“We Know Kris Loves Merle”: Willie Nelson’s Son and Miranda Lambert Honored Kris Kristofferson With One of the Greatest Tribute Covers You’ll Ever Hear

Miranda Lambert and Lukas Nelson honored Kris Kristofferson in a memorable way. A few years back, shortly after Kristofferson died, the country stars teamed up to pay tribute to him.

“One of our dear, dear friends and heroes just passed away, Mr. Kris Kristofferson,” Lambert told the Nashville crowd at the Music For Mutts benefit concert. “I got to sing this next song with him a couple of times, and it was one of the biggest highlights of my career.”

“Lukas and I decided we would do a Merle song, because we know Kris loves Merle,” she added of Merle Haggard, before she and Nelson began performing “Silver Wings.”

Haggard released the track in 1969, and Kristofferson was known to cover it at his shows.

As Lambert mentioned in the clip, she and Kristofferson had performed the song together as well. In 2010, when Haggard was part of the Kennedy Centers Honors class, Lambert and Kristofferson performed it at the ceremony.

Following Kristofferson’s 2024 death, Lambert took to Instagram to share a photo with the legendary musician, as well as a video from their performance.

“@kristofferson thank you for everything. Forever a hero. Your songs will live forever,” she captioned the post. “So thankful I got to share the stage with you. Rest easy.”

What to Know About Miranda Lambert

Lambert is currently gearing up for a big moment in her career, as she’s set to release her next LP, Crisco, on Oct. 2. Fans have already heard the album’s title track, as well as a second song, “Till the Going’s Gone.”

“We wanted something that feels familiar but also fresh, which is really hard to do,” Lambert said of the former song. “We leaned into all the things I grew up loving about country music – Glen Campbell, Kenny and Dolly; very ’70s and ’80s.”

“It’s a fun mix of all these sides of country music that I’ve never fully explored before, even down to using strings in a bigger way,” she added. “I almost can’t believe I’ve made this many records without really going there, but it was magical to hear how much strings can transform a song.” 

Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for ABA

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