Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will commence an approximately 40-date tour together July 12 at Atlanta's Phillips Arena. Called the "Soul 2 Soul Tour 2000," it will be jointly sponsored by Bud Light (for McGraw) and ALLTEL (for Hill). Only the first leg of the concert series -- which consists of 23 dates -- is being announced now.

A spokeswoman for the tour says that the mediagenic husband and wife team will play venues that seat from 8,000 to 20,000 fans.

Although this is the first time the two performers have toured together as co-headliners, Hill was a supporting act on McGraw's 1996 "Spontaneous Combustion" circuit.

Roy Bennett, who has done stage work for Prince, Tina Turner, Nine Inch Nails and others, will oversee the tour's lighting and set design.

Additional and updated information on the tour will be available at www.Soul2SoulTour.com, www.timmcgraw.com and www.faithhill.com.