Haggard to Bring His Legend to Thousand Oaks

Country music icon Merle Haggard will perform songs from a career spanning more than 30 years at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Sunday.

No smoke, no laser lights. Just a charismatic living legend who talks about his tunes, adds innuendo with a raised eyebrow and connects with his audience through the emotional immediacy of songs about working-class struggles, relationships, profligacy, patriotism and prison.

One of his ballads, “Today I Started Loving You Again,” has been covered by more than 400 artists. He has more than 65 albums and hundreds of songs, including “Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down,” “Mama Tried,” “Silver Wings” and “Workin’ Man Blues,” to his credit.

1994 was a watershed year that brought Haggard two tribute albums and membership in Nashville’s Country Music Assn. Hall of Fame with his own musical heroes Jimmie Rodgers, Lefty Frizzell, Bob Wills and Hank Williams Sr.

Backed by the Strangers, the same band of buddies he’s played with for decades, Haggard has remained the voice of conservative country and the Silent Majority.

Nevertheless, Haggard’s blue-collar West Coast sound is probably the influence most often cited by two generations of country artists, including current Nashville titans Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart and Brooks & Dunn.

So the price of admission is a fair exchange for a couple of hours in the company of an original country music master doing what he does best.

DETAILS

Merle Haggard in concert at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Sunday, 7 p.m. COST: $49, $39 or $29. CALL: 449-2787.

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If you enjoy classic country and traditional American roots music, the Oak View Community Center is the place to be this weekend for an old-fashioned barn dance and fiddle contest.

Sponsored by District 8 of the California State Old Time Fiddler’s Assn. and Senior Horizons, admission and parking are free to the family-oriented, smoke- and alcohol-free events.

Music for the Saturday-evening dance will be provided by bands made up of the group’s 307 members. Spotlight performances by several champion fiddlers will also be featured.

On Sunday, contestants of all ages will vie for prizes during the 13th Annual Amateur Fiddle contest.

DETAILS

Dance, 6-9 p.m. Saturday. Fiddle contest, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. The Oak View Community Center is at 18 Valley Road in Oak View. Free admission and parking. For more information, call 527-0227 or 642-3422.

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For lovely vocals and good dance music, check out Raywood and the Unseen, a popular one-man band who will play for a country-Western dance from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Camarillo Community Center, 1605 E. Burnley St. The dance is open to all ages. Admission is $5 per adult, $2.50 per youth. For more information, call 482-1996.

Up the Coast: The Mike Shelton Band will perform country favorites at Goleta’s Galleon Room tonight and Saturday starting at 9 p.m. Then on Thursday, the Mike Shelton Trio takes the stage, same time, same place.

The Galleon Room is located at 5925 Calle Real in Goleta. For details, call 967-0128.

Robyn Loewenthal can be reached by e-mail at drrkl@juno.com.<