Following in the hallowed footsteps of Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard will be the next name in country music to grace downtown Nashville with a museum.
On Oct. 30, Merle Haggard’s family and Icon Entertainment—the group behind the Johnny Cash Museum and Patsy Cline Museum—announced plans for the Merle Haggard Museum, which is tentatively slated to open in the summer of 2018. The Merle Haggard Museum will feature performance wardrobes, instruments, professional and personal possessions and interactive exhibits.
Located at 121 Third Avenue South, the building will also house Merle’s Meat + 3 Saloon on the ground level, with the Merle Haggard Museum on an upper floor. The restaurant will be operated by the Swett family, which has run Swett’s Restaurant in Nashville for 62 years.
“Merle would be very happy knowing that his museum will be next door to his dear friend, Johnny Cash,” said Theresa Haggard, Merle’s widow. “I’m sure he is up there smiling about that. Our family is also very excited about the Merle-themed restaurant and bar featuring first-class Southern home cooking and a saloon to boot. This museum will be a way to preserve and share the love Merle had for music and life.”
