George Strait is getting ready to close out his career as a touring artist on Saturday (June 7th) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The show’s bill is a who’s who of country music stars, including Alan Jackson, Eric Church, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Sheryl Crow, Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Martina McBride and Lee Ann Womack, among others. Opening the show will be George’s friends, Asleep at the Wheel. The Texas native says he’ll miss performing for the fans, but he won’t miss everything that goes into a big-scale tour.”

“I’m gonna miss the shows. I’m not gonna miss the traveling, but I’m gonna miss [the shows] a lot. I’ve been doing it so long,” says Strait. “It’ll be interesting to see just how I handle that in 2015. We’ll see what happens, but I think I’m making the right choice. It’s the right decision. I’m pretty happy with my decision, knowing that I can still go out and do one-offs here and there.

Eric Church, who will join Strait on stage in Dallas this weekend, says it was very important to him to get to know George Strait as a person, not just a legendary performer.

“I got a chance to get to know George and hang out with George and Norma,” says Church. “And it’s just one of the coolest things that has ever happened in my career to get to know more than just the guy you see on stage, but to get to know him is very important.”

The reigning CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year has built a huge country music career since the release of his first country hit, “Unwound,” in the spring of 1981. He’s scored 60 No. 1 singles, 85 top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and sold more than 45 million albums.

While George, who’s climbing the country chart with his latest hit “I Got a Car,” may not launch a full-scale tour, he says he’ll pop up here and there for a special show, and he signed on for another five albums with his long-time record label, MCA Nashville.

AUDIO: George Strait explains what he will miss when he’s not touring anymore…and what he won’t.

George Strait (what he’ll miss touring) OC: …the traveling. :35
“I’m gonna miss the shows. I’m not gonna miss the traveling, but I’m gonna miss [the shows] a lot. I’ve been doing it so long. It’ll be interesting to see just how I handle that in 2015. We’ll see what happens, but I think I’m making the right choice. It’s the right decision. I’m pretty happy with my decision, knowing that I can still go out and do one-offs here and there. I’m just going to [do] five or six things a year out there if I want to. I know I’ll miss it. I know I’ll miss all of it…except for the traveling.”

AUDIO: George Strait says the final show of his Cowboy Rides Away will be bittersweet.

George Strait (bittersweet) OC: …doing it. :35
“I am excited about the tour next year. It’s going to be a little bittersweet for me. It’s starting to sink in for me after the first leg of the tour. It’ll be a little tough next year saying goodbye to some of those places. My plan is to keep doing things here and there when I feel like it, and hopefully those opportunities will come for me. I can’t see hanging it up forever. As long as I keep enjoying it, I’m going to keep doing it.”

AUDIO: Eric Church talks about the final date on George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away Tour on Saturday (June 7th).

Eric Church (last Strait date) OC: …very important. :28
“It’s bittersweet. I mean being a big George fan, and what he’s meant to not only me, but everybody. It’s great to say, ‘Hey, you’re gonna be part of the last show.’ The problem there is it’s the last show, and when it’s over with, it’s gonna bittersweet to me. But I got a chance to get to know George and hang out with George and Norma, and it’s just one of the coolest things that has ever happened in my career to get to know more than just the guy you see on stage, but to get to know him is very important.”