Photos from my collection taken at George Strait's record-setting concert on June 7th at AT&T Stadium.....all the artists below were invited to sing duets with King George and, at the end, joined him on stage for a 3-song Encore...
First up was Vince Gill....who literally ran onstage...they sang "Lovebug"...and then, to the delight of the crowd, "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind"....
After George sang "River of Love" and "Lead On" ....out walked Jason Aldean for 2 more songs:
Jason helped George with his first #1 song...."Fool Hearted Memory"....then sang "Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her"....
To the surprise and delight of fans, Bubba joined Dad onstage for "Arkansas Dave"...George told the story of how Bubba had called him on the phone to tell him he'd written that song by himself...sang a bit of it over the phone...George liked it so much he recorded it on his next album and has been singing it in concert ever since....BTW....the song is based on a true story.....
Couple songs later, it was Eric Chuch's turn with the King...they sang "Cowboys Like Us" and "Easy Come' Easy Go".....they exchanged a big hug before Eric left the stage....
After George sang my fave Strait song from the 80s..."Marina Del Rey" (the first song I ever heard him sing on radio).....Sheryl Crowe joined him on stage for "Here For a Good Time" and "When Did You stop Loving Me"....a single from his film "Pure Country"...
George and Sheryl were very playful on stage...as you can see above...even holding hands for awhile (below)....lucky gal....;)
George then got serious singing "I Can Still Make Cheyenne" and "Drinkin' Man"....but soon Martina McBride joined him to lighten the mood again....they sang "Jackson" and "Golden Ring" :
Taking a break from music, George gave away a home to another war veteran ...this time a Medal of Honor winner in the Dallas area....(photo above)...after the presentation by the Military Warrior Support Foundation, George sang "Give it Away" and "I Got a Car".....
Faith Hill joined the King to sing the haunting ballad "A Showman's Life"....George recalled how when he first heard that song, he immediately wanted Faith to record it with him and how wonderful it would be...well, she did and the recording is magnificent....her voice blended beautifully with his to create a masterpiece which they re-created on stage.....afterwards Faith pointed out how all those people were there to see him..George joked how he may not "come down" from that high for a few days....it was endearing...especially when we already know how Faith has had a long-standing and self-described "crush" on him since her teen years...very sweet....I can only imagine how meaningful it was for her to be on that stage, that night, singing with him....;)
They also sang "Let's Fall to Pieces Together"....a special treat since George hasn't done that song in concert in more than a decade....
Here's an especially delightful photo...I think it shows how much she adores him....she's a "fan" in awe of him...just like all of us....:)
After singing "I Believe" and "Blame it on Mexico"...Alan Jackson joined George on stage for "Amarillo by Morning" and they tore it up on their controversial, and still very relevant duet, "Murder on Music Row"...for which they won the 2000 CMA Award for Vocal Event of the Year....
After AJ left the stage, George treated fans to two of his sexier and most romantic songs....his smash hit from 1985 "The Chair"... for which he received perhaps the longest ovation of the night and arguably one of his Top 5 biggest hits ever....and then his #1 single, "Give it All We Got Tonight"....you all might remember the "60-for-60" campaign from MCA Records to secure the King his 60th #1 before he turned 61 years old which was ultimately successful....:) !!! Then Miranda Lambert joined him for 2 more duets....
Miranda is kind of like Faith....she adores George and has been a fan of his forever....she's told the story of sitting on the very back row of a stadium many years ago at one of his concerts...then being on the 12th row at another....and then on stage singing with him and how thrilled she was!!! She's always fun and flirty....a real cool gal....and Blake has said that George is "charmed by Miranda" and how much he appreciates that....they sang "How 'bout Them Cowgirls" and "Run"....
George sang "You Look So Good in Love" and an emotional "I'll Always Remember You"....then it was time to bring Kenny Chesney on stage.....
Long time Strait-watchers know Kenny is a huge Strait fan...he toured with George back in the Festival days and they recorded "Shiftwork" for one of Kenny's albums...but tonight they sang "Ocean Front Property" and "The Fireman"....and exchanged a big hug before he left the stage....
After another huge hit... "Troubadour"...George launched into "Unwound"...his first single....no doubt it was hard for fans to accept the end of the concert was near....although we knew he would be back for his traditional Encore songs....George circled the stage waving goodbye and walked off.....a few minutes later he returned bringing his entire guest lineup along....
Everyone took turns singing parts of "All My Exs Live in Texas"...and the Aces, as usual, showed off their skills during "Folsom Prison Blues"......
At the end...George told the fans that he "almost hated to sing this song right now"....then did the best he could with "The Cowboy Rides Away"...as I've noted in the other George only gallery, the stage stopped in front of the section me and my friends were at on the front row standing at the railing...he was right in front of us as he sang...we could see him fighting back tears while the ladies on the right of the stage were openly weeping....the guys on the other side were just standing there...serious faces...taking in this historic moment....it was not hard to see the look on their faces how they too were emotional.....once George ended the song he wiped away tears and his voice cracked as he said his final farewell....he walked the stage from one end to the other...hugged each of his guests....waved goodbye to the fans and started to walk down the steps when he realized he had forgotten to throw his black Resistol to the crowd....he walked back up....sent the hat flying and walked off ....I looked around me and saw others crying along with myself.....some of us hugged....the Cowboy rode away for the last time....
Glad my camera captured this moment: Martina put her hand on George's back and rubbed it gently....perhaps she sensed how difficult this was for him...having toured with him last year and part of this year, she surely knows him well....we'll never know, but it seemed she was trying to provide some comfort to him...it was nice to see....
