Lyle Lovett on possible George Strait concert at Kyle Field: ‘It’s really fitting’
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Lyle Lovett is proving that he’s still a fan favorite spanning multiple generations.
The ‘79 graduate of Texas A&M University, singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer, was back on campus Monday and Tuesday, taking photos and signing autographs after speaking with students in the Performance Studies classes of the School of Performance, Visualization, and Fine Arts.
“It’s amazing. It’s encouraging,” said Lovett, speaking to reporters after one of the classes Tuesday morning. “It was, it was right there that I started getting my education in music. So to be able to come back and to see how the growth and how the program that has been started and the progress here, I find it all very exciting.”
During his visit, the 66-year-old reflected on his musical roots, college performances, and career and spoke to classes called “History of Rock” and “Guitar Heroes.”
“I asked how many of them were in the class out of general interest and how many of them were musicians or performers, or wanted to be performers, and we just ended up having a nice discussion with them,” said Lovett who described the students as thoughtful and knowledgeable.
Lovett first performed in front of an audience on A&M’s campus in 1975 before he began taking on paid gigs around Aggieland. The father of two 6-year-old twins is still on tour, writing new songs, and has a history of coming back to Texas A&M and helping the campus and community.
During our discussion with Lovett, News 3′s Rusty Surette asked for his thoughts on Texas A&M’s efforts to finalize plans for a George Strait concert this summer at Kyle Field.
“Kyle Field is one of the greatest stadiums in the world and I think it’s really fitting that King George would come here and play. George is such a gentleman and I’ve worked over the years with him and he’s always been so kind to me,” said Lovett.
“I would love for him to stand in the middle of Kyle Field and I would love to see his reaction when he hears 100,000 people, you know, give him a thumbs up and and whoop all at once.
Sources at Texas A&M tell KBTX the university continues discussion to make the concert a reality.
There has been widespread speculation on social media that Park McColluum, who canceled a show planned for later this year in College Station, could be an opening act for the George Strait show, but none of our sources at A&M would confirm or deny this.
In a video message shared in January announcing the canceled show, McCollum said “We have some exciting news that we’ll be announcing in the near future, so be on the lookout.” That statement has led many fans to believe he’s working to be part of this summer’s planned show at Kyle Field.
Our attempts to reach McCollum’s management team for comment went unanswered Tuesday.
Click on the video below to watch more of our interview with Lyle Lovett
