George Strait has retired from the road, but that doesn't mean fans can't still see him live in concert. The country music legend has announced a series of exclusive gigs coming up in Las Vegas, and Taste of Country readers are getting a shot at the best seats via this exclusive pre-sale.

Strait said goodbye to touring with his the Cowboy Rides Away Tour, which kicked off in 2013 and wrapped up in 2014, taking him on one final rodeo at some of the most important concert venues of his career. But the iconic performer made it clear that he would continue to play select dates and bring music to his fans, and at a press conference at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Tuesday (Sept. 22), the King of Country announced a series of four very special performances at the brand-new Las Vegas Arena, which is opening in April of 2016.

Strait will be among the first artists to perform at the new venue, kicking off with two performances on April 22-23, 2016. He has two more dates scheduled for Sept. 9-10, 2016 and two more December 2 and 3, 2016. Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves will serve as Strait's opening act for all shows.

"I'm very excited to be coming back out and playing for the fans out there," Strait says. "I'm really looking forward to it so much. Come April it'll be about a year and 10 months since I performed with my band ... It's gonna be exciting to get back out there again. I'm looking forward to singing those songs that I love so much."

The shows will be a far cry from the first gig Strait played in Vegas early in his career.

"I think it was at the Frontier. It was tough," he recalls with a laugh. "It was back when two shows a night were common, and I really wasn't ready for that to start with. But from there I think we went to the Hilton, and I played the room there and stayed in the Elvis Presley suite, which was awesome. Did that for quite a few years, and then of course we did the movie Pure Country, we filmed it at the Mirage, and I played the Mirage. I played the Nugget, and then I ended up here. [Vegas] kinda feels like home now."

Tickets for the Vegas shows go on sale to the general public on Oct. 2, but Taste of Country readers can act early via this exclusive pre-sale, beginning on Friday (Sept. 25) at 1PM ET and running through Sept. 30. Visit this link to buy tickets using the pre-sale code TASTE.

Strait also announced a new studio album at the press conference. The country legend will release Cold Beer Conversation on Sept. 25 via iTunes, Apple Music and Walmart. The album is currently available for pre-order at iTunes. The title song and lead single from the project debuted at country radio on Wednesday (Sept. 23).

Click the button below to purchase tickets to the #StraitToVegas shows via the exclusive pre-sale.

See Every George Strait Album, Ranked! 

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