Ask Garth Brooks how long it’s been since his last stadium performance, and he won’t hesitate to answer: 504 days. Nearly 18 months ago, the country music titan performed what would later become his last stop on his stadium tour in Detroit, MI.
Now, he’s never been more ready to get back on the road and do what he does best.
On the eve of his stadium tour kickoff, which starts July 10 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Brooks posted a clip via his Twitter account that’s got us fired up. Goosebumps will undoubtedly run down your spine as you watch Brooks walk into the stadium, seats empty, as he and his team rehearse for the upcoming commencement of a tour that he’s been eager to begin.
Due to high demand, Brooks recently added new dates at the Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. “I think the greatest teacher in life is losing,” Brooks said about the shadow that COVID-19 cast on performing live for his fans.
His last stadium show came on Feb. 22, 2020, at the 70,000-plus crowd at Ford Field in Detroit. The 31-song setlist landed him rave reviews, and he was more than ready to keep going. “Fast forward a year-and-a-half-later – I’m ready,” he says. And so are his fans.
“I think we have all felt so shut down for so long,” said Andrea Rizk, a 44-year-old Nashville PR consultant who, at 13-years-old saw Brooks for the first time and plans to be back at his Nashville show.
The Love & Loyalty Between Garth Brooks & His Fans
“I think that standing in a stadium full of people singing the same words to the same songs, and Garth, his energy is so infectious, and he attracts an audience that is all colors, creeds, sizes, shapes, everything. She added,”I know personally that I am so ready to be in that environment again. Music is such a unifier, and I think as a country, we are super desperate for that.”
Brooks’ passion for performing is evident: his stadium tour is among the first in the U.S. to resume shows following the pandemic. Each concert will be sold at full capacity. Even though he couldn’t perform for as many fans at once, he still kept them busy. Throughout the pandemic, he remained loyal to his fans— but at a distance.
In the spring, Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, live-streamed a concert via Facebook that attracted so many fans, it crashed the site. In March, they delivered one of their CBS television specials from their living room. That summer, Brooks held a prerecorded concert at 300 drive-in theaters that attracted more than 350,000 fans.
These are just a few examples of Brooks’ tireless efforts to give back to his fans when he couldn’t be with them in person. Now, he’s ready to put on a show and have “people leaving that stadium loving each other more than when they got there.”
“Let’s show up and watch what happens,” Brooks said. “Music is a great unifier, but it’s also a great healer.”
