Tim McGraw plots summer course

Tim McGraw has lined up a summer tour schedule heavy on traditional fair and festival outings as he waits for his record label to set a release date for his 12th studio album.

The country star kicks off the outing June 27 in Manhattan, KS, and continues through fall, with highlights including appearances at Paso Robles, CA's Mid-State Fair (7/26); Camrose, Alberta's Big Valley Jamboree (8/2); and Detroit Lakes, MN's WeFest (8/8). Details are included below.

The Grammy-winning singer continues to support his latest platinum album, 2007's "Let It Go," which became his ninth consecutive record to debut at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. The set has spawned crossover hits including "Last Dollar (Fly Away)," "I Need You" (with wife Faith Hill), "Suspicions" and "If You're Reading This."

McGraw had hoped to issue a new studio album last fall, but his label, Curb Records, opted to go with "Greatest Hits Vol. 3" in order to "extend McGraw's recording contract," according to a press release, a move that upset the singer.

"I am saddened and disappointed that my label chose to put out another hits album instead of new music," the country singer said in a prepared statement issued in October . "I've only had one studio album since my last hits package. It has to be just as confusing to the fans as it is to me. I had no involvement in the creation or presentation of this record. Sure, I love the songs and I don't want to take anything away from all the creative people who were a part of making those records. But the whole concept is an embarrassment to me as an artist."

On the acting front, McGraw will star with Sandra Bullock in a new film about Michael Oher, the University of Mississippi offensive lineman who overcame a troubled childhood with the help of a well-to-do family, according to a press release. The film is based on the bestselling 2006 novel by Michael Lewis, "The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game," which chronicles Oher's life prior to college.
McGraw most recently co-starred in "Four Christmases," with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. The country-music superstar also starred in 2006's "Flicka," and had parts in "Friday Night Lights" and "The Kingdom."