Soul2Soul: The World Tour

The Soul2Soul: The World Tour is the third co-headlining tour by American country music recording artists, and husband and wife, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. It marked the first time the duo have toured together since 2007. It began on April 7, 2017, in New Orleans. Performances consist of a setlist of duets between the couple and solos. The first leg of the tour played seventy shows, and as of December 11, 2017, every show was sold out, and grossed over 79 million dollars. According to Pollstar's 2017 Mid-Year report, it was ranked the 24th best tour.^[1]

Soul2Soul: The World Tour

Tour by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
Promotional poster for the tour.
Start date	April 7, 2017 (2017-04-07)
End date	July 24, 2018 (2018-07-24)
Legs	3
No. of shows	109 North America 3 in Europe 112 total
Box office	$100.3 million 107 Shows
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert chronology
Tim McGraw tour chronology Shotgun Rider Tour (2016) Soul2Soul: The World Tour (2017) Here On Earth Tour (2020) Faith Hill tour chronology Tim McGraw & Faith Hill Australia 2012 Tour (2012) Soul2Soul: The World Tour (2017)

Background

In October 2016, a special concert was planned at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Under the moniker "Sam & Audrey", the duo performed their hits, while announcing the forthcoming 2017 tour.^[2] The itinerary was released the following day.^[3] On January 31, 2017, McGraw and Hill announced the opening acts via Facebook Live.^[4] Each weekend will feature a different opening act, handpicked by the duo. They also revealed additional tour dates and plans to perform shows outside North America. When introducing the tour, Hill stated:

"We have the best fans in the world, who have been with us through our entire journey and we are so excited to celebrate with them by going back on the road and showcasing an exciting new show. It's always great when we get to work together and it's been awhile since we got to do that."^[5]

On September 28, 2017, Bob Harris revealed on his BBC Radio 2 show that McGraw and Hill were the first announced headliners for the 2018 C2C: Country to Country festival which takes place in London, Glasgow and Dublin.^[6] In November 2017, a second American leg of the tour was announced.

The show and the stage

The show begins with a ten-second countdown clock, after that futuristic music begins to play. Hill and McGraw begin to say a speech which ends with, "face to face, heart to heart, and soul to soul." Then two black boxes rise up onto the b-stage, as the boxes descends both Hill and McGraw appear, and perform Aretha Franklin and George Michael's "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me". During "Break First" (a new pop centric song from the couple), the video screens displays fragments of glass shattering behind them. When McGraw performs "Angry All the Time", Hill plays the acoustic guitar while singing background vocals. The show lasts for two hours and fifteen minutes with a setlist of thirty songs. They go back and forth singing with each other and alone during solos. McGraw and Hill perform their past hits and songs off their upcoming album. They close with "I Need You".^[7][8]

The stage and production is made up of laser lights, risers, special effects, eighty-foot wide video board, HD and LED screens. During the show family photos are projected onto the eighty-foot wide video board. A ten piece band backs the couple.^[7][9][10]

Opening acts

• Kelsea Ballerini
• Brothers Osborne
• Cam
• Brandy Clark
• Brent Cobb
• Devin Dawson
• Seth Ennis
• Rhiannon Giddens
• Natalie Hemby
• High Valley
• Chris Janson
• Joseph
• Chris Lane
• LoCash
• Lori McKenna
• Midland
• Old Dominion
• Steve Moakler
• NEEDTOBREATHE
• Jon Pardi
• Eric Paslay
• Rachel Platten
• Margo Price
• Ben Rector
• Maggie Rose
• The Shadowboxers
• Caitlyn Smith
• Charlie Worsham

Source:^[11]

Setlist

The following setlist was performed at the concert held on April 21, 2017, at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.^[12]

McGraw and Hill

1. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (Aretha Franklin & George Michael cover)

McGraw

2. "Felt Good on My Lips"

Hill

3. "The Lucky One"

McGraw

4. "I Like It, I Love It"

Hill

5. "The Way You Love Me"

McGraw and Hill

6. "Like We Never Loved at All"
7. "Break First"
8. "Telluride"
9. "Devil Calling Me Back"

Hill

10. "Free"
11. "This Kiss"
12. "Breathe"
13. "Wild One"
14. "Stronger"
15. "Piece of My Heart"

McGraw and Hill

16. "Angry All the Time"

McGraw

17. "One of Those Nights"
18. "Real Good Man"
19. "Shotgun Rider"
20. "Humble and Kind"
21. "Live Like You Were Dying"

McGraw and Hill

22. "Speak to a Girl"
23. "It's Your Love"

Hill

24. "Mississippi Girl"

McGraw

25. "Something Like That"

McGraw and Hill

26. "I Need You"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Opening acts	Attendance	Revenue
North America Leg 1[13]
April 7, 2017	New Orleans	United States	Smoothie King Center	Brothers Osborne	14,959 / 14,959	$1,324,355[14]
April 9, 2017	Tupelo		BancorpSouth Arena	8,323 / 8,323	$685,612[14]
April 20, 2017	North Charleston		North Charleston Coliseum	NEEDTOBREATHE	9,097 / 9,097	$798,478[15]
April 21, 2017	Birmingham		Legacy Arena		11,259 / 11,259	$821,751[15]
April 23, 2017	Atlanta		Philips Arena		13,033 / 13,033	$1,170,004[15]
April 27, 2017	St. Louis		Scottrade Center	Seth Ennis	12,906 / 12,906	$1,066,330[15]
April 28, 2017	Louisville		KFC Yum! Center		14,653 / 14,653	$1,220,499[15]
April 29, 2017	Indianapolis		Bankers Life Fieldhouse		12,726 / 12,726	$999,040[15]
May 4, 2017	Newark		Prudential Center	The Shadowboxers	11,815 / 11,815	$1,134,267[16]
May 5, 2017	Uncasville		Mohegan Sun Arena		11,686 / 11,686	$1,532,244[16]
May 6, 2017
May 11, 2017	Tulsa		BOK Center	Jon Pardi	11,391 / 11,391	$818,172[16]
May 12, 2017	Lincoln		Pinnacle Bank Arena		13,853 / 13,853	$1,262,422[16]
May 13, 2017	Oklahoma City		Chesapeake Energy Arena		11,490 / 11,490	$859,619[16]
May 18, 2017	Spokane		Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena	Chris Lane	10,700 / 10,700	$887,903[16]
May 19, 2017	Bozeman		Brick Breeden Fieldhouse		15,544 / 15,544	$1,181,828[16]
May 20, 2017
May 25, 2017	Boise		Taco Bell Arena	Joseph	9,156 / 9,156	$829,945[16]
May 26, 2017	Portland		Moda Center		13,736 / 13,736	$1,192,723[16]
May 27, 2017	Tacoma	Tacoma Dome	16,744 / 16,744		$1,321,429[16]
May 31, 2017	Vancouver	Canada	Rogers Arena	Midland	12,756 / 12,756	$1,021,510[16]
June 2, 2017	Calgary		Scotiabank Saddledome		12,765 / 12,765	$1,170,500[16]
June 3, 2017	Edmonton		Rogers Place		13,358 / 13,358	$1,126,310[16]
June 4, 2017	Saskatoon		SaskTel Centre		12,709 / 12,709	$1,095,770[16]
June 7, 2017	Winnipeg		MTS Centre	Caitlyn Smith	11,581 / 11,581	$915,797[16]
June 9, 2017	Sioux Falls	United States	Denny Sanford Premier Center		11,127 / 11,127	$1,088,360[17]
June 10, 2017	Des Moines		Wells Fargo Arena		13,236 / 13,236	$1,256,399[17]
June 15, 2017	Grand Rapids		Van Andel Arena	High Valley	11,788 / 11,788	$1,079,900[17]
June 16, 2017	Milwaukee		BMO Harris Bradley Center		12,137 / 12,137	$974,098[17]
June 17, 2017	Moline		iWireless Center		10,670 / 10,670	$891,006[17]
June 22, 2017	Ottawa	Canada	Canadian Tire Centre	Charlie Worsham	13,396 / 13,396	$1,112,650[18]
June 23, 2017	Toronto		Air Canada Centre		26,956 / 26,956	$2,241,830[18]
June 24, 2017
July 7, 2017	Boston	United States	TD Garden	Lori McKenna	24,187 / 24,187	$2,132,287[19]
July 8, 2017
July 13, 2017	Las Vegas		T-Mobile Arena	Rachel Platten	6,611 / 6,611	$783,705[19]
July 14, 2017	Los Angeles		Staples Center		25,571 / 25,571	$2,028,973[19]
July 15, 2017
July 21, 2017	Glendale		Gila River Arena	Rhiannon Giddens	13,540 / 13,540	$1,264,313[19]
July 22, 2017	Ontario		Citizens Business Bank Arena		8,903 / 8,903	$963,746[19]
July 23, 2017	San Diego		Valley View Casino Center		10,290 / 10,290	$846,246[19]
July 28, 2017	Sacramento		Golden 1 Center	Devin Dawson	13,540 / 13,540	$1,413,260[20]
July 29, 2017	San Jose		SAP Center		12,385 / 12,385	$1,122,601[20]
July 31, 2017	Denver		Pepsi Center		23,073 / 23,073	$1,568,171[20]
August 1, 2017
August 3, 2017	North Little Rock		Verizon Arena	-
August 4, 2017	Nashville		Bridgestone Arena	Andra Day	28,357 / 28,357	$2,231,533[20]
August 5, 2017
August 17, 2017	Cleveland		Quicken Loans Arena	Maggie Rose	11,290 / 11,290	$834,495[20]
August 18, 2017	Philadelphia		Wells Fargo Center		14,370 / 14,370	$1,115,596[20]
August 19, 2017	Albany		Times Union Center		9,094 / 9,094	$667,410[20]
August 24, 2017	Fargo		Fargodome	Natalie Hemby	14,146 / 14,146	$1,097,627
August 25, 2017	Saint Paul		Xcel Energy Center		29,842 / 29,842	$2,815,245
August 26, 2017
August 31, 2017	Rosemont		Allstate Arena	Ben Rector	22,912 / 22,912	$1,797,553
September 1, 2017
September 2, 2017	Cincinnati		U.S. Bank Arena		11,456 / 11,456	$780,635
September 7, 2017	Columbus		Nationwide Arena	Brent Cobb	13,822 / 13,822	$1,223,715
September 8, 2017	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills		13,445 / 13,445	$1,212,946
September 9, 2017	Fort Wayne		Allen County War Memorial Coliseum		9,602 / 9,602	$800,062
September 14, 2017	Knoxville		Thompson–Boling Arena	Eric Paslay	8,164 / 8,164	$628,975
September 15, 2017	Greenville		Bon Secours Wellness Arena		10,470 / 10,470	$849,741
September 16, 2017	Jacksonville		Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena		10,651 / 10,651	$798,041
September 21, 2017	Wichita		Intrust Bank Arena	Brandy Clark	10,982 / 10,982	$889,516
September 22, 2017	Omaha		CenturyLink Center Omaha		14,277 / 14,277	$1,054,164
September 23, 2017	Kansas City		Sprint Center		13,132 / 13,132	$1,083,278
September 27, 2017	Salt Lake City		Vivint Smart Home Arena	Cam	12,528 / 12,528	$1,189,950
September 29, 2017	Fresno		Save Mart Center		11,703 / 11,703	$1,033,055
September 30, 2017	Bakersfield		Rabobank Arena		8,741 / 8,741	$828,635
October 5, 2017	San Antonio		AT&T Center	Chris Janson	11,471 / 11,471	$934,996
October 6, 2017	Houston		Toyota Center		11,284 / 11,284	$987,317
October 7, 2017	Dallas		American Airlines Center		13,255 / 13,255	$1,260,647
October 12, 2017	Pittsburgh		PPG Paints Arena	Steve Moakler	11,414 / 11,414	$885,368
October 13, 2017	Washington, D.C.		Capital One Arena		13,537 / 13,537	$1,200,627
October 14, 2017	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum		12,043 / 12,043	$974,210
October 19, 2017	Sunrise		BB&T Center	LoCash	9,281 / 9,281	$667,022
October 20, 2017	Tampa		Amalie Arena		12,108 / 12,108	$960,177
October 21, 2017	Orlando		Amway Center		12,071 / 12,071	$1,058,484
October 26, 2017	Buffalo		KeyBank Center	Margo Price	12,042 / 12,042	$909,707
October 27, 2017	Brooklyn		Barclays Center		12,501 / 12,501	$1,023,077
Europe
March 9, 2018	London[A]	England	The O2 Arena	Kelsea Ballerini Old Dominion
March 10, 2018	Glasgow[A]	Scotland	SSE Hydro
March 11, 2018	Dublin[A]	Ireland	3Arena
North America Leg 2[21]
May 31, 2018	Richmond	United States	Richmond Coliseum	—	9,489 / 9,489	$873,206
June 1, 2018	Charleston		Charleston Civic Center		8,483 / 8,483	$647,498
June 2, 2018	Lexington		Rupp Arena		9,560 / 9,560	$643,856
June 5, 2018	Baltimore		Royal Farms Arena		10,899 / 10,899	$727,114
June 7, 2018	Grand Rapids		Van Andel Arena		10,936 / 10,936	$816,874
June 8, 2018	Toledo		Huntington Center		14,963 / 14,963	$1,268,897
June 9, 2018
June 12, 2018	Hershey		Giant Center		9,257 / 9,257	$905,605
June 14, 2018	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum		8,734 / 8,734	$751,624
June 15, 2018	Uncasville		Mohegan Sun Arena		7,807 / 7,807	$781,038
June 16, 2018	Manchester		SNHU Arena		8,499 / 8,499	$772,539
June 18, 2018	Hamilton	Canada	FirstOntario Centre		10,708 / 10,708	$797,048
June 19, 2018	London		Budweiser Gardens		7,887 / 7,887	$743,975
June 22, 2018	Raleigh	United States	PNC Arena		12,093 / 12,093	$859,715
June 23, 2018	Duluth		Infinite Energy Arena		9,912 / 9,912	$674,997
June 26, 2018	Bossier City		CenturyLink Center		10,228 / 10,228	$598,411
June 29, 2018	Springfield		JQH Arena		8,024 / 8,024	$644,900
June 30, 2018	Des Moines		Wells Fargo Arena		11,436 / 11,436	$839,144
July 6, 2018	Green Bay		Resch Center		8,242 / 8,242	$875,724
July 7, 2018	Minneapolis		Target Center		11,748 / 11,748	$712,738
July 8, 2018	Sioux Falls		Denny Sanford Premier Center		8,797 / 8,797	$695,622
July 10, 2018	Grand Forks		Ralph Engelstad Arena		6,512 / 6,512	$387,300
July 13, 2018	Seattle		KeyArena		11,146 / 11,146	$842,978
July 14, 2018	Eugene		Matthew Knight Arena		9,413 / 9,413	$781,752
July 18, 2018	Salt Lake City		Vivint Smart Home Arena		12,405 / 12,405	$992,034
July 20, 2018	Phoenix		Talking Stick Resort Arena		12,773 / 12,773	$886,518
July 21, 2018	Los Angeles		Staples Center		11,812 / 11,812	$803,817
July 22, 2018	Sacramento		Golden 1 Center		12,189 / 12,189	$944,746
July 24, 2018	Paso Robles		Mid State Fair		—	—
Total					1,207,593 / 1,207,593	$100,367,633

^ A. These shows will be part of the C2C: Country to Country festival.

Critical reception

Tulsa World's Andrea Eger says "the electricity they generated could have powered their megawatt stage production with no help from PSO"^[9] According to the Orange County Register's Kelli Sky Fadroski, she was impressed with Hill's return to the tour stage stating that "she brought her A game" during her solo moments. For the duo's performance she described it as, "a connection and tenderness between them that just can't be faked."^[22]

Reviewing the show in London, Pip Ellwood-Hughes of Entertainment Focus gave the set a 4.5/5 rating, stating that booking country music royalty McGraw and Hill was "a real coup for the Country to Country festival and stating that they were "warm and funny on stage" and their set was "inspiring". Mentioning that anticipation was high for the duo's first ever UK performance, Ellwood-Hughes noted that their "packed" set drew "huge cheers from the arena crowd", citing Break First as an early highlight. He stated that the best parts of the set where when McGraw and Hill sang together, referring to their chemistry as "magical" and "off the charts as they trade glances, interact with one another and, at times, look at each other as if there is no one else in the room". Regarding the solo performances, he praised Hill's "energy and enthusiasm", citing This Kiss as a "one of the night's special moments" when Hill "became visibly choked up" as an international audience loudly sang along. Additionally, he called Hill's rendition of Breathe "stunning" and her Piece of My Heart cover a "powerhouse performance". Similarly, McGraw's "confident charisma" was praised and the moment where the audience burst into a spontaneous singalong of Humble and Kind which left McGraw visibly "overwhelmed" was picked as a highlight. Ellwood-Hughes called their performance of Speak to a Girl "beautiful and timely" and said that It's Your Love was a "perfect way to end the night and absolutely stunning". He was critical of sound issues that resulted in complaints from a large number of audience members who were unable to hear the artists because of loud bass reverb, causing many to leave midway through.^[23]

Notable events

During the show in Dubin on March 11, 2018, McGraw collapsed following his performance of "Humble and Kind" and was carried offstage by members of his crew. After twenty minutes, Hill returned to the stage and announced that McGraw was doing fine but was suffering from dehydration and she had made the decision not to allow him back onstage. Hill and the band performed "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" as a final a capella song for the crowd before ending the show early. Although disheartened, the crowd applauded and began chanting "get well Tim". A statement from the couple stated that McGraw "was attended to by local medical staff on-site and will be fine" before adding that "he and Faith thank everyone for their love and support and look forward to seeing their Irish fans again soon".^[24]

References

1. "Mid Year Worldwide 2017 Tickets Sales Top 100 Tour" (PDF). Pollstar. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
2. Watts, Cindy; Neysa-Alund, Natalie (October 3, 2016). "Surprise Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Nashville show sells out in minutes". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
3. Betts, Stephen L. (October 5, 2016). "Tim McGraw, Faith Hill to Embark on New Joint Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
4. Konicki, Lisa (January 31, 2017). "Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Reveal More Dates and 26 Opening Acts For Soul2Soul Tour". Nash Country Daily. Cumulus Media. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
5. "Tim McGraw, Faith Hill Announce Pittsburgh Concert, Soul2Soul The World Tour 2017". WDSY-FM. CBS Radio. October 4, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
6. @BHarrisCountry (28 September 2017). "NP @TheTimMcGraw @FaithHill Speak To A Girl @WhisperingBob @BBCR2Country @C2Cfestival @C2CGlasgow @sandboxent…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
7. Colurso, Mary (April 22, 2017). "16 224 shares Tim McGraw & Faith Hill romance a Birmingham audience in razzle-dazzle style on 'Soul2Soul' tour". al.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
8. Williams, Lindsay (April 22, 2017). "Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's Soul2Soul Tour: 9 Best Things We Saw". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
9. Eger, Andrea (May 12, 2017). "REVIEW: Faith Hill and Tim McGraw bring pure chemistry to BOK Center". Tulsa World. TownNews.com. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
10. Vain, Madison (June 20, 2017). "Tim McGraw and Faith Hill go behind the scenes of their over-the-top world tour". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
11. Stefano, Angela (January 31, 2017). "Tim McGraw, Faith Hill Reveal 2017 Soul2Soul Tour Opening Acts". The Boot. Taste of Country Network. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
12. Williams, Lindsay (April 22, 2017). "Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's Soul2Soul Tour: 9 Best Things We Saw". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media, LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
13. Sources for tour dates:

    • Bonaguro, Alison (October 4, 2016). "Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Will Tour Together in 2017". CMT. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
    • "Concert Scheduled – Tim McGraw (Page 1 of 2)". Pollstar. May 2017. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
    • "Concert Scheduled – Tim McGraw (Page 2 of 2)". Pollstar. May 2017. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
14. "Current Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 129, no. 10. Nashville, Tennessee. April 29, 2017. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
15. "Current Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 129, no. 12. Nashville, Tennessee. May 27, 2017. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
16. "Current Boxscore". 129 (12). May 27, 2017. (webcit). Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
17. "Current Boxscore". June 28, 2017. (webcit). Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
18. "Current Boxscore". July 4, 2017. (webcit). Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
19. "Current Boxscore". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee. July 25, 2017. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
20. "Current Boxscore". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee. August 22, 2017. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
21. • "Current Boxscore | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
    • "Current Boxscore | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
22. Sky Fadroski, Kelli (July 15, 2017). "Tim McGraw and Faith Hill score again with revived Soul2Soul Tour in Los Angeles". Orange County Register. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
23. "C2C: Country to Country 2018 – Faith Hill and Tim McGraw live review". 10 March 2018.
24. "Tim McGraw collapses on stage in Ireland". BBC News. 12 March 2018.