The second running of the George Strait [ tickets ] Country Music Festival will play a well-spaced itinerary through the spring, touching down on eighteen stadiums from early March through early June. The festival took its inaugural journey last year with a mix of rising and established country talent and ended up surpassing attendance marks set by recent mega-tours by U2 and the Rolling Stones, who played many of the same stadiums in 1997 and 1998.

It should be noted that while U2 and the Rolling Stones managed to sell out many of their stadium dates, their extravagant staging elimated large sections of seats, thus Strait was physically able to pack in a larger crowd (and at a much lower price than his Irish and English counterparts).

The lineup for the 1999 tour will feature headliner George Strait along with current country break-outs the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Jo Dee Messina, Mark Willis and Asleep At The Wheel. McGraw and Asleep At The Wheel were featured on the 1998 tour.

The tour takes on some of the basic structural elements of past Lollapalooza outings, with a concourse area featuring diversions, exhibits and vendors as well as a second stage where a rotation of local and national new acts will play between main stage sets.

As with last year, the tour is branded to the hilt, beginning with the official name -- the Nokia presents George Strait Chevy Truck Country Music Festival. The concourse will be known as GPC Straitland and the second stage will go by the moniker of The Jack Daniels Lynchburg Live Stage.

Several acts on the tour will work their own headline tours during the gaps in stadium dates.

Here's the latest itinerary for the George Strait Country Music Festival: