More >>

Country Thunder

​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Linda Ronstadt Returns, Joe Arpaio Hunts Hispanics, and ACLU Announces Plans to Sue O ... More >>

Blitzen Trapper catches buzz through the fuzz

​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Linda Ronstadt Returns, Joe Arpaio Hunts Hispanics, and ACLU Announces Plans to Sue O ... More >>

Earley to Rise

Blitzen Trapper catches buzz through the fuzz

Gram Parsons

Gram Parsons with The Flying Burrito Brothers: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969
(Amoeba)

Dale Watson

If he played backward, your dog would come back to life

The Fall

Reformation Post T.L.C.
(Narnack)

Merle Haggard

Different train

Jesse Dayton

Country Soul Brother
(Stag)

Slick Willy

Dinner theater serves up the sweet stuff

Eddie Spaghetti

The Sauce (MidFi)

Merle Haggard

The real outlaw of country music performs

Jimmy Wayne

From wayward child to country star

Dwight Yoakam

The Hollywood cowboy returns

Various Artists

When the Sun Goes Down: The Secret History of Rock & Roll (RCA Victor)

Joe Nichols

Country boy croons from the heart

Branded Man

Fifty years into his career, Merle Haggard is still stubbornly going against the grain

Bellrays de Jour

California's amphetamine punk-soul revue wants to knock some sense into America

Best Country Radio Station

KXKQ-FM 94.1

Redd Volkaert

No Stranger to a Tele (HighTone)

Various Artists

The Gift (Will), You can Count on Me (Artemis/E-Squared), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Mercury)

Merle Haggard

If I Could Only Fly (Anti-)

Foreverly Yours

Everly Brothers bring their signature harmonies to Celebrity Theatre

Best Place to See a National Act

Celebrity Theatre
440 North 32nd Street
602-267-9373

No Lag in the Hag

Merle Haggard makes a triumphant return. Wait -- he never went away.

The Artist Formerly Known As Print

Our quarterly roundup of the latest in music books

Tower of Power

CPR offers a breath of life to the Valley Latin scene

Calendar

CPR offers a breath of life to the Valley Latin scene

Blood Money

CPR offers a breath of life to the Valley Latin scene

Pic Hits for the week

CPR offers a breath of life to the Valley Latin scene

DO LOOK BACK

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LWGENDS IN THEIR OWN RHYMECOUNTRY MUSIC'S STARS ARE RISING HARD AND FALLING FAST

THE YEAR IN MUSIC: IT JUST DIDN'T GET MUCH BETTER (OR WORSE) THAN THIS