Garth Brooks doesn’t care if only 500 people show up for what will be his third show in Salt Lake City in less than a year. He just wants to make sure he performs for most, if not all, of his fans in Utah.
“A year ago we played a sold-out show, felt that there were more people outside the stadium than in, so we promised we would come back,” Brooks said in a new video shared on Twitter. “You sold that show out. So now I’m going to say this: I don’t care if 500 people show up. We’re gonna put a third one on sale. And that way, these people who have waited for two long sales and didn’t get tickets are now gonna be guaranteed to get a ticket here.”
Flashback: Last summer, while performing to a sold-out crowd at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, the country superstar made the unexpected announcement that he would return to the stadium before his tour concluded. The show had sold out so fast, he said, that he felt his Utah fans hadn’t really been given the chance to secure tickets.
After following through on that promise, recently setting up his return show for June 18, Brooks has now added yet another night in Salt Lake City on June 17.
“The truth is it’s all selfish for me because now I get to play one of the coolest places not once, not twice, but three times,” Brooks said in the new video. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love.”
Context: Brooks’ show last year sold out within 30 minutes — a Ticketmaster record, the Deseret News reported. The second show scheduled for June 18 sold 50,000 tickets in 45 minutes and then quickly sold out, according to Brooks’ official Twitter account.
What’s happening now: Now, fans have a third attempt to get tickets. Brooks has added a new opening night to his Salt Lake City return, performing on June 17 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
How to get tickets: Tickets go on sale April 29 at 10 a.m. MT, and can be purchased the following three ways: through the Ticketmaster website, the Garth Brooks Ticketmaster line at 1-877-654-2784, and the Ticketmaster app on your mobile device.
For what it’s worth: I have now twice found success purchasing tickets through the Garth Brooks Ticketmaster phone line. For last year’s show and the upcoming show on June 18, I simultaneously attempted to get tickets through the Ticketmaster website and the Ticketmaster phone line. Both times, the phone line came through first — but persistence is required. It took 114 attempts for me to get through on the phone last week.
The bigger picture: Brooks’ move to add another show in Utah illustrates what defines him as an artist.
- “He really likes to perform. But beyond that, he really likes to perform for his fans,” I wrote for the Deseret News last year. “Brooks seems to possess a sincerity when it comes to giving his fans a moment they won’t forget — and giving his fans as much of a chance as possible to experience that moment.”