George Strait, ever thoughtful, mulls the question for a moment: Who in Las Vegas does he want to see perform, who he has not seen perform, in Las Vegas.
“Maybe I’ll go see Britney Spears while I’m here,” the famed country singer says, flashing his famous grin. “I can pick up some choreography. I keep seeing where I’m no frills. I need some frills now. This is Las Vegas.”
But seriously, folks, George Strait plays it straight, so the name fits. His show is to be a Strait-forward rollout of his greatest hits dating 35 years or so, as he plays guitar while standing in the round.
In this configuration, Strait is the anti-Spears, managing to entertain thousands of fans by barely moving. He will be called upon to captivate the crowd at Las Vegas Arena when he performs during the opening month of the 20,000-seat venue April 22-23. He’s back for two additional shows Sept. 9-10.
So that’s about 80,000 tickets to move, and folks to entertain, on the Strip in 2016. But Strait has always managed to fill the building — his Super Bowl weekend appearances at MGM Grand Garden Arena routinely sell out — while maintaining a kind of homespun warmth.
How does Strait do it? There is the innate quality of an appealing personality, and he’s a wonderful guitarist. But there also is a way to make that big room seem small.
“You connect with the audience as well as I can, but you have a lot of lights and can’t see the crowd as you’re singing a song. You might see just the first two rows, then up to about eight rows back, and you try to make eye contact with them,” Strait said during a quick chat in a suite at Signature at MGM Grand on Tuesday hours after his residency was formally announced at MGM.
“When you do that, it’s something you can feel, and it even comes across on the video screens. I am always trying to connect.”
Tickets for Strait’s show are $75 to $200 and go on sale Friday, Oct. 2, at StraitToVegas.com. Kacey Musgraves is Strait’s guest for the Las Vegas dates.
The Strait bet was a safe bet for Las Vegas Arena and its partner in the project, AEG Live. He is coming out with a new album, “Cold Beer Conversations,” with the first single, the title song, being sent to country radio stations Friday.
That album will re-energize Strait’s fans, who already turn out by the multitudes for his shows. He’d said that “The Cowboy Rides Away Tour” would be his last rodeo, at least in terms of playing a series of dates across the country.
But the shows at Las Vegas Arena, call them a “mini-residency,” are not a tour. The 63-year-old Strait is just stopping in for a spell, and his trips to Las Vegas have always fused work with pleasure.
“I’ve been out here for the Super Bowl many times, New Year’s Eve, I’ve been out to watch college football,” Strait said. “I have had some really fun times out here. I met Col. Tom Parker here, I stayed in the Elvis Suite at the (Las Vegas) Hilton. I have a strong affiliation with Las Vegas.”
Parker told Strait of Elvis’ cloistered existence, that he could not venture too far out of his sky-high dwelling for fear of being mobbed. Strait was given a tour of the Hilton by security guards who talked of having to replace TVs that had been shot out (and the number of TVs that Elvis blasted seems to grow with every passing year).
“There are a lot of stories here,” Strait said, chuckling. He can attest to such, having played Las Vegas dating more than 35 years, headlining at the Frontier, L.V. Hilton, the Mirage (where scenes in his film “Pure Country” were filmed) and Golden Nugget.
Strait said he would welcome additional dates beyond the September shows. MGM brass seems open to using someone of Strait’s drawing power to satisfy a grand demand for ticket sales at the new arena.
Mark Prows, senior vice president of arenas for MGM Resorts, noted Strait’s capacity to sell out Grand Garden Arena, and added, “This goes back to the beginning, when we were first developing the arena, because of George’s history in Las Vegas.”
Asked about expanding his schedule in Las Vegas beyond September, Strait said, “I hope so, I hope so. I’m totally open for that. I may die here. You never know.”
Strait laughed at that tempting-of-fate suggestion and is clearly eager to start up some cold-beer conversations next year on the Strip.
“The thing about Las Vegas,” he says, “is it’s such a great place to see people.”
And as he shares the Strip with all sorts of dancing superstars, George Strait is one of those people.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy