(Photo: Getty Images)
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has announced a concert-only performance by country music entertainer and icon George Strait!
Officials also announced changes to the 2019 schedule with the addition of an extra day. Next year's rodeo will run for 21 days Monday, Feb. 25 to Sunday, March 17.
Strait will perform on the final night, marking his 30th RODEOHOUSTON® performance.
“We are extremely excited to welcome George Strait back to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo,” said Joel Cowley, Rodeo president and CEO. “George has a long history with the Rodeo, first taking the stage back in 1983. He’s been with us through many of our major milestones during the past three decades, has entertained more than 1.5 million RODEOHOUSTON fans and is the only platinum honoree on our Star Trail of Fame.”
Strait will return to RODEOHOUSTON on Sunday, March 17, for a full-length evening concert at NRG Stadium.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will be the only Texas performance for Strait in 2019.
Opening acts will be announced at a later date.
There is no rodeo performance scheduled before the concert, however, all activities on the grounds including shopping and dining areas, carnival, livestock and horse show competitions, and other exhibits and attractions at NRG Park will be open to the public on March 17.
The remaining 2019 RODEOHOUSTON entertainment schedule will be announced in early January. Individual tickets for all RODEOHOUSTON performances, including the George Strait concert-only performance, will go on sale in early January 2019. A limited amount of season tickets will go on sale to the public on Aug. 1, 2018.
George Strait debuted at RODEOHOUSTON 35 years ago, as a newcomer to the country music scene. Since then, he has become a household name with 33 platinum or multi-platinum-selling albums, the most in all of country music, and 60 No. 1 singles — the most of any artist of any music genre in history. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, holds a GRAMMY® for Best Country Album with “Troubadour” and more than 60 music and entertainment industry awards.
In 1996, Strait was inducted into the RODEOHOUSTON Star Trail of Fame. He is one of only eight artists to receive this award since the first entertainer performance in 1942. In 2013, the first four-year Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo George Strait Scholarship was awarded through the Rodeo’s scholarship program in honor of his partnership and friendship with the Rodeo.