<p>Hear Gerle Haggard, a Merle Haggard tribute band, perform at the Sou'Wester Lodge in Seaview, Wash.</p>

SEAVIEW, Wash. Hear timeless country melodies performed by Gerle Haggard, an all-female Merle Haggard tribute band, Saturday, Dec. 21. The musical entertainment will begin at 8 p.m. and go until 10 p.m. inside the historic SouWester Lodge. The event is free and open to the public.

Singer-songwriter Maria Callahan is the bands creator and lead vocalist. Callahan may be best known as the lead vocalist in the 1990s power pop band Doris Daze. This multi-instrumentalist has become an increasingly sought after artist for live shows and session work in varying genres. More recently, Callahan has explored her own country roots and plays in a number of bands, including Panther Creek, Concrete Cowboys and the Ryan Oetken Band.

Keyboardist Salisa Williams (The Rock Doctors, The Curbs) grew up listening to Merle Haggard (in between barrel races) in her hometown of Muskogee, Okla. Jennifer Adams (Rick Rack, Super Plus, Wunder Pants) is the bands bassist, who appreciates a good square dance in a ruffly dress. Drummer Nikki Jardin strives for the perfect amount of grease in her train beat.

Gerle Haggard is a tribute band for the American country-western singer, songwriter, guitarist, fiddler and instrumentalist Merle Haggard, also known as The Hag. Haggard and his band, The Strangers, helped create the Bakersfield sound. He is notable for the twang of a Fender Telecaster (a solid-body electric guitar) mixing with a traditional country steel guitar, new vocal harmony styles that minimized lyrics, and a rough edge. Haggard is different from the more polished Nashville sound. He became aligned with the outlaw country movement in the 1970s and has continued to release successful albums throughout the 1990s into the 2000s. In 1994, Haggard was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and in 1997 into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

The SouWester Lodge is located at 3728 J. Place Seaview, Wash. For more informaiton, call 360-642-2542 or visit www.souwesterlodge.com