George Strait’
Lucas Oil Stadium.
Indianapolis
May 4, 2024
by Shrithik Karthik
George Strait’s arrival in Indianapolis on Saturday, May 4th, for his summer tour was met with a wave of anticipation and excitement from the fans. The atmosphere was electric, and the audience’s enthusiasm set the tone for an unforgettable night of music and fun.
It began with Little Big Town, who did a great job of warming everyone up for the show to come. The guitar solos were incredible, intricate, exciting, and easily one of my favorite parts of their set. Kimberly Schlapman wore a bright, long pink dress that made her stand out from the rest of the band, but it was also so pretty and showed her off so well. I like that Little Big Town considers themselves equal, and the band has no lead. That kind of uniformity is refreshing to see; it shone in their performance. Their music video played in the back, which added an excellent visual and gave more detail to their performance. The crowd was already having their fair share of fun. A couple began dancing in the aisle, which the band pointed out was lovely. One of the members of the band talked about his mom’s passing and how you need to love your family and friends. They finished their set by thanking the crowd and saying just how much they appreciated George for having them out on tour. They also made sure to excite Chris Stapleton, who came next.
There was practically no intro, and he jumped right into it. The set had a lot of close-ups of the guitar playing and the exciting drumming. The drummer’s POV was a nice touch as well. It showed perspective and added some depth to the set. Robert Crawford absolutely killed the harmonica playing; some of the best I’ve ever seen at a show. He is easily one of the most celebrated harmonica players in country music, which is deserving. Chris Stapleton’s voice was also so good. It was solid and robust and rang throughout the venue harmonizingly. He said hi to Indy and thanked us for having him and coming to see the show. There was no backtrack, one of my favorite things to see at a show. In one of his more popular songs, one of the band members played some piano thing, which was really cool. Another fantastic instrument was George playing the steel guitar, which he played exceptionally well. He dramatically turned off the screens when each song changed and let us sing some of the songs as he played them. He made his exit by yelling goodnight and leaving.
It was finally time for the star of the show! He came on, and immediately, the crowd exploded with cheers, and they were just so excited to see him finally. The visuals were fun, with bright lights and excellent imagery playing on the screens in front of him and on his side. He was a true country singer with an angelic voice. There were quite a few members in his band on stage, which was unique. The visuals were excellent, playing in the background and fitting well with everything happening on the stage. What truly blew me away was how well he performed despite being almost 72 years old. He has been on tour for over 40 years, and having this much energy on stage despite being that old is an incredible feat. The stadium was fully packed. It was practically almost sold out, which was super cool to see. He talked to the crowd, saying, “I see some cowboys out there tonight,” and then cowboys cheered in response. Following that, he played how about them cowgirls, which flowed so well. A wholesome moment from the show I liked was when he gave a tribute to his manager Erin who passed away last month, one of the songs that he wrote and performed was about her and at the end he said: “I miss you, Erin.” He made sure to switch up the vibe within the show, going from sad to more upbeat, which the crowd liked.
Another one of my favorite moments was the personalization of Indianapolis. He played videos of people with police badges, policemen, and women and how they have had to leave their families. Firefighters, doctors, nurses, and more played on the screen, but it was all from Indianapolis, which was very cool! He also made sure to bring out Chris Stapleton to play a song with him on stage. Nearing the end of the show, he talked about some of the good acts that he’s done; he has given over 1,000 homes and raised over $533 million dollars for veterans and warriors. At the end of the show, he gave an encore, talked about his tequila brand called Codigo, and sang that song, too. To finally end the show, he said goodnight and thanked Indianapolis for having him.
This was a fun show with dancing, singing, and just good vibes. George Strait just started his tour and has many more shows left on the road! Make sure to catch him at a stadium in a city near you!
