George Strait is believed to have set a record for the largest single ticketed concert in U.S. history, with 110,905 in attendance for his June 15 show at Texas A&M Kyle Field with guests Parker McCollum and Catie Offerman. The total would surpass the 107,019 Deadheads in attendance at their 1977 show at Raceway Park in New Jersey, a concert that took place before the Pollstar Era.
The show beat the Kyle Field record for an event, previously set at 110,633 for a football game between Texas A&M and Ole Miss on Oct. 11, 2014. Almost a decade to the date prior, on his “The Cowboy Rides Away Tour,” Strait sold 104,793 tickets and grossed $18,194,374 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on June 7, 2014.
The King of Country clearly hasn’t lost a bit of staying power, with his Texas homecoming in the midst of a 2024 leg of stadium dates with Chris Stapleton and Little Big Town that kicked off May 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with attendance of 51,132 and grossing $13,859,149.
“George Strait: The King” is produced by Messina Touring Group. Founder and CEO Louis Messina wasn’t immediately available to comment on the record-setting performance.
In the last three years, Strait has continued to be a stadium powerhouse, averaging 36,266 tickets sold and grossing $9,094,094. He was booked for many years by Nashville agent Erv Woolsey, who died March 20.
But Saturday’s College Station, Texas gig was special – not just for Strait, but for birthday boy Parker McCollum.
Strait greeted the record crowd after his second song of the night, “I Got A Car,” taking it all in. “It’s so good to be here with Catie Offerman and Parker McCollum – let’s have another big round of applause for those two. And happy birthday Parker, my gosh, what a day, what a place to spend your birthday, right?”
A statement from Strait said that demand for the show had an economic effect in College Station’s west-central Texas region, too, “filling every hotel, bed & breakfast, and Airbnb within a 40-mile radius.”
Strait’s set included “Here For A Good Time,” “Check Yes or No,” “I Can Still Make Cheyenne,” “Troubadour,” “Amarillo By Morning,” and “Take Me To Texas” as well as music off his anticipated new album: “MIA in MIA,” “Three Drinks Behind,” Jennings’ “Waymore’s Blues” and the unreleased “To The Moon.”
Strait paused midway through his set to turn the stage just over to Retired Lt. General Leroy Sisco, presenting his 118th home to hero, Sgt. Tiffany Baker, via Military Warriors Support Foundation’s Homes 4 Wounded Heroes Program. Additionally, through an ongoing front-row ticket raffle fundraiser benefiting the Jenifer Strait Foundation, powered by Propeller, at each of the last 17 shows Strait has signed and donated “the shirt off his back” for the charitable initiative. To date, the program has surpassed $1.1 million raised for the foundation.
Four stadium shows on Strait’s tour with his Ace in the Hole Band:
6/29 Rice-Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT
7/13 Ford Field Detroit, MI
7/20 Soldier Field Chicago, IL
12/7 Allegiant Stadium Las Vegas, NV