During the third night of his six-night residency at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, country singer Vince Gill paid tribute to his late friend and musical hero Merle Haggard. Gill highlighted his 2013 album Bakersfield, a collection of Haggard and Buck Owens covers made with steel guitarist Paul Franklin, performing songs from both artists before sharing personal memories of Haggard, who died in 2016.

Gill opened with Haggard's 1966 track "The Bottle Let Me Down," calling it the best drinking song he had ever heard, and also performed Owens' 1964 hit "Together Again." He recounted first meeting Haggard backstage after a show near Red Rocks Amphitheatre, guided there by Emmylou Harris, and recalled his surprise that Haggard already knew his work. Gill closed the tribute with his own composition "A World Without Haggard," written after Haggard's death, telling the audience that "country music is alive and well."