Merle Haggard

On April 6, 2016 we lost another musical icon and member of the HSB family, Merle Haggard.

This excerpt from the SF Weekly article after his appearance at HSB11 puts it well:

“The Merle/Kris performance appeared to be the great unifier of all HSB attendees. The silver haired, elder cowboy-hat demographic, identified at performances by Robyn Hitchcock or Gillian Welch, danced like no one was watching. Aside them, younger fans in tight black jeans and denim jackets shared their flasks before eventually congregating in front of A.A. Bondy. Legends achieve this status because their music spans decades, defies genres and speaks to people across experiences or musical preferences.”

Steve Earle also wrote a very personal op-ed for the NYT that you can read here.

Rest in peace, Merle.