Garth Brooks in Las Vegas...

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Well, here we go. Garth Brooks has made his announcement. He will be returning to the stage. No, not a world tour or even a U.S. tour, but in Las Vegas.

Garth will be playing shows on the weekends. 1 show Friday, 2 shows Saturday, and 1 show on Sunday at The Wynn Hotel Las Vegas. This will be a 5-year project, beginning with 16 weeks. The first show will take place December 11, 2009 and then will return to the stage January 1, 2, and 3. Tickets will be $125 for a seat, cheap for Vegas shows, and will be the price no matter what seat. There will be a strict no-scalping policy in effect, that will include providing identification. Tickets go on sale October 24, 2009.

This will be basically a one-man show. Just Garth and his guitar. He may have a special guest or two, including not ruling out that Trisha Yearwood would be apart of the show. Though, he did add that each show will be different and could last about 90 minutes. It could be longer or shorter, you just never know with a Garth Brooks show.

So, those are the facts. Now some of why he is doing it...

We all know, Garth said that he would not tour until his youngest daughter turned 18. Its been 11 years since he has performed a tour type concert. The daughters are now 17, 15, and 13. So.. that's where the 5-year project comes into play. He said he wanted to be there for his kids and family.. and he meant it.. and still does. He still stands by his statement of no touring and also added no new music is planned during the upcoming 5 years.

The Wynn Hotel deal comes with a private jet for him to be able to commute back and forth from his home in Oklahoma. Its a two-hour flight, and factor in the time change... he can leave at 6pm and arrive in Vegas at 6pm. So, he will be able to be home all week and even attend church on Sunday mornings. If there is a special event or important sporting event he doesn't want to miss seeing his children play, well, the show may be delayed an hour or whatever to allow that to happen. The show schedule will be released by the quarter year; giving Garth full control of when he will be performing and when he won't.

Garth talked today at the press conference about the importance of being with his family and how important that is to him. He also expressed how much he does his playing music and entertaining his fans. With a big Garth signature smile of holding back those heart-felt tears of joy expression, Garth said "I'm going to get to play music." That really sums up so much about Garth. Music and his family are the two most important things in his life... and this arrangement makes it possible for him to be there for his family and play music.

It was so awesome hearing Garth Brooks talk today. The passion he has for the music has never died, but today it felt to be re-born again. The well mannered, fun, and spoken from the heart Garth Brooks we all know and love was filled with the fire passion he has always portrayed, but today it felt like a re-birth as well.

This is such a great deal for Garth. It allows him what he loves to.. perform for his fans. Its good for his fans, in some ways. First, fans get to see him again perform. Second, they see a different side of Garth's performing style... lower key and communicating the power of a song Garth, that not always gets to be seen. The only bad part is he is only in one city and a fairly limited schedule and somewhat smaller venue. But hey, that can be a plus as well...

Any thoughts on what you think of Garth's return is of course always welcomed.. leave a comment.