After teasing the thousands of Houstonians left out in the cold by Hannah Montana and her mysterious alter ego Miley Cyrus’ November concert at the microscopic Toyota Center, RodeoHouston confirmed this morning that the duo, who for some reason have never been photographed in the same room, will co-headline Reliant Stadium Sunday, March 9. If anyone cares, 19 other pop, rock, R&B, Tejano and country artists will also play the world’s largest rodeo sometime between March 3 and March 22.

As usual, the rest of the lineup is heavy on stadium country, with Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith and Brooks & Dunn filling in for the absent George Strait – King George entertains Thursday at Austin’s Frank Erwin Center, if you absolutely have to get your fix – plus country-ish crossover acts (Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Big & Rich); Texas music all-stars (Kevin Fowler, Pat Green); Nashvillians some critics actually like (Brad Paisley; Miranda Lambert) the traditional nods to “Go Tejano Day” (Duelo/Los Horoscopes de Durango) and “Black Heritage Day” (John Legend); and a smattering of artists who are probably considering firing their agent for booking them to follow bull riding and barrel racing (John Fogerty; Fergie).

Tickets for all RodeoHouston 2008 shows go on sale this Saturday at all Ticketmaster outlets – except the actual Reliant Park box office, which isn’t selling until Monday, January 14 – and www.ticketmaster.com. Saturday only, there is a 10-ticket cap for the McGraw, Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts and Fergie shows. Note: RodeoHouston’s full Season Ticket package ($380 per, plus $10 handling fee) and Mini-Season package B ($171 per, plus $10 handling fee), both on sale now, are the only way to procure Cyrus/Montana tickets, short of falsely claiming your dad was recently killed in Iraq in a contest entry written by your mom. The full 2008 lineup follows:

March 3: Tim McGraw March 4: Faith Hill March 5: Kevin Fowler March 6: Alan Jackson March 7 (Black Heritage Day): John Legend March 8: Martina McBride March 9: Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus March 10: Sugarland March 11: Rascal Flatts March 12: John Fogerty March 13: Toby Keith March 14: Clay Walker March 15: Brad Paisley March 16 (Go Tejano Day): Duelo/Los Horoscopos de Durango March 17: Miranda Lambert March 18: Big & Rich March 19: Fergie March 20: Dierks Bentley March 21: Pat Green March 22: Brooks & Dunn

For more information on the whole RodeoHouston shootin’ match, see www.rodeohouston.com. – Chris Gray