(CelebrityAccess News Service) — Merle Haggard has started his own record label, Hag Records, which will be distributed through Comependia Media Group. The debut album, "Haggard Like Never Before," will be released September 30. Tom Thacker, a former manager and producer of Glen Campbell and Ike and Tina Turner, is the president of the label.
"For the first time, I wanted to be in complete control and get it right," says Haggard regarding the creation of Hag Records.
In his legendary 40-year plus career, Haggard has not only recorded 38 #1 country hits, but he has written dozens of standards which have been performed by artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Supersuckers, Elvis Costello, Dwight Yoakam, The Grateful Dead and even Dean Martin. He has also published two best-selling biographies and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Haggard will also be hitting the road again in late August in support of "Haggard Like Never Before."
Haggard itinerary:
8/22 Huntington, WV Big Sandy Superstore Arena
8/23 Brooksville, KY Foots Club Grounds
8/24 Somerset, KY Center for Rural Development
8/26 Columbus, OH Club Dance
8/27 South Bend, IN Morris Pac
8/28 Poplar Bluff, MO Black River Coliseum
8/29 Branson, MO The Grand Palace
8/30 Double Springs, AL Looneys Amphitheater
8/31 Atlanta, GA Stone Mountain
10/2 Mount Pleasant, MI Soaring Eagle Casino
10/3 Jim Thorpe, PA Penn's Peak
10/5 Alexandria, VA The Birchmere
10/6 Annapolis, MD Maryland Hall for Creative Arts
10/7 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
10/8 Verona, NY Turning Stone Casino Resort
10/10 Wheeling, WV Capitol Music Hall
10/11 Metropolis, IL Harrah's Casino
10/12 Branson, MO The Grand Palace
11/7 Bossier City, LA Horseshoe Casino &Hotel
11/8 Kinder, LA The Grand Casino
11/9 Little Rock, AR Clear Channel Expo Center
11/14 Ft. Worth, TX Billy Bob's
–by Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
