It's been almost 50 years since Strait has played one Waylon Jennings classic, but he did at a recent massive show. Strait performed a cover of "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, for the opening night of his 2025 Stadium Tour.
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Strait performed the show in front of 52,000 fans, revealing (per The Philadelphia Inquirer) that he hadn't played the song since the '70s. Still, he knocked it out of the park, one of many songs on his set list, which included "Amarillo By Morning," a song that Strait says is among his favorites.
"Luckenback, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" came out in 1977. It was on Jennings' 'Ol' Waylon' album, released that same year.
George Strait's 2025 Stadium Tour
In February, Strait announced that he was continuing his Stadium Tour into 2025, due to fan demand. Chris Stapleton will join him for all dates, with Parker McCollum joining him for the East Coast dates, and Little Big Town joining Strait for one show on the West Coast.
"I keep trying to slow down a bit but you keep calling me back. Please don't ever stop. I still love it just as much as I always have," Strait said when announcing the news. "Thank you for an amazing year last year and I can't wait to see you for a few more again this year. Chris will be back and glad to have Little Big Town with us in LA. For the other cities, we've added Parker M. to the show which will be outstanding. Can't wait to see you!!"
Strait was already a fan of Stapleton in 2022, when the King of Country Music announced the first run of shows. At the time, Strait didn't anticipate the tour continuing past the shows scheduled in 2023.
"When we talked about doing these six shows next year with Chris, it was a no-brainer," Strait recalls (via Music. Mayhem). "For me, I was all in. I love working with Chris, it's a whole lot of fun."
"Maybe something will happen in the future. Maybe we can do something together," he hints.
