HagFest Northwest Returns to the Bing!

April 6th is a special day. Merle Haggard was born on that day in 1937.  In 2016, Merle passed away on his 79th birthday.  In 2019, the very first “Hagfest Northwest” was held at the Bing Crosby Theater and now on April 6th, 2024, this heartfelt tribute to Country Music legend Merle Haggard is returning to the Bing!  

“It’s the perfect year for it,” says show producer, Rusty Jackson. “It’s perfect because Merle’s birthday is on April 6th and it just so happens to be a Saturday this year, just like it was in 2019”.

Rusty Jackson is the director of the Northwest Country Music Association and a life long super fan of Haggard. Having lived on the western side of the U.S. his entire life, Rusty says that a love for the Bakersfield sound and the outlaw elements of country music just come with the territory. “Merle Haggard made a lasting impression on the world with his music, and he left an enormous catalogue of classic hits that are still cited as favorites amongst country music fans today”, said Jackson.

K102 Country radio (KICR) has partnered with the NW-CMA since the first Hagfest, and they are again this year. Every Spring the station conducts a call-in poll asking listeners to name their favorite country stars and Merle Haggard took first place in 2023. He’s always near the top in that fan-favorite poll.

Jackson is also a big fan of the historic Bing Crosby Theater, “It offers a perfect setting for this kind of show, small enough to be intimate, but large enough to accommodate the fans that often travel long distances for this event”.  

“We don’t just play the songs”, Rusty said. “We want to pay tribute to both the man and his music, [because] Merle’s story is incredible!”.   The show features a full band that will fill the role of the “The Strangers” (Haggard’s band) and more than 20 musicians and singers from the Northwest will perform.