Garth Brooks is one of the biggest stars in country music. At one point, he even retired. However, his popularity never really waned. Today, over three decades after he made his debut, Brooks still sells out stadiums. In fact, he sold out his upcoming tour stop in Salt Lake City, Utah in record time. Fans bought over 50,000 tickets in under half an hour. That was Ticketmaster’s fastest sell-out of a stadium in history. So, it’s plain to see that his live shows are a big deal.
There are a few things that make Garth Brooks’ live shows really special. For one, when he goes out there on stage, he worries about disappointing the crowd. So, he gives them everything he has every time he plays a show. Another thing that makes those shows special is that he never sells the first two rows. Instead, he sends his crew into the upper decks to find people to bring down to the front. In this way, he is able to make a handful of fans incredibly happy. At the same time, he leaves a lasting impression on them.
In a recent episode of Inside Studio G, Garth Brooks discussed both why he doesn’t sell tickets for the first two rows as well as why he brings people down from the nosebleeds.
Why Garth Brooks Doesn’t Sell Tickets to the First Two Rows at His Concerts
The question came up in the “Ask Garth,” segment of Inside Studio G. Garth Brooks had a pretty simple and direct answer. “We got tired of people scalping them.” At the same time, Brooks said that he got tired of unenthusiastic people filling the front two rows. According to him, many of the people who bought those tickets were just, “looking around to see who’s seeing them being at the show.”
Before he stopped selling the first two rows, Garth Brooks consulted with some of the biggest bands around at the time. He said they talked to Nirvana, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, and U2 among others about the issue that they were having. One of the ideas that came up was to not sell those tickets but to give them away.
After all, being in the front of a crowd at a concert is supposed to be exciting. In theory, those seats should be saved for people who will really appreciate and enjoy them. So, that’s what Garth Brooks and his crew do now.
If you’re in the upper decks of a stadium, there’s a good chance that someone will come and ask you if you want to move down to the front two rows. Garth Brooks talked a little about this on Inside Studio G as well. The reasoning behind this is that Garth knows that if you’re way up there in the nosebleeds, you want to be at the show so badly that you’ll take any seat you can. So, if he packs the first two rows with people from the upper decks, he will be able to look down at a group of fans who are both excited to be there and incredibly appreciative.
