This weekend, George Strait walked onstage at his Kansas City, Mo. show to meet 18,000 fans eagerly awaiting his performance. The country music veteran stepped up to the mic with his guitar and went through the motions of starting a show, just like he knows so well how to do. But after two songs, the seasoned talent had to cut the show short, admitting he was too sick to continue.

“I just can’t do it,” Strait told his audience, who quickly forgave him and offered up a reverent standing ovation, according to Dalje.com. Before finally stopping, King George had performed his ‘Here for a Good Time’ and ‘I Gotta Get to You’ for fans at the Kansas City Spring Center, apparently sounding a bit hoarse on both. When he finally threw in the towel, Strait assured his fans that the show would be rescheduled for next weekend and they would all be able to use their tickets to get in.

In the absence of the King of Country, Martina McBride filled the gap by performing for more than an hour and giving the audience a reason to not regret the way they spent their night. An official statement from the Sprint Center Saturday (Feb. 25) said, “All original tickets for tonight’s show will be honored on March 3. George Strait deeply appreciates the understanding of his Kansas City fans. George and Martina look forward to returning to Sprint.”

This illness came in the same week Strait had surprised a Nashville audience of radio personnel on Feb. 22 at the Universal Music Group label luncheon show at Nashville’s Country Radio Seminar. Strait recently landed his 85th Top 10 single with his song ‘Love’s Gonna Make it Alright,’ which puts him only seven away from the all-time record of 92 Top 10 hits.

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