George Strait Sells 77,000 Tickets in 2 Minutes for Houston Show

The Associated Press, Sunday, January 20, 2013, 4:00pm (PST)

Billboard -- In a career that keeps making history, George Strait added even more numbers to his Hall of Fame career last week. The MCA recording artist is set to perform on the closing night of this year's Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo at Reliant Stadium on March 17.

When tickets were released to the general public earlier this week, the demand was so overwhelming that it resulted in over 77,000 tickets sold within the first two minutes. As astronomical as those numbers are, they are par for the course. "The Cowboy Rides Away Tour," the final U.S. tour for the country crooner, has proven to be a hot ticket around the country. Many of the dates for 2013 have sold out only moments after going on sale. The tour, which kicked off this past weekend, opened to some huge numbers -- over 15,000 in Lubbock, as well as 17,064 in Oklahoma City.

"To say that George Strait is an icon or to say that he is the 'King of Country Music' is an understatement when referring to his drawing power at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo," says Leroy Shafer, the show's VP and COO. "I have been involved with marketing rodeo and concerts here since 1973 and this is the hottest show we have put on sale in those 40 years.This is going to shatter all Reliant Stadium attendance records."

Strait's March 17 show at the 81st annual event will mark his 29th HLSR performance.

His current single, "Give It All We Got Tonight," is climbing the Country Songs chart (No. 25), and is the first single from his upcoming album -- due for release later this year.

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