Celebrating Merle Haggard & Loretta Lynn at The Hook and Ladder

Join us as we celebrate county music royalty – Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn. This special concert features Trevor McSpadden and Ali Gray, backed by The DL4.

Trevor McSpadden and The DL4 will perform many of Merle’s biggest hits and lesser known songs. They capture the spirit of a performer that refused to bend to country music convention and helped create the Bakersfield sound. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Merle Haggard racked up an astounding 38 number one country hits and every major award imaginable. You’ll hear songs like “Mama Tried,” “Okie From Muskogee,” “I’m A Lonesome Fugitive” and many others that continue to inspire new generations of artists and fans alike.

Trevor McSpadden worked Central Texas dance halls before perfecting his hard honky-tonk sound in the nightclubs of Chicago. Moving to California in early 2014, Trevor made short work of ingratiating himself to the Golden State. Now based out of Saint Paul, McSpadden’s carefully crafted twang is at home in both beer joints and listening rooms, inspiring audiences to dance and carry on in the time-honored way.

Ali Gray and The DL4 will honor Loretta Lynn’s greatest songs; “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “You’re Lookin’ At Country,” “One’s on the Way,” “The Pill,” and many more! Along with a few Conway Twitty duets (featuring Dan Neale) like “After the Fire is Gone” and “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.” Loretta’s life story reads more like fiction than fact. A poorly educated woman from the coal-mining hills of Kentucky, married at age fifteen and a mother at sixteen, she became one of country music’s most popular performers and broke ground for numerous female singers who followed her.

Ali Gray has been writing songs and performing in various bands for over 25 years. With 5 studio albums under her belt, Ali continues to release new singles reguarly. When she isn’t writing and recording, you can find her singing full-time in on of her multiple projects: Ali Gray’s Country Jamboree, Ali & Joe, DRUNCH!, Twang Time, Martin Zellar’s Neil Diamond Tribute, Tim Sigler’s All Churched Up, Parrothead Paradise, Two Hicks and a Chick, and Mish Mash.Ali is also a regular guest co-host on the BOB 106 morning show.

DL4 is fronted by Dan Lowinger and includes some of the regions best musicians:

* Dan Lowinger (guitar) – Since moving to the Twin Cities in 2017, Dan has become a fixture in the local country and Americana scene, playing on a regular basis with all-star Western swing band Honky Tonk Jump, and country rockers Cole Diamond, while also sharing the stage with local greats Martin Zellar (Gear Daddies), Tony Andreason (The Trashmen), Pat Donohue (Prairie Home Companion) and many others! He has performed regionally and toured nationally with many different country and swing bands from the Pacific Northwest including.

* Dan Neale (guitar) – Dan is a guitarist who moves easily from blues and country to pop, jazz, and rock. Fingerpicking, flatpicking — he’s got it covered. Back when he was a high school kid in Chattanooga, he began to think about a career in music. He played in the school band and in a group formed by his brother. That led to work with a slew of bar bands and a full-time stint in country rock group called Rawhide. In 1986, he left Tennessee for Minnesota (“I married a woman who hated hot weather,” he says). As a studio player and sideman, he has worked with Martin Zellar, Bobby Vee, and a host of others.

* Ken Wilson (Pedal Steel) – A Twin Cities treasure, Ken has played and/or recorded with acts such as Paulette Carlson of Highway 101, John Hermanson and Chris Cunningham of Storyhill, John McAndrew, Becky Schlegel, and Sherwin Linton.

* Erik Lillestol (Bass) – Erik is a long-standing freelance Twin Cities bass player, most notably playing the french and gypsy-influenced jazz of the Cafe Accordion Orchestra.

* Scott Wenum (Drums) – Scott is a high demand twin cities drummer who plays with Martin Zellar and many others.