Soul2Soul II Tour

The Soul2Soul II Tour was the second co-headlining concert tour between American country music singers, and husband and wife, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Beginning as the Soul2Soul II Tour 2006, its shows featured elaborate production values using an open, cross-shaped stage.[1][2][3] Performances consisted of a set by Hill and set by McGraw, with the two sharing duets before, during, and after the individual sets.[3] Over the course of the show, the duets traced a thematic development starting at estrangement and ending in emotional closeness.[1][3]

Soul2Soul II Tour
Tour by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
Associated albumFireflies
Start dateApril 21, 2006
End dateSeptember 1, 2007
Legs2
No. of shows118 in North America
Box office$30,336,336
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert chronology
Tim McGraw tour chronology
Soul2Soul Tour
(2000)		 Soul2Soul II Tour
(2006–2007)		 Live Your Voice Tour
(2008)

The tour capitalized on McGraw and Hill's popularity, both as musical artists[4] and as a couple.[2] It played 74 shows in 56 cities, and sold 1.1 million tickets.[4] The tour grossed almost $89 million during 2006.[5] For the year, it was the third-highest grossing tour in North America (behind The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour and Barbra Streisand's Streisand: The Tour);[5] and the fifth-highest grossing tour in the world for 2006.[6]

Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 became the highest-grossing country music tour of all time,[4] a position it still holds as of December 2007.[7] For its accomplishments, it received Pollstar's top Concert Industry Award, the Major Tour of the Year Award, for 2006.[8]

The tour was then continued the following year, as the rebranded Soul2Soul 2007. Some new songs were added to the set list, but the overall structure and theme of the show remained. Soul2Soul 2007 grossed some $52 million.[9] 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.[9] Over 1.6 million people saw the show over its two years.[9] The tour was the highest grossing tour ever by a country artist until Taylor Swift'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.[10][11] It capitalized on the couple's popularity as a couple: The New York Times wrote that, "Faith Hill and Tim McGraw may be the most popular married couple in country music, and maybe in all of pop music."[2] 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.[12]

Hill and McGraw first announced the Soul2Soul II Tour on January 30, 2006.[10] 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.[13] 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.[14] The lucky fan was given a Dodge Charger as a thank you gift from the couple.[14]

The tour began on April 21, 2006 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, 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 would benefit Gulf Coast hurricane relief efforts.[15] From the beginning, Hill and McGraw have expressed criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina and the other Gulf Coast hurricanes.[15][16] Hill is a native of Mississippi and McGraw is a native of Louisiana.[15] All of the net proceeds of the concert were targeted to Katrina relief efforts in those two states.[15] 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.[14]

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.[17] On March 14, 2007, Tim McGraw announced on an appearance on Good Morning America 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.[18] 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.[19]

In 2007, McGraw and Hill played forty-three shows over a nine-week period, with the Jeep brand as the title sponsor. The tour featured the duo's first-ever performances throughout Canada. The routing also includes shows in Lafayette, Louisiana and Biloxi, Mississippi, 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 [privates], you understand me?! That's very disrespectful!"[20] The incident attracted considerable media attention,[21] and Hill subsequently went on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss it.[9]

The stage and the show

The tour featured production values and cost usually associated with large-scale rock tours.[9] 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.[22] Performers could disappear or arise through hidden platforms.[13] 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.[2][3] Moving the whole 130,000 pound production from city to city took 150 roadies, 22 trucks, and 14 buses.[9]

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; The New York Times wrote that "both singers have an extraordinary knack for making big gestures seem human-size."[2]

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", was sung by the two at completely opposite ends of the stage, facing away from each other.[1] 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".[3] In the final group of duets, following McGraw's set, the two began to thematically reconcile, including a rendition of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry".[3] 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".[1][2]

Faith Hill in concert in Dallas on the Soul2Soul II Tour, Photo by Sister Sister Photography.

Hill's performance emphasized her varied country, pop, and gospel flavorings,[22] 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,[2] with his "Live Like You Were Dying" typically getting the biggest audience response.[1][13] 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-like introductory music to the presence of KISS and Blue Öyster Cult in the pre-show music.

In the 2007 shows, the general approach and themes were similar, but a number of set list changes were made. The couple started the shows with a rendition of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars". 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.[11]

For the 2007 tour, the opening acts were:

Set list

Additional notes

Tour dates
Date City Country Venue
Soul2Soul II [24][25]
April 21, 2006 Columbus United States Nationwide Arena
April 22, 2006
April 28. 2006 Rosemont Allstate Arena
April 29, 2006
April 30, 2006
May 5, 2006 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills
May 6, 2006
May 7, 2006 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena
May 12, 2006 Buffalo HSBC Arena
May 13, 2006 Pittsburgh Mellon Arena
May 14, 2006 Lexington Rupp Arena
May 18, 2006 Madison Kohl Center
May 19, 2006 Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center
May 20, 2006
May 26, 2006 Birmingham BJCC Arena
May 27, 2006 Greenville BI-LO Center
May 28, 2006 Jacksonville Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
May 29, 2006
June 2, 2006 Tampa St. Pete Times Forum
June 3, 2006 Orlando TD Waterhouse Center
June 4, 2006 Sunrise BankAtlantic Center
June 6, 2006 North Charleston North Charleston Coliseum
June 7, 2006 Richmond Richmond Coliseum
June 9, 2006 Raleigh RBC Center
June 10, 2006 Charlotte Charlotte Bobcats Arena
June 12, 2006 Rochester Blue Cross Arena
June 13, 2006 Albany Pepsi Arena
June 15, 2006 Philadelphia Wachovia Center
June 16, 2006
June 17, 2006 Hershey Giant Center
June 18, 2006
June 21, 2006 University Park Bryce Jordan Center
June 23, 2006 New York City Madison Square Garden
June 24, 2006
June 25, 2006 Boston TD Banknorth Garden
June 26, 2006
June 29, 2006 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center
July 5, 2006 New Orleans New Orleans Arena
July 6, 2006 Bossier City CenturyTel Center
July 8, 2006 Atlanta Philips Arena
July 9, 2006 Memphis FedExForum
July 11, 2006 Cincinnati U.S. Bank Arena
July 12, 2006 Indianapolis Conseco Fieldhouse
July 14, 2006 St. Louis Savvis Center
July 15, 2006 Des Moines Wells Fargo Arena
July 16, 2006 Milwaukee Bradley Center
July 18, 2006 Kansas City Kemper Arena
July 21, 2006 Dallas American Airlines Center
July 22, 2006 Houston Toyota Center
July 23, 2006 San Antonio AT&T Center
July 27, 2006 Oklahoma City Ford Center
July 28, 2006 North Little Rock Alltel Arena
July 29, 2006 Nashville Gaylord Entertainment Center
July 30, 2006 Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena
August 2, 2006 Denver Pepsi Center
August 4, 2006 Salt Lake City Delta Center
August 5, 2006
August 6, 2006 Nampa Idaho Center Arena
August 8, 2006 Portland Rose Garden Arena
August 9, 2006 Seattle KeyArena
August 10, 2006
August 12, 2006 Sacramento ARCO Arena
August 13, 2006 San Jose HP Pavilion at San Jose
August 14, 2006 Fresno Save Mart Center
August 17, 2006 Los Angeles Staples Center
August 18, 2006
August 19, 2006
August 25, 2006 Phoenix US Airways Center
August 26, 2006
September 1, 2006 Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Events Center
September 2, 2006
September 3, 2006
Soul2Soul 2007 [26]
June 5, 2007 Omaha United States Qwest Center Omaha
June 6, 2007
June 8, 2007 Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center
June 11, 2007 Salt Lake City EnergySolutions Arena
June 13, 2007 Portland Rose Garden
June 14, 2007 Tacoma Tacoma Dome
June 16, 2007 Vancouver Canada General Motors Place
June 17, 2007
June 19, 2007 Edmonton Rexall Place
June 20, 2007
June 21, 2007 Saskatoon Credit Union Centre
June 22, 2007 Winnipeg MTS Centre
June 25, 2007 Toronto Air Canada Centre
June 26, 2007
June 27, 2007 Ottawa Scotiabank Place
June 29, 2007 Cleveland United States Quicken Loans Arena
June 30, 2007 Philadelphia Wachovia Center
July 5, 2007 Boston TD Banknorth Garden
July 6, 2007
July 7, 2007 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center
July 9, 2007 East Rutherford Continental Airlines Arena
July 11, 2007 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills
July 12, 2007 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena
July 13, 2007 Chicago United Center
July 14, 2007
July 17, 2007 Pittsburgh Mellon Arena
July 18, 2007 Columbus Nationwide Arena
July 20, 2007 Greensboro Greensboro Colisesum
July 21, 2007 Atlanta Philips Arena
July 22, 2007 Jacksonville Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
July 24, 2007 Sunrise BankAtlantic Center
July 25, 2007 Tampa St. Pete Times Forum
July 27, 2007 Biloxi Mississippi Coast Coliseum
July 28, 2007 Lafayette Cajundome
July 29, 2007 Dallas American Airlines Center
July 31, 2007 Denver Pepsi Center
August 2, 2007 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
August 3, 2007 Glendale Jobing.com Arena
August 4, 2007 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena
August 6, 2007 Sacramento ARCO Arena
August 7, 2007 Fresno Save Mart Center
August 8, 2007 San Jose HP Pavilion at San Jose
August 10, 2007 Anaheim Honda Center
August 11, 2007
September 1, 2007 Moncton Canada Magnetic Hill

Box office score data

Soul2Soul 2007

Venue City Tickets sold / available Gross revenue
Qwest Center Omaha Omaha 27,709/ 32,355 (86%) $2,375,328 [27]
Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul 16,692 (100%) $1,432,515 [27]
EnergySolutions Arena Salt Lake City 11,289 / 12,049 (94%) $944,919 [27]
Rose Garden Portland 9,031 / 9,516 (95%) $810,731 [27]
Tacoma Dome Tacoma 11,655 / 13,752 (85%) $998,284 [27]
GM Place Vancouver 31,059 (94%) $2,941,495 [27]
Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford 15,586 / 17,117 (91%) $1,411,791[28]
The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills 15,736 / 17,247 (91%) $1,297,244 [28]
Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids 10,198 / 10,198 (100%) $834,530 [28]
United Center Chicago 27,216 / 36,835 (74%) $2,272,281[29]
BankAtlantic Center Sunrise 12,043 (77%) $832,318 [29]
St. Pete Forum Tampa 11,458 / 15,592 (73%) $1,034,837 [29]
Mississippi Coast Coliseum Biloxi 10,805 / 10,805 (100%) $752,960 [29]
Cajundome Lafayette 11,064 / 11,064 (100%) $953,500 [29]
American Airlines Center Dallas 13,257 / 16,475 (80%) $1,132,915 [30]
Pepsi Center Denver 13,922 / 15,748 (88%) $1,192,242 [30]
San Diego Sports Arena San Diego 9,579 / 12,709 (75%) $816,506 [30]
Jobing.com Arena Glendale 12,848 / 16,624 (77%) $1,208,958 [30]
MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas 13,736 / 13,736 (100%) $1,437,338 [31]
ARCO Arena Sacramento 13,299 / 14,437 (92%) $1,186,941 [31]
Save Mart Center Fresno 10,884 / 14,029 (78%) $906,730 [31]
HP Pavilion at San Jose San Jose 13,097 / 17,134 (76%) 1,035,760 [31]
Honda Center Anaheim 25,068 / 28,745 (87%) $2,526,213 [31]
Total 342,453 / 395,961 (86%) $30,336,336

Personnel

References
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  2. Sanneh, Kelefa (2006-06-26). "Hill and McGraw Share Their Love Story With Audiences of Thousands". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  3. Bonagur, Alison (2006-05-01). "McGraw and Hill Captivate Chicago Fans". CMT. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  4. Harrington, Richard (2007-07-06). "For Country Power Couple, Family Comes First". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  5. "Rolling Stones among biggest 2006 tours; Barbra Streisand, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill also among top grossers". Today.com. Associated Press. 2006-12-28. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  6. Waddell, Ray (2006-12-14). "Stones' Bigger Bang Is Top-Grossing Tour Of 2006". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  7. Jenison, David (2007-12-21). "Police Collar Top Tour of 2007". E! Online. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
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  10. "Tim McGraw/Faith Hill "Soul2Soul II" tour". Country Standard Time. 2006-01-30. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  11. Waddell, Ray (2006-01-06). "McGraw, Hill Teaming For Another Tour". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  12. Mansfield, Brian (2006-04-19). "Again, Hill, McGraw are Soul2Soul". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  13. Wenzel, John (2006-08-03). "Hill, McGraw earn tip of cowboy hats". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  14. Evans, Rob (2006-08-21). "Tim McGraw, Faith Hill play surprise club gig". LiveDaily. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  15. Silverman, Stephen M. (2006-05-12). "Faith & Tim Set Concert for Katrina Relief". People. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  16. "Faith Hill, Tim McGraw Blast 'Humiliating' Katrina Cleanup". ABC News. 2006-03-08. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  17. July issue of Billboard magazine.
  18. "Faith Hill". Archived from the original on 2007-03-21. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  19. According to the Xcel Energy Center.
  20. Finn, Natalie (2007-07-31). "Faith Hill Stands by Her Man's Manhood". E! News. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  21. Hammel, Sara (2007-09-05). "Faith Hill Talks About Crotch-Grabbing Incident". People. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  22. Huntley, Helen (2006-06-03). "Touching fans' souls". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
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  25. Zahlaway, Jon (June 1, 2006). "Tim McGraw, Faith Hill keep 'Soul2Soul' tour rolling". liveDaily. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  26. Kilgore, Kym (2007-04-23). "Tim McGraw, Faith Hill expand Soul2Soul trek". liveDaily. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
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  28. "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. New York City. 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
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  30. "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. New York City. 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  31. "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. New York City. 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
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