Country Tour Guide: Country's top acts on the road
Many of country music's most popular acts will be on the road through the coming months--ranging from young stars to the usual road warriors. Here's a roundup of some of the most notable tours.
Also: Read about 2010's top country festivals.
Jump to: Taylor Swift | George Strait & Reba | Tim McGraw | Carrie Underwood | Rascal Flatts | Brad Paisley | Martina McBride & Trace Adkins | Randy Travis | Brooks & Dunn | Zac Brown Band | Alan Jackson | Kenny Chesney | Toby Keith
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Taylor Swift, who recently became the youngest artist in the 52-year history of the Grammys to win the Album of the Year award, has set her sights on a massive spring tour of North America that will follow her imminent foray to the southern hemisphere.
A winner of four Grammys this year, Swift will hit Australia and Japan this month before returning home for 38 shows beginning March 4 in Tampa FL and ending June 5 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.
The 20-year-old country singer has one of the largest country tours planned for the winter and spring--nearly all her shows are in arenas, and she is playing two nights in Philadelphia, Detroit, Denver, Los Angeles, Newark, NJ, Long Island, NY, Toronto and Houston--but many other country artists are hitting the road during the cold weather months.
Kelly Pickler and Gloriana will be Swift’s opening acts in North America. (Gloriana is also doing the shows Down Under). After the Swift dates, Gloriana will hit the festival circuit from June 24 at the Grand Junction, CO, Country Jam USA through the Hebron Harvest Fair in Connecticut Sept. 12.
[Click to search for Taylor Swift tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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The triple bill of George Strait, Reba McEntire and Lee Ann Womack visits 16 arenas in major markets between Feb. 5 and April 10.
[Click to search for George Strait & Reba McEntire tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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Tim McGraw is booked for 57 headlining shows and four festival appearances, starting Feb. 11 in Omaha, NE, and running through June 27 in Kansas City, MO. Lady Antebellum--which picked up the country group vocal Grammy Sunday--and the Lost Trailers open all the shows.
[Click to search for Tim McGraw tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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Carrie Underwood, who won a Grammy Sunday for her collaboration with Randy Travis, opens a 45-date headlining tour March 11 in Reading, PA, ending May 30 in Spokane, WA. The tour is mostly arena dates in secondary and tertiary markets.
[Click to search for Carrie Underwood tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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Rascal Flatts will wrap up a tour of the Midwest and South tour in mid-March; Darius Rucker is opening their shows before he embarks on a string of festival, fair and casino dates through late August.
[Click to search for Rascal Flatts tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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Brad Paisley has 10 arena dates lined up during the next month. Miranda Lambert will be opening his shows and then play festival dates in June and July. Also on the bill is Justin Moore, who will follow the arena gigs with club and theater shows in March and April before playing festivals and fairs from late May through August.
[Click to search for Brad Paisley tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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Martina McBride, Trace Adkins and Sarah Buxton, who began their tour last month, resume their roadwork Feb. 11 in Grand Prairie, TX. They play in the South and Midwest, ending April 25 in Roanoke, VA.
[Click to search for Martina McBride & Trace Adkins tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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Randy Travis, who won his seventh Grammy on Sunday, starts a 22-concert tour March 6 in Fort Worth, TX, that wraps up May 6 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He then has another seven shows between June 4 in Carlton, MN, and Oct. 1 in Choctaw, MS.
[Click to search for Randy Travis tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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One of the more anticipated tours is the grand finale for Brooks & Dunn, who will play 47 shows between April 23 and Aug. 8. Billed as the Last Rodeo, their goodbye tour opens in Sacramento, CA and ends in Chicago.
Brooks & Dunn’s opening act, Jason Aldean, started a tour with Luke Bryan in January that goes through April 10.
[Click to search for Randy Travis tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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The Zac Brown Band, which won the new artist Grammy Sunday night, plays Feb. 9 in Decatur, GA, then does 15 shows in 19 days in the West, starting March 2 in San Diego and ending March 21 in Everett, WA. And and the guys will open for the Dave Matthews Band July 3-25 in the East.
[Click to search for Zac Brown Band tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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Though specific dates hadn't been announced at press time, road warrior Toby Keith is set to visit about 40 cities on his upcoming "American Ride" tour, sponsored by Ford F Series trucks. He'll also perform at San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Stagecoach festival in Indio, CA.
[Click to search for Toby Keith tickets at Ticketmaster.com.]
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Other country stars with dates booked this year include
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