George Strait is the first big country act to hit the road in 2007, here's a review of the show.

No other country music artists can attract a wider variety of age groups to a concert then George Strait. From my seat at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA, I could see three generations of country music fans just by looking down my row. Strait tries to use his set list to please them all, and that might be too big a task.

First, let's start at the beginning, at promptly at 7:30 p.m., Big Machine recording artist, 17-year-old Taylor Swift took the stage for her :30 set of songs. She mentioned many times how happy she was to be back near her home town. For a brand-new artist, her stage presence was better than I expected, and will only get better with experience. She sang songs from her self-written debut CD, and introduced each with the story behind them. Included in the set was her new single, which is another slow song called "Teardrops on My Guitar." She played a couple of up-tempo songs, most notable the set closer "Picture to Burn" which should be released as a single. Most impressive, was her sincere thanks to everyone for her success, and she backed that up by signing and poses for pictures with any fan who was willing to stand on the enormous line that formed for her in the concourse.

Ronnie Milsap was led to the stage at 8:10 p.m. and began his set with "Stranger in My House." It's amazing how many songs he has song that people have forgotten, and it was easy to see that the over 35 crowd was taking a trip down memory lane, and the younger folks were unfamiliar with a lot of his material. The stand out performance from Ronnie was a medley of his biggest hits that included "What a Difference You've Made In My Life", "It Was Almost Like A Song, " "Pure Love," "Stand By My Woman Man," "I Wouldn't Have Missed It For the World", and a few others. Milsap sand two new songs off of his new album "My Life," and both songs were fantastic, hopefully country radio will find room in it's playlist for them. A cover of "Honkytonk Women" closes his part of the show and he left to a standing ovation.

Enter the man everyone wanted to see, George Strait. George began his 28 song performance with "Honk If You Honkytonk", an album cut from his "Honkytonkville" CD. The crowd favorite "Check Yes or No" followed and the entire Hershey crowd sand along. Notably, this song, "Give It Away", and "I Hate Everything" got the largest response. Strait packs a lot of music into his concerts, which is great, but there were times it seemed like he was rushing through the set to make sure he covered all the material he wanted to get in. "It Just Comes Natural", and "Cowboys Like Us", were both sang at a quicker pace then heard on the radio and seemed a little off. Strait could really score big points with his crowds if he did a medley of hits like Ronnie Milsap did. How great would it be to hear songs that not longer make his set list like "Fool Hearted Memory," "Blue Clear Sky," "Heartland," and "Marina Del Rey" in a medley format? I bet that would bring a lot of smiles from the crowd.

To break down the rest of the show, Strait sang 4 album cuts from his new CD "It Just Comes Natural," easily the two memorable ones were, "How 'Bout Them Cowgirls" and "Wrapped", look for these to be Strait's next two singles. Also included was a tribute to western swing music with "Take Me Back to Tulsa" and "Milk Cow Blues" and a tip of his hat to his home state with "Texas" and "Somewhere Down in Texas." All good stuff for lifelong Strait fans, but the more casual fan was left wondering why these songs were being sung instead of his radio hits. After Strait's encore of "Folsom Prison Blues", "High Tome Woman," and a shortened version of his 1985 hit, "The Cowboy Rides Away."

Here's a break down of Strait's 28 songs:

10 album cuts from current or previous albums

3 covers of other artists' songs

9 number ones hits

8 top ten hits

Final analysis of the concert:

If your a diehard George Strait fan, have all of his albums and have seen him in concert numerous times - Grade : A

If your a casual George Strait fan who is mostly familiar with his songs through radio airplay - Grade: C+

Venue Grade: D - The Giant Center is not made for large crowds - nightmare congestion everywhere

Overall: B-

George Strait's set list:

1. Honk If You Honky Tonk

2. Check Yes Or No

3. She'll Leave You With A Smile

4. I Just Want To Dance With You

5. Run

6. Amarillo By Morning

7. There Stands The Glass

8. The Fireman

9. The Chair

10. How 'Bout Them Cowgirls

11. Somewhere Down In Texas

12. Wrapped

13. Give It Away

14. I Can Still Make Cheyenne

15. Take Me Back To Tulsa

16. Milk Cow Blues

17. I Ain't Her Cowboy Anymore

18. Seashores Of Old Mexico

19. Texas

20. It Just Comes Natural

21. Cowboys Like Us

22. A Better Rain

23. As Far As It Goes

24. I Hate Everything

25. Unwound

26. High Tone Woman

27. Folsom Prison Blues

28. The Cowboy Rides Away