Marty Stuart and Merle Haggard to Announce Details of Their Electric Barnyard Tour, A Summer Tour of America's Heartland on June 2 at Rowan Oak, William Faulkner's Estate in Oxford, MS

Stuart also to announce his first album of the 21st century, Country Music


Press Release from Shore Fire Media - May 30, 2003

From the picturesque setting of Rowan Oak, the estate of William Faulkner on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS, country music scholar and Grammy winning musician Marty Stuart and legend Merle Haggard will announce the details of their special summer tour to America's heartland, The Electric Barnyard Tour, on June 2 at Noon.

Marty Stuart says, "The Electric Barnyard tour is a rolling country music show that's part tent show, part revival meeting. . . I designed the event to play in small towns and rural atmospheres throughout America taking various forms of country music back to the people of the land." Merle Haggard summed it up nicely when he said "We're going back to remember the forgotten ones." It stars Marty Stuart and his fabulous Superlatives, Merle Haggard and The Strangers, BR549, Connie Smith, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage and The Old Crow Medicine Show. In addition to topnotch music, each date will offer an old-timey atmosphere, great food and a cheap ticket.

Stuart will also announce the release of his first album of the 21st Century, his love letter to the country music genre, Country Music (Sony Nashville), to be released on July 1.

All artists on the bill will be attending and performing at the press conference: Marty Stuart & the Fabulous Superlatives, Merle Haggard, Connie Smith, Rhonda Vincent, BR549 and Old Crow Medicine Show. Nashville's 650 WSM AM Radio, Sirius Satellite Stream 132 and WSM Online will broadcast the press conference that day.

On June 1 at 2:30 p.m., Haggard will perform at Center for Performing Arts on the campus of University of Mississippi. Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives are opening the show.

A child prodigy, country musician and scholar, Marty Stuart joined Lester Flatt's bluegrass band in 1971 at the age of thirteen as a guitarist. Fusing honky tonk with a gritty rockabilly backbeat and a fondness for bluegrass, Stuart went on to a successful solo career recording and producing hit records. He has spent the last few years working on film scores (All the Pretty Horses, Hi-Lo Country to name a few), an album and book of words and photographs called Pilgrims and working as the President of the Country Music Foundation, a post recently vacated after a six year tenure. In 2002, Stuart produced and performed on the Grammy nominated tribute to the songs of Johnny Cash, Kindred Spirits (Sony Nashville).

Perhaps the most important country musician to emerge in the 1960's, Merle Haggard, drawing from country, jazz, blues, and folk to push musical boundaries, has influenced an entire generation of performers.

About 650 WSM-AM
Home to the world-famous Grand Ole Opry for more than 77 years, 650 WSM-AM plays the best in country music. America's Country Music Station is a nationally-known leader and major influence in the broadcast industry. 650 WSM-AM is owned by Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET), a leading hospitality and entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information, visit www.wsmonline.com or www.gaylordentertainment.com.

CONTACT:
Kate Andrews Gullo
Shore Fire Media
kgullo@shorefire.com
718.522.7171 ext. 20


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