George Strait‘s stadium tour with Chris Stapleton is officially history, at least for now. The King of Country Music played his final show on July 20 at Soldier Field in Chicago, although Stapleton says he’d be happy to join Strait on another run of dates next year, or any time Strait asks.
“He doesn’t play many shows, and we have so much fun,” Stapleton says on Country Countdown USA. “One thing we’ve been doing is we play ‘Pancho & Lefty’ together. To 17-year-old me it’s like, what kind of weird world are we living in? That was pretty cool. So I plan on doing them as long as he does them.”
Stapleton has also become close with another country music superstar, namely Tim McGraw. The 46-year-old reveals that he and McGraw, along with his wife, Morgane, and McGraw’s wife, Faith Hill, have become pretty tight in recent years.
”My wife and Faith have become pretty good friends,” Stapleton shares. “They talk a lot, and we go over to their house for dinner. They’re nice to hang out with, and we enjoy doing things like that.”
Stapleton likely doesn’t hang out with Strait much outside of their shows, but he will take at least partial credit for Strait resuming his stadium tour, which began in 2023, this year as well.
“I think I halfway talked him into working more, but I really enjoyed doing that,” Stapleton said last fall. “I think it’s a good show to come to because George has ten million number ones, and people can watch all that, and what a great thing to get to watch. I love to be the opener for that. I love to walk out on stage and sing a few with George.
“It’s just a really fun show with me, and Little Big Town is usually on those shows, and they’re all friends, and it’s fun,” he added. “And so, I want to keep doing that as much as we can, and I keep talking George into it, so it’s good.”
The Kentucky native is quite capable of selling out massive arenas on his own, but he gladly takes a backseat when it comes to opening for Strait.
“I love doing these shows with George about as much as I like doing anything,” Stapleton said when the new tour dates were announced. “There’s nothing to compare it to. So many of his songs are in the ethos of what country music is. Playing these shows together is a great experience all the way around.”
Stapleton currently has a Top 30 hit with “Think I’m In Love With You,” from his latest Higher album, released last November. The song, like so many of his others, is a sweet tribute to his wife, whom he married in 2007.
“From a work standpoint, we’re a married couple. And like anybody else, we might be getting on each other’s nerves or something,” Stapleton told Cowboys & Indians, “But if we’re away from each other for more than two days — because we do work, live, and raise children together — on the rare occasion we’re apart, we’re sort of like teenagers. We’re like, ‘I miss you,’ and, ‘I miss you too.’ And that’s a really sweet and wonderful thing.”