In a career spanning more than 40 years, country music legend MERLE HAGGARD has found a new direction to explore with THE BLUEGRASS SESSIONS release, in stores OCT 2nd. HAGGARD’s first-ever foray into bluegrass – to be released by bluegrass luminary Del McCoury’s McCoury Music label – features a duet with Alison Krauss on the HAGGARD-penned classic “Mama’s Hungry Eyes.”

Joined by a savvy cast of musicians like Marty Stuart and Alison Krauss, Stuart explains in the disc’s liner notes. “Each take became a performance. Merle’s singing was totally inspired,” Although SESSIONS marks HAGGARD’s first venture into bluegrass, he has been hailed as “the indomitable guardian of country tradition” in Blender, and dubbed “the most influential country singer of his generation” by the L.A. Times.

Listen to tracks from this new release due to drop on OCT. 2nd
visit www.mccourymusic.com
or www.myspace.com/mccourymusic
McCoury Music has a video clip on their website from the new album. It’s track 8 entitled “Holding Things Together.” The link is www.mccourymusic.com/mhvideo1.cfm
This was recorded November 6 & 7, 2006 in Hendersonville, TN at the Skaggs Family Recording Studio.