Tim McGraw is coming back to the ballpark where he helped make concert history. The 59-year-old country star returns to Target Field on Sunday, more than a decade after he and Kenny Chesney co-headlined the very first concert at the Minneapolis stadium back in 2012, and this time he's doing it after clawing his way back from a double knee replacement and several back surgeries.
McGraw discussed his recovery, his new music and his marriage to Faith Hill in a recent interview, as reported by the Pioneer Press. He told the paper that Minneapolis is one of just three stadium dates on his summer tour, and that his last stop there, an acoustic-opened show at the former Xcel Energy Center in 2024, remains one of the best shows of that run — even though he was still in recovery when he played it. McGraw said adrenaline and muscle memory carried him through the pain that night.
From Double Knee Replacement to “100 Percent”
The physical toll behind that 2024 performance was steep. McGraw underwent a double knee replacement and several back surgeries, with his final back procedure coming in July 2025, according to the same interview. He estimated he now feels about 85 or 90 percent, though he said his doctor considers him back to 100 percent and cleared to do anything he wants.
That recovery sets up Sunday's concert as a genuine full-circle moment. Target Field hosted its first-ever concert on July 8, 2012, when McGraw and Chesney co-headlined the Brothers of the Sun Tour and drew a then-record ballpark crowd of 42,524 fans, according to MLB.com. McGraw has a longstanding friendship with Chesney and was best friends with Chesney and Tracy Lawrence before any of them had record deals, the Pioneer Press reports.
New Music Rooted in an Old Pawn Shop
Sunday's concert is part of McGraw's Pawn Shop Guitar Tour, named for his single of the same name, which he wrote with Tom Douglas and released on May 29, 2026. The song is autobiographical, describing how McGraw pawned his high school ring to buy his first instrument before moving to Nashville, according to Backstage Country. McGraw plans to give his fall 2026 album the same title, and told the Pioneer Press it's full of personal songs and stories, adding that he feels he's making better music than ever after a 35-year career. He said he still records with the same group of musicians, with the whole band playing together at once.
The tour's stadium stops are rare by design. Minneapolis is one of only three such dates this summer, alongside Fenway Park and Hersheypark Stadium, part of a 33-date North American run stretching from July 9 in Bethel, New York, to September 26 in West Palm Beach, Florida, as Hoodline previously reported. McGraw will perform Sunday with The Chicks, Lady A, 49 Winchester and Timothy Wayne. He told the Pioneer Press his choice of openers was based on both music and personal relationships, calling The Chicks one of the biggest acts in country music.
Faith Hill, Family and Staying Out of Politics
McGraw also touched on his marriage to Faith Hill, saying he's uncertain whether the two will tour together again after their Soul2Soul II run — one of the highest-grossing country tours in history and among the top five highest-grossing tours across all genres, per Wikipedia. He noted that Hill stepped back from her own career and was deeply involved in their children's lives while the kids were school-age. McGraw now has aging parents and children in their 20s, a stage of life he referenced in the interview.
Asked about the current political climate, McGraw said music should bring people together regardless of politics, and made clear he has no interest in a future in politics himself. Target Field's concert will start at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, with tickets ranging from $48.10 to $219.30.
A Ballpark Built for More Than Baseball
McGraw's return also fits into a broader shift at Target Field, which opened in April 2010 at a construction cost of roughly $555 million and became the first MLB facility to earn LEED Platinum certification for sustainable operations in 2022, according to ThrillZing. The venue has hosted more than 30 major concerts since opening and expanded its programming this year with a postgame concert series featuring acts like Ludacris and Dustin Lynch, part of the Minnesota Twins' push to use the ballpark as a year-round entertainment venue, as Hoodline has previously covered. Pop star P!nk still holds the stadium's all-time concert attendance record, drawing more than 44,000 fans in August 2023, and Noah Kahan's shows there earlier this month reportedly sent resale ticket prices as high as $500. Whether McGraw's Sunday crowd approaches those marks remains to be seen, but for a performer who helped christen the ballpark's concert stage back in 2012, the homecoming carries its own weight regardless of the final head count.
