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George Strait Sets NRG Stadium Record Cresting 80k Tickets
Rick Diamond/County Rising / Getty Images – George Strait
George Strait plays the Country Rising Benefit Concert at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Nov. 12.
With venue attendance records seemingly being broken all the time, country legend George Strait set a doozy of a high watermark with the closing gig of the
Houston was good to him, as the Rodeo reported 80,108 tickets for the show, breaking the previous record for concert event attendance at NRG Stadium, also previously held by him at 80,020. That 2013 show grossed $8.18 million as reported to Pollstar.
Strait is officially retired from touring, but he still occasionally performs one or multiple nights in various markets when he feels like it. And the man is an absolute showstopper in terms of box office, having grossed $4.3 million over two nights at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena Feb. 1-2. He also played at Frank Erwin Center in Austin and BOK Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., last year, as well as multiple runs at T-Mobile Arena.
Beyond his hitmaker status in the recording industry, Strait has been a key figure in the development of country music’s live scene, as Louis Messina sang the artist’s praise in a recent cover feature for Pollstar.
“Everything that I do in some way, with the exception of the Lumineers, is connected to George Strait,” Messina said.
Strait’s next gig is March 30 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and he is also planning stops in Columbus, Ohio; Las Vegas; and Fort Worth, Texas.