The Soul2Soul II Tour was the second co-headlining concert tour between American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

singers, and husband and wife,

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albu ...

and

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill ...

. Beginning as the Soul2Soul II Tour 2006, its shows featured elaborate production values using an open, cross-shaped stage. Performances consisted of a set by Hill and set by McGraw, with the two sharing duets before, during, and after the individual sets. Over the course of the show, the duets traced a thematic development starting at estrangement and ending in emotional closeness. The tour capitalized on McGraw and Hill's popularity, both as musical artists and as a couple. It played 74 shows in 56 cities, and sold 1.1 million tickets. The tour grossed almost $89 million during 2006. For the year, it was the third-highest grossing tour in North America (behind

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' A Bigger Bang Tour and

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

's Streisand: The Tour); and the fifth-highest grossing tour in the world for 2006. Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 became the highest-grossing country music tour of all time, a position it still holds as of December 2007. For its accomplishments, it received Pollstar's top Concert Industry Award, the Major Tour of the Year Award, for 2006. The tour was then continued the following year, as the rebranded Soul2Soul 2007. Some new songs were added to the

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

, but the overall structure and theme of the show remained. Soul2Soul 2007 grossed some $52 million. Together, the McGraw-Hill Soul2Soul tour has the highest gross for any multi-year country music tour ever, $141 million, breaking a mark previously held by Garth Brooks. Over 1.6 million people saw the show over its two years. The tour was the highest grossing tour ever by a country artist until

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

's " The Red Tour" surpassed it in 2014.

History

2006 tour

The tour's name was a reprise of the couple's very successful 2000 Soul2Soul Tour. It capitalized on the couple's popularity as a couple: ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that, "Faith Hill and Tim McGraw may be the most popular married couple in country music, and maybe in all of pop music." The pair had three albums on the country charts at the time, Hill's '' Fireflies'' and McGraw's '' Live Like You Were Dying'' and '' Reflected: Greatest Hits Vol. 2''. Hill and McGraw first announced the Soul2Soul II Tour on January 30, 2006. It quickly became one of the fastest-selling concert events of the year, with additional shows added in 15 cities due to high ticket demand; Ticketmaster labelled it the fastest-selling show of the year. Ticket sales passed the one million mark with the one-millionth fan attending the first of three shows in Los Angeles at the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it ...

. The lucky fan was given a Dodge Charger as a thank you gift from the couple. The tour began on April 21, 2006 at the Nationwide Arena in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

, and after 73 shows concluded on September 3, 2006 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. On May 11, Hill and McGraw announced that the July 5 concert in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Gulf Coast hurricane relief efforts. From the beginning, Hill and McGraw have expressed

criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina Criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina was a major political dispute in the United States in 2005 that consisted primarily of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of preparation in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Ka ...

and the other Gulf Coast hurricanes. Hill is a native of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

and McGraw is a native of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

. All of the net proceeds of the concert were targeted to Katrina relief efforts in those two states. Tickets for the concert went on sale several days later and within 30 minutes, the 17,000 available seats had sold out. McGraw also played one of his informal "Bread and Water" shows, staged at local clubs after an arena show, with proceeds going to hurricane relief efforts as well.

2007 tour

On February 4, 2007, it was announced that the couple would return to the road in the summer of 2007 with Soul2Soul 2007 due to the success of Soul2Soul II. They aimed to visit U.S. and Canadian cities they could not reach in 2006; the restart a year later was to still mainstain a mostly-summertime schedule, to accommodate their school-age children. On March 14, 2007, Tim McGraw announced on an appearance on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

'' that the Soul2Soul 2007 Tour would probably be the last time he and Hill would tour together. On March 16, 2007, the same day tickets went on sale for the performances in Canada, both of the singers' websites announced that additional shows had been added in select Canadian cities due to overwhelming ticket sales and it had been announced that the June 21 show in Saskatoon and the June 22 show in Winnipeg were record breaking sales. The 2007 tour established a new record gross during both its two-day stop in Omaha and single day in St. Paul, Minnesota for a single country show. In 2007, McGraw and Hill played forty-three shows over a nine-week period, with the

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...

brand as the title sponsor. The tour featured the duo's first-ever performances throughout Canada. The routing also includes shows in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234 ...

and

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated pop ...

, that were specifically requested by McGraw and Hill as being close to where they grew up. At the July 28 show in Lafayette, Louisiana, at the close of Tim McGraw's set, a female fan reached out and grabbed McGraw's nether regions. When Hill and McGraw returned for the encore, during their performance of "It's Only Love", Hill blasted the fan, waving her finger and saying into the microphone: "Somebody needs to teach you some class, my friend! You don't go grabbin' somebody else's, somebody's husband's rivates you understand me?! That's very disrespectful!" The incident attracted considerable media attention, and Hill subsequently went on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...

'' to discuss it.

The stage and the show

The tour featured production values and cost usually associated with large-scale rock tours. A multimillion-dollar, unique in-the-round stage set was used. A circular platform in the center of the arena floor was surrounded by a larger circle beneath it, where the band played; vertical scrims could fall down to enclose this area. Performers could disappear or arise through hidden platforms. Extending in all four directions from the circles were long, wide catwalks with mass-motion video screens embedded within them, with fans seated on both sides and at the ends of the catwalks. Moving the whole 130,000 pound production from city to city took 150

roadies Roadie refers to support personnel who travel with a band on tour. Roadie or roadies may also refer to: * ''Roadie'' (1980 film), a 1980 film starring Meat Loaf * ''Roadie'' (2011 film), a 2011 American comedy film * ''Roadies'' (TV series), an A ...

, 22 trucks, and 14 buses. The show, which lasted from two and a half to two and three-quarters hours, was structured as a set by Faith Hill, followed by a set by Tim McGraw; in general audiences responded more strongly to McGraw's performance, hence Hill was placed in the opening spot. Before, in between, and after the individual sets, the two performed together. Throughout, Hill and McGraw used body language to convey the themes of the show; ''

'' wrote that "both singers have an extraordinary knack for making big gestures seem human-size." The lyrical themes and the physical staging of the duet songs followed a connected thread throughout the course of the show, starting at one end of the emotional spectrum and ending at the other. The opening duet, the bitter "

Like We Never Loved At All "Like We Never Loved At All" is a song recorded by American country music singer Faith Hill. It was released in August 2005 as the second from her album '' Fireflies''. The song features her husband Tim McGraw singing harmony vocals. Like two o ...

", was sung by the two at completely opposite ends of the stage, facing away from each other. For the next duets, after Hill's set, they were near each other, but enclosing in a scrim and still not facing each other, as they sang " Angry All the Time" and "

Let's Make Love ''Let's Make Love'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller, the ...

". In the final group of duets, following McGraw's set, the two began to thematically reconcile, including a rendition of

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

's "

No Woman, No Cry "No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album ''Natty Dread''. The live recording of this song from the 1975 album ''Live!'' was released as a single and is t ...

". In the last song of the night, the two sat knee-to-knee opposite each other, around an old-radio-style microphone, for a hushed performance of "

I Need You I Need You or I Need U may refer to: Films * ''I Need You'' (film), a 1944 German film Music Albums * ''I Need You'' (album), by LeAnn Rimes, 2001 * ''I Need You'' (Bestie EP) (reissue of ''Hot Baby'') or the title song, 2014 * ''I Need Y ...

Hill's performance emphasized her varied country,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

flavorings, with arrangements that showcased her vocal control over her lower register. McGraw's performance was more oriented towards traditional country, and evinces a stronger stage presence, with his "

Live Like You Were Dying ''Live Like You Were Dying'' is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released on August 24, 2004, by Curb Records and was recorded in a mountaintop studio in upstate New York. It entered the ''Billboard'' 20 ...

" typically getting the biggest audience response. Hill's band played from the start of the show through the second joint appearance, after which McGraw's Dancehall Doctors backing outfit took over for the balance of the show. The concerts even featured hints of a rock element, from a few of McGraw's arrangements to Hill's guitarist's U2 textures to the

Who Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

-like introductory music to the presence of

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

and

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles " (Don't Fear) The Reaper", " Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The ba ...

in the pre-show music. In the 2007 shows, the general approach and themes were similar, but a number of

changes were made. The couple started the shows with a rendition of

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, backing vocals), Jonny Quinn (d ...

's "

Chasing Cars "Chasing Cars" is a song by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, ''Eyes Open'' (2006). It was released on 6 June 2006, in the United States and 24 July ...

". New songs in Faith Hill's set included " Wild One", " The Secret of Life", and " Lost". McGraw's set included material that he had not performed in years, including " Indian Outlaw", " Everywhere", and "She's My Kind of Rain". He did omit " Don't Take the Girl", a long-time standby. The 2007 tour saw the addition of opening acts; with their 30-minute performances, the overall evening ran three hours or longer.

Opening acts

No opening acts were used on the 2006 tour. For the 2007 tour, the opening acts were: * Lori McKenna (select venues) *

(select venues) *Lance Miller (select venues) *

Halfway to Hazard Halfway to Hazard is an American country music duo composed of singer-songwriters David Tolliver and Chad Warrix. Though Tolliver and Warrix grew up in different towns in southeastern Kentucky, their band's origins are in Hazard, Kentucky, whic ...

(select venues)

Set list

2006

Hill/McGraw #"

" Hill #

Mississippi Girl "Mississippi Girl" is a song recorded by American country music singer Faith Hill. It was released in May 2005 as the lead single from her sixth studio album '' Fireflies''. A number one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts in la ...

" #" The Way You Love Me" #" Sunshine and Summertime' #"Fireflies" #" This Kiss" #" Let Me Let Go" # Let's Make Love #" Stealing Kisses" ¹ #" Bridge Over Troubled Water" ¹ #" The Lucky One" #"

Cry Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state, or pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, and even happiness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secreto ...

" #"There Will Come a Day" #" Breathe" Hill/McGraw #

" Angry All the Time" McGraw #

Real Good Man "Real Good Man" is a song written by Rivers Rutherford and George Teren and recorded by American country music singer Tim McGraw. It was released in May 2003 as the fourth single from McGraw’s 2002 album '' Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors'' ...

" #"

Where the Green Grass Grows "Where the Green Grass Grows" is a song written by Jess Leary and Craig Wiseman, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released on July 13, 1998 as the fifth single from McGraw's '' Everywhere'' album. The song reache ...

" #" Just to See You Smile" #" Don't Take the Girl" #" My Little Girl" #" Something Like That" #"

When the Stars Go Blue "When the Stars Go Blue" is a popular alternative country song composed and originally recorded by solo artist and former Whiskeytown band member Ryan Adams. It was first released on his album ''Gold'' on September 25, 2001, and has been describ ...

" #"

" #" Unbroken" #"

The Cowboy in Me "The Cowboy in Me" is a song written by Jeffrey Steele, Al Anderson and Craig Wiseman, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in November 2001 as the third single from McGraw's '' Set This Circus Down'' album. T ...

" #"I've Got Friends That Do" ¹ #"

Last Dollar (Fly Away) "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" is a song written by Big Kenny, one half of the duo Big & Rich, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in January 2007 as the first single from his album '' Let It Go''. "Last Dollar ...

" ¹ #" I Like It, I Love It" ¹ Hill/McGraw #

"Shotgun Rider" #" It's Your Love" #"

" Encore: #

" ¹ Performed at select dates Source:

2007

Hill/McGraw #"

" Hill #

" Wild One #" The Lucky One" #" The Secret of Life" #"

" #" Sunshine and Summertime" #" This Kiss" #"Stronger" #" Lost" #"

Red Umbrella "Red Umbrella" is a song recorded by American country music singer Faith Hill. It was released in September 2007 as the second single from her compilation album '' The Hits''. Hill debuted the song on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in early September ...

" #" The Way You Love Me" #"

The Winner Takes It All "The Winner Takes It All" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. Released as the first single from the group's seventh studio album, '' Super Trouper'' (1980), it is a ballad in the key of G-flat major, reflecting on the end of a relatio ...

#" Breathe #"

Piece of My Heart "Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul love song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles char ...

" #"

" Hill/McGraw #

" Angry All the Time" #"

" McGraw #

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman'' on April 25, 19 ...

" #"

" #" Something Like That" #"

" #" Everywhere" #"

For a Little While "For A Little While" is a song written by Steve Mandile, Jerry Vandiver and Phil Vassar, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in November 1998 as the sixth and final single from his album '' Everywhere''. The ...

" #" She's My Kind of Rain" #" Live Like You Were Dying" #" Suspicions" #"

" ¹ #"The Ride" ¹ #"

" #"Between the River and Me" #" Indian Outlaw" #" If You're Reading This" Hill/McGraw #

"Shotgun Rider" # "

" #" It's Only Love" Encore: #

" ¹ Performed at select dates

Additional notes

*At the June 23 New York City concert at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his bir ...

made a surprise guest appearance, and duetted with McGraw on the

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

classic "

Cold, Cold Heart "Cold, Cold Heart" is a country music and pop song written and first recorded by Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky-tonk and an entry in the ''Great American Songbook''. Hank Williams version Williams adapted the melod ...

". *At the final concert of the tour, McGraw added some new material from some of his favorite artists –

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the late ...

's " Breakdown", " Mama Tried" from

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled ...

, and "You Look So Good In Love" from

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited fo ...

. *At select dates in 2007, Hill was joined onstage by singer-songwriter

Angie Aparo Angie Aparo is an American musician and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. Aparo began playing in a group called Angie's Hope in the early 1990s before making the decision to go solo. After making that decision, Aparo chose to go out on the roa ...

for a duet version of her 2002 hit "

." The song was written and originally recorded by Aparo for his 1999 album ''The American.''

Tour dates

Box office score data

Soul2Soul 2007

Personnel

;Hill *Guitar: Pat Buchanan, Denny Hemingson and Jerry McPherson *Bass guitar: Paul Bushnell *Acoustic guitar: Faith Hill and Bob Minner *Keyboards: Jimmy Nichols *Drums:

Paul Leim Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

*Backing vocals:

Crystal Taliefero Crystal Taliefero-Pratt (née Taliefero) is an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Taliefero grew up with a musical family, performing rhythm and blues with her brother in the Chicago metropolitan area. During her college years she wa ...

, Perry Coleman, and

Wendy Moten Wendy Moten (born November 22, 1964) is an American jazz singer from Tennessee. Born in Memphis and based in Nashville, Moten has had a successful career in music, including several major-label solo records, some international hit songs, and a ...

;McGraw ( The Dancehall Doctors) *Guitar: Denny Hemingson and Darran Smith *Acoustic guitar / Resonator Guitar: Bob Minner *Bass guitar: John Marcus *Keyboards: Jeff McMahon *Drums: David Dunkley and Billy Mason

References

External links

Hill's Official WebsiteMcGraw's Official Website
{{Tim McGraw 2006 concert tours 2007 concert tours Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert tours Co-headlining concert tours

History

2006 tour

2007 tour

The stage and the show

Opening acts

Set list

2006

2007

Additional notes

Tour dates

Box office score data

Personnel

See also

References

External links