By Ed Condran
PhillyVoice Contributor
March 27, 2017

Garth Brooks takes part in a panel during the South by Southwest Music Festival on Friday, March 17, 2017, in Austin, Texas.

Garth Brooks is an anomaly.

The charismatic Oklahoman has sold more albums than any other solo recording artist in pop music history. Those in the upper echelon of music don’t hold press conferences before performing at each city during a tour. And then there’s Brooks, who met the press just before soundcheck this past Friday prior to performing at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly. Why did Brooks connect with the media just before kicking off a four-show stand over the weekend?

“We always did these press conferences during the ‘90s,” Brooks explained to PhillyVoice at a conference room at the Wells Fargo Center.

“But why do we do it? Sometimes we do things just because we think that’s the way it should be done. Regarding how other people do it, we don’t know what other people do or won’t do.”

Brooks and his wife, singer Trisha Yearwood, met the press collectively for a half-hour and proceeded to do a number of one-on-one interviews. Brooks is also an outlier since no ticket on his tour is more than $75, which includes the service charge. The only other superstar recording artist who doesn’t require triple digits per ticket is Pearl Jam, which features an average ticket at about $85.

There’s no doubt that Brooks is leaving money on the table.

“But I don’t need to charge an astronomical amount for a ticket,” Brooks said.

“I’m just trying to be fair. People have to pay a lot for so many things. Why should they pay a fortune to see me? I want as many people to come see me as possible.”

Friday night’s show was a sellout and three other shows over the weekend were all nearly SRO.

It had been 19 years since Brooks played Philadelphia.

Of course, Brooks “retired” from 2001 to 2009. However, once Brooks finished raising his children, he went back to the studio and the road. He’s been on a mega comeback tour that commenced three years ago.

“We didn’t know if we were going to make it back to Philadelphia,” Brooks said. “But we finally returned.”

Who knows where Brooks will perform since there appears to be no rhyme or reason to his routing.

“What we’re doing is unusual,” Yearwood said. “But it’s working.”

The same can be said for Brooks' show. His two-and-a-half hour concert Friday was filled with energy and hits.

“Friends in Low Places,” “The Dance” and "Much Too Young (Too Feel This Damn Old)” were delivered. “Ask Me How I Know,” Brooks latest single was one of the few new tunes offered. How does Brooks even slip in fresh material since he has more hits than cowboy hats?

“It’s really not easy,” Brooks said.

“What songs can I cut from the show? I can’t cut 'The Dance' or 'Friends in Low Places.' That wouldn’t’ go over very well. I just do the best I can since I’m still going to make music. I’ll slip in some new songs.”

Brooks is as animated as ever. He continues to race across the stage making broad gestures.

“I love you, Philadelphia,” Brooks said while beaming under the lights.

“He loves what he does,” Yearwood said. “There are two things he loves, performing and driving around on his tractor.”

According to Yearwood, an end is in sight for Brooks flying Dutchman of a tour.

“We’re almost done,” Yearwood said.

“We’ve been out doing this for so long. We’re still going to do dates but I think we’re done with the big tours like this one. Enjoy it while it’s happening.”

He was just in our town and did three shows, before the blizzard hit the N.E. People are still talking about those shows. He also hung out with the locals, and played basketball with a high school team. Even though I'm not much into country music, I can't help but appreciate one of my homeboys from back home. (That does not apply to that scab Toby Keith.) He really does love his fans, and gives all he's got during a show, and on record. He's a lot like Prince that way. Although Prince was never hanging from a lighting fixture in danger of falling.

Did some reading about this guy, amazed he has had several Diamond selling albums there. He is completely unknown in New Zealand, we have never ever ever ever ever ever heard of him. And I know he is not known in the UK or British commonwealth either.

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Same with a lot of these other "Country artists" like Dwight Yoakam, Kenny Chesney (Apparently his concerts are attended by rednecks who leave rubbish everywhere), Ted McGraw and the like. Do they not promote their music outside the United States.

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Also too, why is it these country artists stock uniform is a plaid shirt (Flannel) with tshirt underneath - usually advertising a brand of alcohol, cow horns or an American eagle and blue jeans, sometimes a western type hat.

Adorecream said:

Do they not promote their music outside the United States.

Is that so? http://prince.org/msg/8/422767

If no one has heard of Garth in the UK, then why is there a tribute singer there? There's British country acts too. Isn't Keith Urban, who's married to Nicole Kidman, from Australia or somewhere?

Ward Thomas

The Shires / Red Sky July

http://www.ukcountryradio.com

Garth Brooks is a BADA**. One of the greatest entertainers EVER. Tremendous person, too. Unbelievably fan-oriented.

In 1991, we needed to hire a spokesperson for a business we owned. I suggested an up-and-coming country artist named Garth Brooks. We didn't hire him. One of the biggest mistakes I've ever made!

I remember when he played the Astrodome in 1992. The first Iraq War was still going on. The stage was in the middle of the floor. Most entertainers were driven to it. Not Brooks. Him, his sister, and the drummer walked from the entrance all the way to the stage. They were all wearing dusters and cowboy hats. And Brooks was carrying an American flag. It took them 2 0r 3 minutes to get to the stage. The crowd went as nuts as I've ever seen any crowd go.

I was on the top level of the Astrodome (the skybox level). I swear the floor was SHAKING. It was one of the most memorable moments ever.

Brooks is coming back to the Rodeo next year. He's both opening it, and closing it. No one has ever done that before. I can't wait!

How do you force people to buy records?

Adorecream said:

Adorecream said:

Did some reading about this guy, amazed he has had several Diamond selling albums there. He is completely unknown in New Zealand, we have never ever ever ever ever ever heard of him. And I know he is not known in the UK or British commonwealth either.

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Same with a lot of these other "Country artists" like Dwight Yoakam, Kenny Chesney (Apparently his concerts are attended by rednecks who leave rubbish everywhere), Ted McGraw and the like. Do they not promote their music outside the United States.

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Also too, why is it these country artists stock uniform is a plaid shirt (Flannel) with tshirt underneath - usually advertising a brand of alcohol, cow horns or an American eagle and blue jeans, sometimes a western type hat.

I'm sure there are popular artists in your country that we've never heard of, either. It's a big world.

LMFAO at you saying "Country artists" when referring to Yoakum, Chesney and McGraw. They ARE country artists, no quotes needed.

If Chesney et. al. are where you guys are at with respect to USA country music, then you are so lucky! For the last five years, country music has been taken over by something called "bro country". And holy moley, does it ever suck! Here are the lyrics to every bro country song ever written:

"Hey girl, in your cut off jeans, riding in the truck with the smoke rolling out, and your hat on backwards, drinking Jack Daniels, blasting T-Pain from your Kenwoods. Let's go down some old back road to a spot on the lake no one else knows. I'll bring my old guitar and my old bird dog Beau. The smoke will roll and the drink will flow. And then I'll boff you."

Avoid at all costs these artists: Luke Bryan. Jason Aldean. Florida Georgia Line (the absolute WORST OF THE WORST). Sam Hunt. Anyone named Chad. Actually, avoid all American male country artists under the age of 35. They suck. Every single one of them. Bro country is worse than rap. Yeah, I said it.

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[Edited 4/6/17 11:12am]

EmmaMcG said:

As for the country artists stock uniform, I'd think that the answer is simple. Look up footage of any country artist concert. Notice that most of the audience are dressed in plaid shirts, cowboy hats etc. It makes sense that the country singers would dress the same. It makes them more relatable. It's basic marketing.

Some of the country acts decades ago didn't dress like the audience. They wore Nudie suits.

A lot of the audience for Tejano groups wear plaid shirts, cowboy hats, and jeans too. That's what rodeo performers usually wear as well. Country music is associated with westerns & cowboy movies (rodeos too), going all the way back to Gene Autrey & Roy Rogers in the 1930s. And how did the guys in westerns dress? It's how many farmers dress. That's how Bo & Luke Duke dressed, and The Dukes Of Hazzard was one of the most popular shows of the early 1980s in the US. To this day there's a Dukes Fest every year. There's a cable channel called RFD-TV and you'll see lots of people dressed that way. The style is just country & Tejano culture, like Doc Martens are for goths.

2freaky4church1 said:

How do you force people to buy records?

Sounds like a Prince tactic to me, like with Musicology to spike the Billboard charts. Notice that Billboard never allowed concert ticket giveaway albums to chart again after that.

MickyDolenz said:

EmmaMcG said:

MickyDolenz said:

Some of the country acts decades ago didn't dress like the audience. They wore Nudie suits.

A lot of the audience for Tejano groups wear plaid shirts, cowboy hats, and jeans too. That's what rodeo performers usually wear as well. Country music is associated with westerns & cowboy movies (rodeos too), going all the way back to Gene Autrey & Roy Rogers in the 1930s. And how did the guys in westerns dress? It's how many farmers dress. That's how Bo & Luke Duke dressed, and The Dukes Of Hazzard was one of the most popular shows of the early 1980s in the US. To this day there's a Dukes Fest every year. There's a cable channel called RFD-TV and you'll see lots of people dressed that way. The style is just country & Tejano culture, like Doc Martens are for goths.

Those suits are kind of cool looking. I'm a big fan of tacky fashion though.

I have a few shirts done up in the style of those jackets. They are a big hit when I wear them at the Rodeo.

Some good points guys, yes some people know of him the UK and one orger mentions Australia and Ireland, but I live in NEW ZEALAND, a separate and independent country away from these places.

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And my original point remains, he is practically unknown here and never had a single or an album on our TOP 50 charts in all creation. Generally American country and western music was huge here until 1984 under the Muldoonist repression phase, when NZ was like Apartheid era South Africa. We had shows like That's Country and even the first three seasons of Billy T James (Maori comedy Icon 1949 - 1991) in the early 80s had him and his crew singing Country and Western crap. Pretty much any country artists up to the era of Eddie Rabbit, Ry Cooder and Oak Ridge Boys was big here, but after 1984 we joined the 20th century and country overnight became the music of choice for rednecks and yokels in places like Gore and the West Coast of the South Island (Our alabama equivalents).

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Glossy pop, hi brow musicals and opera and rock took over in the civilised parts of our country (Auckland and Wellington and some parts of Christchurch). Garth Brooks I read came on the scene in 1988, well after the Labour revolution made our country funky and vibrant rather than a clone of South Africa or America in 1951.

Adorecream said:

I hate his music but his generosity with the concert tickets doesn't surprise me at all. Back when he released his album Sevens I was watching Oprah and he announced all the money he would have received from the first four weeks of sales would go to Oprah's charity or foundation (don't remember what it was).

EmmaMcG said:

Adorecream said:

Some good points guys, yes some people know of him the UK and one orger mentions Australia and Ireland, but I live in NEW ZEALAND, a separate and independent country away from these places.

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And my original point remains, he is practically unknown here and never had a single or an album on our TOP 50 charts in all creation. Generally American country and western music was huge here until 1984 under the Muldoonist repression phase, when NZ was like Apartheid era South Africa. We had shows like That's Country and even the first three seasons of Billy T James (Maori comedy Icon 1949 - 1991) in the early 80s had him and his crew singing Country and Western crap. Pretty much any country artists up to the era of Eddie Rabbit, Ry Cooder and Oak Ridge Boys was big here, but after 1984 we joined the 20th century and country overnight became the music of choice for rednecks and yokels in places like Gore and the West Coast of the South Island (Our alabama equivalents).

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Glossy pop, hi brow musicals and opera and rock took over in the civilised parts of our country (Auckland and Wellington and some parts of Christchurch). Garth Brooks I read came on the scene in 1988, well after the Labour revolution made our country funky and vibrant rather than a clone of South Africa or America in 1951.

Like I said, I don't think you're missing much.

It sounds like bro country hasn't reached New Zealand. If that's the case, I'm only streaming music from New Zealand stations from now on!

RodeoSchro said:

EmmaMcG said:

Adorecream said: Like I said, I don't think you're missing much.

It sounds like bro country hasn't reached New Zealand. If that's the case, I'm only streaming music from New Zealand stations from now on!

Don't bother, our local scene just imitates the pop and rap from elsewhere. Lorde is over rated and most music is rubbish like Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Rhianna and that nonsense. Some of our local reggae is pretty cool though.

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Plus we have our country scene, small but derivative. The only difference with our music, is its all several months behind you guys! Plus we have all our Maoris and Islanders imitating your shit hop and R and B and loving theirs. Quite a lot of British shit like Ed Sheeran and Adele is popular too.

RodeoSchro said:

Mickey had to slam Prince. lol

2freaky4church1 said:

Micky had to slam Prince. lol

Saying something that happened is not slamming. Prince gave a CD for every ticket sold. If a family of 4 bought tickets, they got 4 CDs. The average household is not going to buy 4 copies of the same album. Musicology generally appeared in the Top 10 albums in Billboard when there were concerts that week. When there wasn't, it fell out of the Top 10.

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Putting people down is what you, laurarichardson, mjcarousel, and that Bart dude do. Your comment had nothing to do with Garth or the article, but implies that people were forced to buy Garth albums and that is why he sold so much. So that is a slam, not what I said.

What is bro country. In NZ bro is a common form of slang used by Maori and the under educated peoples like "Chur bro", "Hey bro", "Cuzzie bro". It is short for brother.

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Country has its fans here and it is pretty hot amongst senior citizens over 65 and people in rural areas of the South Island, but not in Polynesian Auckland, where shit hop and Sexified R & B rules.

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Some old country music is fine, and Dolly Parton is definitely the nice side, given her toleration of gays, but 90% of country artists are intolerant and bigotted. Basically if you see anything advertised as Country, Christian, Family and Traditional, as a gay man I am wise to avoid it, as it means intolerance and 2 digit IQs.

Was Garth betta than Prince?

Adorecream said:

What is bro country. In NZ bro is a common form of slang used by Maori and the under educated peoples like "Chur bro", "Hey bro", "Cuzzie bro". It is short for brother.

.

Country has its fans here and it is pretty hot amongst senior citizens over 65 and people in rural areas of the South Island, but not in Polynesian Auckland, where shit hop and Sexified R & B rules.

.

Some old country music is fine, and Dolly Parton is definitely the nice side, given her toleration of gays, but 90% of country artists are intolerant and bigotted. Basically if you see anything advertised as Country, Christian, Family and Traditional, as a gay man I am wise to avoid it, as it means intolerance and 2 digit IQs.

"Bro country" is the music played by guyss that in America we call "frat bros". In other words, dudes for whom life is an endless series of parties, babes, drugs or booze, and absolutely no responsibility.

The music sucks. It's not country in any sense other than it's sung by dudes who grew up in rural parts of America, and they think that makes them cowboys. HINT: It doesn't.

I won't even post any bro country videos. They're all horrible. If you absolutely must subject yourself to the pain and torture of Bro Country, then go to YouTube and watch the 3 or 4 most-popular vides from Florida-Georgia Line.

Or heck, just watch this. Nothing has changed since 2013; in fact, it's only gotten worse:

I think its pretty impressive when any artist can sell a ton of records with out any promo because that shows the true strength and interest of you brand. People who truly love you will go out and buy and support your work without the promo and flash. Apparently, Garth has a lot of fans and dedicated fan base that will buy his music regardless, he has earned his success as far as I am concern. I am not a fan and dont listen to country music but I respect that and he seems like a humble and grounded man.

Alt country is good.

RodeoSchro said:
In 1991, we needed to hire a spokesperson for a business we owned. I suggested an up-and-coming country artist named Garth Brooks. We didn't hire him. One of the biggest mistakes I've ever made!

Okay, but his self-titled debut hit #2 and his second album was from 1990 and went #1. No wonder your business did not end up hiring the "Thunder Rolls" international star.