Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson Perform in Newkirk, Oklahoma

The legendary Merle Haggard and award winning singer-songwriter, actor, Kris Kristofferson performed in concert at First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma on March 12 and I was there.

It was my first time seeing award winning pair.

The 74-year-old Kristofferson looked good for his age but sounded every bit 74 or older.

The 73-year-old Haggard, looked 73 or older but sounded as good as ever.

Kristofferson opened the show with his aging voice and many in the crowd could be heard chuckling.

Haggard then took the stage and from there the pair sang together and took turns performing.

Most of the tunes performed I found somewhat slow and depressing, and in some cases Kristofferson's sound made the music depressing.

Kristofferson performed the song "Help Me Make it Through the Night" and at one point, jokingly changed the words to Help Me Make it Through Tonight, all the time critics were thinking Help Me Make it Through This Concert.

Other songs performed by Kristofferson included "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" which charted in 1971.

After many other slow tunes about love gone bad, Haggard picked up the pace with "Okie From Muskogee," a tune that got him inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

Before singing the classic, Haggard told the crowd that his dad was from Oklahoma and that the song was for him.

The opening line was "We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee." Many laughed and cheered, so Haggard paused, and jokingly told the crowd to be careful or arrests could be made.

After awakening the crowd with the Oklahoma favorite, it was back to the slow selections.

I watched as the tears filled my beer from the crying the depressing music was causing. Then the music paused and Haggard introduced members of the band which included his youngest son, Ben.

Then over an hour into the performance, Haggard said it was time to perform a song made famous by he and Willie Nelson.

The song, "Pancho and Lefty," was performed with Kristofferson singing Nelson's part.

It was probably Kristofferson's best performance of the night.

And with that the 80 minute performance came to a close.

Despite the fact that I found Kristofferson's voice suffering, and many of the songs too slow for my taste, I do appreciate the fact that I had an opportunity to see two classic performers and I applaud the fact that they are still able to perform in their 70s, and I give Haggard an extra gold star for the fact that he is currently a lung cancer survivor and despite that battle he still has a winning voice.

The pair's next scheduled performance is May 1 in Indio, California. at the Stagecoach Festival.