George Strait makes 2009 road plans

Fresh off scoring several Grammy nods for his latest album, "Troubadour," George Strait has begun to map out his tour plans for next year.

The country superstar will wait until the middle of spring to head out on the road, kicking off a slate of shows May 9 in Hidalgo, TX. Dates continue on into June and July, with Strait lining up appearances at a couple of big summer events: July 11 in Calgary, Alberta, for the Calgary Stampede, and a July 18 slot at Cheyenne, WY's Frontier Days. Details are included below.

Strait will still be supporting "Troubadour," which hit stores in April. The set debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with sales of more than 160,000 copies in its first week.

The album also spawned "I Saw God Today," Strait's highest-debuting single ever at No. 19. The song has since become Strait's 79th Top 10 single on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, placing him second only to Eddy Arnold, who scored 92 Top Ten songs in his career.

Strait nabbed four Grammy nominations this week, including nods for Best Male Country Performance and Best Country Album for "Troubadour," as well as nominations in the Best Country Collaboration category for "House of Cash" with Patty Loveless and also for "Shiftwork" with Kenny Chesney.

In addition to his own mentions, "I Saw God Today" earned a nomination in the Best Country Song field for songwriters Rodney Clawson, Monty Criswell and Wade Kirby.