Blake Shelton Opens up About Cutting Back on Touring
Blake Shelton is going to have a little more free time on his hands after leaving The Voice, but he'd like even more than that. The singer says he'd like to cut his touring back significantly, like George Strait.
Shelton recently took a trip to Sin City to celebrate the groundbreaking of Ole Red Las Vegas. While the focus of the event was on the newest Ole Red location, Shelton’s humor shined through during a Q&A session that touched on various subjects, including what else he's got going on in 2023.
The singer will be stepping away from his longtime commitment as a judge on The Voice after Season 23. Instead of appearing on the reality singing competition, Shelton will fill some of his time working on his new show, Barmagedon, and getting back into playing live shows for fans.
Shelton's Back to the Honky Tonk Tour includes six straight weekends of concerts, kicking off on Feb. 16 in Lincoln, Neb. The singer will be on the road through the end of March. He went on to explain that while he's excited to get back out there, the upcoming shows aren’t a full-scale tour like he has done in the past.
Talking directly to the moderator of the Ole Red Q&A session, Shelton explained that his time is quickly being accounted for. “I thought I was getting away from The Voice so that I would have more free time, but you’re making me feel like maybe not.”
Shelton offered up one more quip on his schedule, saying, “George Strait is my hero on lots of different levels, one of which is how little he tours. And it's like, I want to do everything like George Strait.”
Strait notoriously keeps a low profile when it comes to touring; the legendary artist only has a handful of highly anticipated stadium shows on his calendar for 2023.
Shelton's Ole Red franchise is named after his 2002 hit "Ol' Red." The Las Vegas location will be the sixth Ole Red, and the furthest west. Construction is officially underway, with an anticipated opening date to land before the Las Vegas Grand Prix in mid-November.
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