George Strait is Making Sentimental Stops on His ‘Cowboy Rides Away’ Tour

George Strait's upcoming tour may be his last, but there promises to be plenty of opportunity to bid King George farewell in person. As of now, Strait has plans to visit at least 40 cities into 2014. But the first leg of the 'Cowboy Rides Away' tour doesn't just form a straight line from one major city to another. The 21-city stretch includes stops in some places that are special to the country legend.

In an interview with GAC, George conceded that there are some fans he just needs to play for one more time before he calls it quits.

“These are cities that we have gone to a lot over the years. We just tried to pick the ones that were somewhat special to us and to just go and be able to say thanks. We start out in Lubbock [January 18]. We’re going to go up there and play for a bunch of Red Raiders, that’s always fun. We always enjoy playing Lubbock. We’re going to end this next year in my hometown of San Antonio at the Alamo Dome so that’ll be a great night also.”

Since most of George Strait's bandmates, the Ace In The Hole Band, have been on stage with him through most of his career, and they've been like a family to him. So, what was it like telling them he was ready to hang it up? George explains it wasn't too difficult.

“I think they had it in the back of their minds. It’s not like it’s going to happen tomorrow. Two years is a long time. We’ve got 40 dates to do in the next two years and they’re going to be so much fun. The band and I will have a lot of time to visit in that time about what we’re going to do after that.”

Tickets for 20 of the 21 cities of the January 18-June 1 portion of the 'Cowboy Rides Away' tour go on sale October 12. The only sale date to be determined is the June 1 show in Strait's hometown of San Antonio. Martina McBride will open all of those dates, and the Randy Rogers Band will also join the tour for the March 17 concert in Houston.

George Strait 2013 'Cowboy Rides AwayTour' Dates:

Jan. 18 Lubbock, Texas
Jan. 19 Oklahoma City
Jan. 25 Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan. 26 Nampa, Idaho
Jan. 31 Sacramento, Calif.
Feb. 1 Fresno, Calif.
Feb. 2 Las Vegas
Feb. 15 St. Paul, Minn.
Feb. 16 Grand Forks, N.D.
Feb. 22 Buffalo, N.Y.
Feb. 23 Hartford, Conn.
March 1 Knoxville, Tenn.
March 2 Lexington, Ky.
March 17 Houston
March 22 Greenville, S.C.
March 23 Greensboro, N.C.
April 5 Albuquerque, N.M.
April 6 Las Cruces, N.M.
April 12 N. Little Rock, Ark.
April 13 New Orleans, La.
June 1 San Antonio, Texas