Even after all this time, Garth Brooks still can’t believe it.
He’s been named the CMA Entertainer of the Year a record seven times. Last year alone, he performed “Amazing Grace” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor in Washington, D.C., and embarked on a massive stadium tour.
But on Friday afternoon, just a few hours before performing at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Brooks sat in his plaid shirt, faded jeans and tan boots, genuinely in awe that people continue to show up to hear him play.
Utah, especially, amazes him.
Last year, after he had performed for about 80 minutes to a sold-out crowd at the Salt Lake City stadium, Brooks unexpectedly announced that he would return to the venue before his tour concluded. He hadn’t even worked out the logistics or talked with the stadium yet, but he figured there were disappointed fans who had been unable to snag a ticket. And he wanted to give them another shot.
The stadium obliged. So a couple of months ago, Brooks announced his return to Rice-Eccles Stadium. A couple of weeks after that, he added yet another show in Salt Lake City.
“People showed up and they showed up twice,” Brooks said at a press event held Friday afternoon at Rice-Eccles Stadium. “If that is not enough for you to look in the mirror and go ... ‘I don’t know why it’s happening but thank you,’ then I don’t know what needs to hit you in the head to ... realize how lucky you are.”
And after three decades of touring, rather than becoming “old hat,” the country superstar said these moments of playing for a crowd have become “more and more precious” as he’s gotten older.
Entertainer Garth Brooks speaks to reporters before his concert at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 17, 2022.
Laura Seitz, Deseret News
“Springsteen said it best,” he said, his first of two Springsteen references during the 16-minute press event. “He said, ‘What happens on the walk between the dresser and the stage cures everything.’ And it does.”
Brooks’ stadium tour extends through the summer — but he wants people to know that the end of this tour doesn’t mark the end of his live performances.
“You guys were sweet enough to let me back in … so we’re just going to play as long as they’ll let us play,” he said, noting that future appearances could come in the form of a dive bar tour, fair tour or arena tour. ”I’m not ready to give that up.”
This time around, he’s got his wife, country star Trisha Yearwood, with him. He speaks about Yearwood, who he calls “the queen,” with the same passion and enthusiasm he brings to the stage night after night.
“Everybody treats her like the queen and it’s like, ‘Who’s the guy with her?’” he said with a beaming smile. “I always feel good until she shows up in the room, and then I’m a plus one kind of guy. But I can tell you that there is no other human being on the planet I’d rather be next to.”
It’s unclear if Yearwood will join Brooks onstage for a song or two — Brooks said the show is largely the same from last year.
“The only thing different is sometimes my weight’s way up and sometimes my weight’s not so way up,” he joked. He did, however, note that his tried and true repertoire can take on new meaning anywhere he goes — specifically referencing how “The Dance,” a song about love and loss, will likely mean more when he sings it to his fans in Buffalo, New York, next month.
Entertainer Garth Brooks speaks to reporters before his concert at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 17, 2022.
Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Overall, he said, he hits the stage every single time with the same goal: For fans to leave the show “loving each other more than when they came.”
“We’re probably the most divided we’ve ever been, but out there tonight, you’ll see people that if they were in a room together probably wouldn’t be getting along, but they don’t know each other, they just know that they love to sing,” he said. “And there they are with their arms around each other … singing ‘Friends in Low Places’ or ‘Two Pina Coladas.’
“If we could focus on more of what we have in common than what scares us,” he continued. “For the last 20 years, I don’t know why, we focus more on what scares us than what we can potentially do together. That’s kind of where we’re at. And my prayer to God is that we just don’t kill each other before we figure that out, and get back to the great things that we could be doing if we did unite.”