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George Strait Announces Final Tour

He Says He'll Continue to Record and Occasionally Perform

George Strait has announced his plans for his final two-year tour, but he will continue to record and is not ruling out special performances after The Cowboy Rides Away tour ends in 2014. He made the announcement Wednesday (Sept. 26) during a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

"It's been a hard decision for me to make, but as far as the touring goes, I've decided that I'm not going to tour anymore after these next two years," Strait said. "And don't think I'm retiring, because I'm not. I'm still going to make records. ... I'm gonna write.

"And if after two years, when I've quit touring, if a special event happens to come up somewhere that I want to do, by all means, I'm gonna do it. So I'm not saying that after the tour is over, it's going to be the last time I'm ever going to be onstage singing with my band. I hope I still have a lot of those left in me. But as far as a structured tour goes, after the last date in 2014, that's gonna be it for the touring."

Strait, who celebrated his 60th birthday in May, plans to begin work on a new album in Nashville in October.

Martina McBride will be the special guest during the tour that begins Jan. 18 in Lubbock, Texas.

Concert tickets will be made available to members of Strait's fan club on Oct. 9. Tickets to the general public go on sale Oct. 12.

Here's the initial list of tour dates:

Jan. 18: Lubbock, Texas

Jan. 19: Oklahoma City

Jan. 25: Salt Lake City

Jan. 26: Nampa, Idaho

Jan. 31: Sacramento, Calif.

Feb. 1: Fresno, Calif.

Feb. 2: Las Vegas

Feb. 15: St. Paul, Minn.

Feb. 16: Grand Forks, N.D

Feb. 22: Buffalo, N.Y.

Feb. 23: Hartford, Conn.

March 1: Knoxville, Tenn.

March 2: Lexington, Ky.

March 17: Houston

March 22: Greenville, S.C.

March 23: Greensboro, N.C.

April 5: Albuquerque, N.M.

April 6: Las Cruces, N.M.

April 12: North Little Rock, Ark.

April 13: New Orleans

June 1: San Antonio, Texas

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