Thursday, October 1, 2026
For Tim McGraw, returning to the stage this summer isn’t just another tour. After a year spent recovering from surgeries and rehabilitation, the country music superstar says every show now carries a deeper appreciation for the career that has defined more than three decades of his life.
McGraw will bring that renewed perspective to Long Island on July 24, when he brings his 2026 Pawn Shop Guitar tour to Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, one of his favorite venues in the country.
“It’s the first time we’ve done a tour in a while, because I’ve gone through some surgery and some rehab,” McGraw, 59, told the Herald. “I’m ready to go now.”
The 33-date North American tour marks his return to the road with new music, including the autobiographical title track, “Pawn Shop Guitar,” and “Song for America,” released in May. But for fans packing the waterfront amphitheater in Wantagh, McGraw promises more than a greatest-hits concert.
“The hardest thing about putting any tour together is after 35 years of doing this, you have so many songs that there’s no way you’re going to get everybody’s favorite song in,” he said with a laugh. “What we try to do is put together a show that takes you on a movie, sort of, and creates its own experience.”
Jones Beach holds a unique place in McGraw’s career and personal life. Long before he headlined the venue, he attended a concert there, shortly after marrying fellow country star Faith Hill.
“She begged me to go to Jones Beach to see Celine Dion,” McGraw recalled. “I left with my jaw on the floor. I became a huge Celine Dion fan after seeing her live, because I’d never heard somebody who could sing so well.”
Since then, performing at Jones Beach has become one of the highlights of touring through New York. “It just feels like the crowd’s right on top of you when you’re playing there,” he said. “It’s always been a special place to play.”
The stop also doubles as something of a family reunion. McGraw’s and Hill’s three daughters, who now live in or around New York City, often gather with friends to attend the Jones Beach show.
“Most of my girls usually show up at that show,” he said. “So I get to see them having a good time with their friends.”
That sense of family extends beyond his own. One of the biggest rewards of a career spanning more than 30 years, McGraw said, is watching generations experience his music together.
“We have people who were coming to our shows when we first came out that are bringing their grandkids now,” he said. “You see little kids holding signs saying, ‘This is my first concert,’ and they’re singing every word. There’s nothing better than knowing your music is being passed down through generations.”
“Pawn Shop Guitar,” reaches back to the beginning of that journey. The song tells the true story of McGraw’s college years in Northeast Louisiana University, when he traded his high school class ring at a pawn shop for the only guitar he could afford.
“I didn’t have any money,” he said. “The guy gave me $25 for my high school ring, and he happened to have a guitar that was $25.”
He taught himself dozens of songs before landing gigs at a catfish restaurant playing for tips. “I was hooked from then on,” he said. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
While that first guitar is long gone, McGraw still owns the second guitar he purchased, the one featured in the tour's promotional artwork. “That’s the guitar I beat the hell out of through college and my early days in Nashville,” he said. “I still play it around the house all the time.”
The time away from full-time touring, while he battled back and knee problems, reminded him just how much he missed performing. “It taught me that I missed it,” he said. “I missed the energy and the interaction with the crowd.”
During his recovery from surgery, he played occasional shows, but, he said, “Now, going out and just enjoying myself again, that's what I'm looking forward to."
Connecting with audiences remains McGraw’s greatest motivation. “It’s really the energy that you get from the crowd,” he said. “As soon as you step out on stage and feel that energy and see everybody singing along, instantly … you're right at home.”
This fall he will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, an honor he acknowledged still hasn't fully sunk in. “I don’t think anybody gets into this business thinking you’re going to get into the Hall of Fame one day,” he said.
Asked what his younger self would think if he could see where life had taken him, McGraw laughed. “I’d probably be surprised that I’m married to Faith,” he joked. “She’s way out of my league.”
He turned reflective, and added, “I probably would’ve never thought I’d be so lucky to have the songs I’ve had and the people around me who believed in me.”
Even one of his signature songs, “Live Like You Were Dying,” continues to surprise him with its lasting emotional impact. Recorded shortly after the death of his father, the song has become deeply personal not just for McGraw, but for countless fans.
“When we perform it now, I feel like it’s not my song,” he said. “I just feel lucky to be a conduit for it. You look out in the audience and see people hugging and crying, and you realize that song meant something during an important time in their lives.”
What still drives him, McGraw says, is remarkably simple. “It’s looking for that special night,” he said. “When you feel the love and excitement from the crowd, you’re right at home.”
Purchase tickets to see McGraw at Jones Beach here: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/o35ONOL/
