DENVER — It’s no secret that Colorado really, really likes Garth Brooks. His Saturday show at Broncos Stadium at Mile High is now sold out, making it the biggest ticketed event in the venue’s history.
That’s 84,000 tickets to see a country music artist who used to play the Grizzly Rose – that was back while he WAS that friend in low places.
“The Grizzly Rose, what I loved about them is they continued to be partners,” Brooks said during a news conference Friday afternoon. “If we would have called them up for this gig, they would have treated us the same way they did 30 years ago.”
"It's always exciting and an honor for us, especially someone as magnificent as Garth Brooks," said Lindy Arnold, the General Manger of the Grizzly Rose. "To remember playing here and still have a place in his heart for us, it's pretty cool."
Brooks’ news conference spanned multiple topics, from compliments about Denver’s friends in “tow” places campaign (they really don’t want people to drive to the concert, for what it’s worth), to the resurgence of vinyl (“If somebody can make sense of that to me, I’m all ears,” Brooks joked), to that fact that whenever he comes to town, the city responds in a big way.
U2 had the previous record for ticket sales at the Broncos Stadium, selling 77,000 of them for their May 2011 show.
Brooks said performing in a stadium is a different feel, since every song feels bigger.
“We’re going to start fast, we’re going to stay fast, it will never slow down tomorrow, not if we’re doing our job right,” he said.
Brooks said fans in the upper levels should wait for a cool light show during “The River.” He also said not to worry if the weather turns sour (Saturday’s forecast calls for storms) – he’ll play for anything, unless there’s lightning.
“If it’s just rain, we’ll play in the rain all night long,” he said.
During the news conference, Brooks kept reiterating the importance of the Grizzly Rose to his career, as well as another venue: the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo.
“That was life-changing and life-shaping for me,” Brooks said.
During that performance, he said the crowd hoisted a giant teddy bear toward him for his daughter. He doesn’t know who actually bought it, but said it’s in her bedroom to this day.
“I’ve just kept telling this story,” Brooks said, adding that he hopes the person who bought the bear hears it at some point.
As for what’s next, Brooks conceded he doesn’t quite know what the future holds or what his next tour will look like. He did promise that Denver would be involved.
“It will not happen without the city if the city lets us come back,” Brooks said.
Additional note for concert attendees: Ticketmaster sent out an email saying the concert is a mobile ticket only event, but later released a statement saying the email was an error.
"Events at Bronco Stadium are usually mobile only. However, tomorrow night’s event is not mobile only. We apologize for any confusion," the statement read.
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