Singing legend Merle Haggard headed to Dauphin Countryfest

The Okie From Muskogee, MerleHaggard,is booked to perform at next summer's Dauphin Countryfest.

Haggard, 78, will play themain stage on July 3. The festival,Canada's longest-running countrymusic festival, goesJune 30 to July 3, 2016.

During his five decades of performing, Haggard has developed ahard-living, whisky-and-cigarette-fuelledreputation. He had part of a cancerous lung removed in 2008 but was back in concert less than two months later.

He has 38 No. 1 hits on various music charts, three Grammy Awards and numerous other accolades, and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Other acts that have been recently announced for Countryfestinclude:

• Autumn Hill,
• High Valley,
• Dallas Smith,
• Dean Brody,
• Chris Janson,
• Thomas Rhett and
• Lady Antebellum.