Blake Shelton kicked off his Country Music Freaks Tour in his native Oklahoma on Feb. 15. The tour includes Trace Adkins, Brett Eldredge and Carly Pearce as his opening acts. Getting all three of them on one tour is, for Shelton, a dream come true.
“When I put together a tour, it’s always important to me who’s on it and where we go,” Shelton tells Nash Country Daily. “This lineup, I can’t believe this lineup actually worked out, because Brett, his career is blowing up. He’s the new dude in country music that’s taken off, and I couldn’t be happier for him. And man, it’s tough – we wanted a female artist for the tour to represent the girls in country music . . . We’re so lucky to get Carly, and I can’t thank her enough for signing on for this tour. She’s going to make us look good.”
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Shelton, whose latest album, Texoma Shore, was released in November, is also once again appearing as a coach on The Voice, now in its 14th season, and also spends time with his girlfriend, Gwen Stefani, and her three boys. But Shelton says he will always make time for the road.
“Touring is still what I have the most fun with in this business,” says Shelton. “And I try to limit myself to not burn out on it because it’s too important to me.”
The 41-year-old recently shot down rumors, again, that he and Stefani were engaged. The two, who are constantly rumored to be engaged, married or having babies, take the false claims in stride.
Claiming he was “very lucky” during a recent performance at his new Ole Red restaurant in Tishomingo, Oklahoma because Stefani “actually gave birth to twins yesterday, and she’s here tonight to sing with me.” The “I Lived It” singer was then joined by Stefani to sing “Go Ahead And Break My Heart,” from Shelton’s 2016 If I’m Honest … record.
“I was gone from Los Angeles and I started this song,” Shelton shared of the duet. “I wrote like half of the song, and sent it to her trying to impress her. ‘Look, I’m writing a song about you.’ I said, ‘Why don’t you finish it for me?’ And so, she did. And at the time, I remember thinking, ‘Wow, is this as good as I think it is?’”
Shelton’s Country Music Freaks Tour will wrap up on March 17. Dates are available on his website.
