REDD VOLKAERT
Redd Volkaert is best known to country music audiences as the lead guitarist since 1997 for Merle Haggard’s band The Strangers. He discovered the music of Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Led Zeppelin, Albert King and Johnny Winter at a very young age while living in British Columbia, Canada and Edmonton, Alberta. Their musical influence gave him the desire to follow his heart and he began playing guitar with his brother’s hand-me-down guitar in the late 60’s. As a teen in Canada, he was able to play with artists like Vern Gosdin, Kenny RogerS, Don Gibson, and Ferlin Husky. After moving to the United States, he played in Redding, California and LA and then all over Texas with The Red Steagall Band. He then moved to Nashville in the 90’s to play with Don Kelley. He also worked as a guitarist for Ray Price, Dale Watson and Lucy J. Dalton. Merle Haggard called him in 1997 and asked him to play with his band and he played for a time with both Merle’s and Don’s Bands. He decided to make Austin, Texas his home in 2000 after leaving Nashville. He enjoys the live music scene in Austin with its wide variety of music, including country, blues, swing, jazz, tejano and salsa in the many different musical venues. Today, Redd has his own band, does some recording and TV work and flies to Nashville occasionally to record. He also does some guitar clinic work in various places. Redd has had the opportunity to play with many greats: Larry Gatlin, Johnny Paycheck, The Statler Brothers, George Jones, Brad Paisley, Pat Green and Tim McGraw and so many others that are too numerous to list here. Volkaert is featured as a Legend on the new television show, “The Texas Songwriter Show “premiering January 6, 2013. He is also in the show band playing with other Legends and Texas Songwriters that will be featured on the new show that is filmed in Austin at the Broken Spoke.