After the 2018 RODEOHOUSTON ended, there was the expected post-Rodeo chatter. Who put on the best show? (The second Garth show was amazing, but I still lean toward Luke Bryan.) Who put on the worst show? (Little Big Town was the only show I heard anyone complain about after it happened.) Was the Leon Bridges experiment worth it? (Yes, because Bun B showed up.) Who do we want to see next year? (Insert your hopes and dreams here.)
The one question I didn’t hear anyone asking was “How will the top 2018?” This is fair because when you open and close a Rodeo season with Garth Brooks there really isn’t anywhere else to go. In music, country or otherwise, you just don’t get much bigger than Garth, so it would be almost foolish to think that the Rodeo would be able to match that booking feat, let alone top it.
Well, RODEOHOUSTON dropped a bombshell announcement Tuesday morning. In 2019, the King of Country is coming back.
On March 17, George Strait will take the stage at NRG Stadium—his only Texas date of 2019—for his 30th RODEOHOUSTON performance. Yes, I can already feel your “will I get tickets to this show?” anxiety forming.
Last seen on the Rodeo stage in 2013, Strait hasn’t exactly been quiet since his Cowboy Rides Away Tour ended in 2014. He’s got his business interests, his charity interests, and his run of shows in Vegas. He’s never even felt that far away from the Rodeo, given the number of artists who’ve dropped a bit of his music into their sets when they’ve taken the rotating stage. Like that last Rodeo show in 2013, there will be no pre-concert rodeo before Strait takes the stage, which makes sense, because no one wants George Strait to come to town and only play an hour, no matter how much we love mutton bustin’.
It does beg the question of what do they have on deck for 2020? Who could they possible book? That’s a blog post for another day, but I personally hope its Dolly.
More details about the King of Country’s return will be released in the coming months, including ticket buying details and opening acts. If you’re thinking about running an event mid-March and have been eyeing March 17, find a different day.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2018.
