Country singer breaks record for largest attendance at ticketed concert in the USA

Country music legend George Strait has broken the record for the largest attendance of all time at a US concert.

Billboard reports that Strait drew a record crowd of 110,905 ticketed fans to his concert at Texas A&M Stadium’s Kyle Field in College Station on Saturday. That’s more than the football stadium’s official capacity because the stage structure brought a large number of fans onto the field.

“What’s up, guys?” asked the 72-year-old singer. “We got some Aggies out there? Oh yeah! I’m ashamed to say this, but it’s my first time at Kyle Field… damn it! Just invite me back and I’ll come!”

According to Billboard, it broke the venue’s attendance record for a single event and surpassed the previous all-time record for the largest crowd at a ticketed concert in the United States, previously held by the Grateful Dead, with 107,019 fans at a 1977 concert at Raceway Park in New Jersey.

The Dead also drew one of the largest crowds of all time when 600,000 people turned out for Summer Jam in Watkins Glen in 1973. The concert was ticketed, but the vast majority of the crowd got in for free after overwhelming the small upstate New York village, much like the original Woodstock festival in 1969.

Strait is no stranger to the record books. He has 60 No. 1 hits in his career, more than any other artist in any genre, and is the only artist to have a Top 10 hit every year for 30 years. The Grammy-winning Country Music Hall of Famer’s long list of most popular songs includes “I Cross My Heart,” “All My Ex’s Live in Texas,” “Amarillo by Morning,” “It Just Comes Natural,” “If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)” and “Check Yes or No.”

Strait had previously performed a farewell tour, The Cowboy Rides Away Tour, in 2013, but continued to perform during his golden years. His upcoming concerts include stadium shows in Salt Lake City, Detroit, Chicago and Las Vegas; tickets are available through VividSeats and StubHub.

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