"I've decided I'm not going to tour anymore after these next two years," Strait, 60, says at a press conference at Nashville's Country Music
Hall of Fame (per Reuters). "Don't think I'm retiring because I'm not.
I'm still going to make records as long as the label will let me. I'm
going to write."
The "Easy Come, Easy Go" crooner adds that he may do one-off performances and special events,
but "as far as a structured tour goes, after the last date in 2014, that will be it for the touring."
Strait's "Cowboy Rides Away" tour kicks off Jan. 18 in Lubbock,
Texas. Martina McBride joins Strait on the 2013 leg of the tour. Dates
for 2014 haven't been announced yet.
"I didn't want to book a tour and nobody came. It was important to
me to pick that time [to quit touring] rather than go that long when
something like that started happening," he says.
Strait also says he may change his mind down the line.
"I believe I made the right decision, but only time will tell. In
2016, I might say, 'What a dummy!' And if that's the case, maybe I'll
reconsider.
