The Garth Brooks World Tour (2014–2017)

The Garth Brooks World Tour[5][6] was a concert tour by American singer Garth Brooks with Trisha Yearwood. Beginning on September 4, 2014, in Rosemont, Illinois, the tour was Brooks' first in 13 years after coming out of retirement. It launched in support of his 2014 album, Man Against Machine, continuing through the release of his 2016 album, Gunslinger.

The Garth Brooks World Tour
Tour by Garth Brooks
Promotional poster for the tour
Associated albumMan Against Machine
Start dateSeptember 4, 2014
End dateDecember 23, 2017
Legs8
No. of shows390 in North America
Box office364.3 million (366 shows)[1][2][3][4]
Garth Brooks concert chronology

High demand has prompted multiple concerts to be added in each city, with Brooks performing two shows per night in some cases. With 390 shows performed following the conclusion of its eighth leg in 2017, the tour has broken the record for the most all-time concerts in a tour.[7] It also holds the record for the highest-grossing country music tour of all time, surpassing Soul2Soul: The World Tour by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.[8]

Conception

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Garth Brooks' first and second world tours, 1993–94 and 1996–98 respectively, were both successful. After his multi-year residency at Wynn Las Vegas, yet not embarking on a multi-city tour for thirteen years, Brooks announced plans for a world tour during an interview on Good Morning America in December 2013.[9] He later confirmed his tour and plans for an upcoming album during a press conference on July 11, 2014.[10] On July 15, Brooks stated on his website that each city on the tour would be individually released, and the first concert would take place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Days later, Brooks announced ten additional shows, all at the same arena.[11] Brooks has continued the pattern of announcing the next city every few weeks, both in an effort to generate excitement and urgency, as well as an attempt to combat ticket resale. The tour was in extremely high demand. Typically, two or three shows were announced in one market at a time, with more shows added based on real-time statistics of demand.[12]

Ticket sales and records

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For the first concerts of the tour (what would become an 11-show residency in Rosemont, Illinois), 180,000 tickets were sold within three hours, meriting comparison to Bruce Springsteen's 1999–2000 reunion tour comeback success.[46] As the tour progressed, Ticketmaster began having issues handling the high demand for tickets. 53,000 tickets were sold for the Atlanta shows, despite fans waiting for more than two hours due to technical issues by the ticket distribution company.[47]

Many arena's ticket sales records have been held by Brooks from his previous world tours; these have since been broken by Brooks again. The tour broke the record for most tickets sold for concerts in a single North American city (more than 201,000 tickets for a residency in Minneapolis).[16] The same Minneapolis residency was also the most concerts held in a single city to date, featuring eleven shows. In January 2016, tickets went on sale for the tour's first stop in Canada, a five-show residency in Hamilton, Ontario. Having not performed in the country since 2012, the Hamilton concerts sold more tickets than Brooks' previous Canadian shows combined, breaking his ticket sales record for the entire province of Ontario.[40]

Resale controversies

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In keeping with Brooks' own tradition, each ticket sold for the tour is the same price, regardless of location in the venue.[48] An issue that arose beginning with the first concerts on the tour has been high ticket resale prices. For example, tickets for the seven-show residency in Dallas were being resold online for an average price 21% higher than face value.[49] Because of Ticketmaster's anti-resale policies, Brooks chose the company to be the official ticket sales company for the tour. Despite the optimism for a lack of extreme resale prices, Ticketmaster's partner resale sites and services began allowing individuals to sell marked-up tickets anyway. In the first weeks of the tour, Atlanta tickets were posted for sale on TicketsNow for as much as nearly 470% higher than face value (i.e. a $71.50 ticket being sold for $405).[50] Brooks, a long-time proponent of banning increased price ticket resales, called out those marking up ticket prices, saying his ultimate goal is making concerts affordable regardless of seat location.[51]

System crashes

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Most venues featured on the tour opt for Ticketmaster as the only official ticket sales merchant. However, some venues have chosen to use either other companies, or their own ticket selling resource. High ticket demand has a pattern of causing stress on these alternative systems. On September 18, 2015 AXS, the merchant selling online tickets to Brooks' San Diego shows, became overwhelmed by demand for tickets and was forced to halt the sale; tickets were later sold the following week.[52] A similar situation occurred on March 18, 2016 when Fargo, North Dakota's Fargodome independent ticket sales website crashed, prompting a later sales date as well.[53]

Cancelled and rescheduled shows

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Due to conflict with the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, Brooks was forced to cancel all June 2015 concerts at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.[54] These shows have not yet been rescheduled. In anticipation of the January 2016 United States blizzard, Brooks rescheduled two concerts at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore for the following weekend.[55] Brooks was also forced to reschedule two concerts in October 2016 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida due to Hurricane Matthew. In anticipation of the storm, his Thursday and Friday night shows were moved to Saturday and Sunday afternoon.[56] Brooks also announced three concerts in Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland, in early 2014. This was subsequently extended to five shows, which led to conflict between Aiken Promotions and Dublin City Council, who would only grant permission for three of the five shows. Brooks, committed to all five shows, subsequently cancelled all the Irish tour dates.[57]

Stage design

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A large 4-sided video monitor encases the drummer's sphere prior to the concert; it is raised as the band makes their entrance.

Stage design for the world tour was directly influenced by Garth Brooks, stating his main interest in the show was to both "wow" the crowd while also keeping the central focus of the concert on the music itself. The lighting design by Bandit Lites was commissioned by David Butzler, Brooks' long-time lighting director.[58]

Concerts are performed in an "end stage" setting, rather than a "theatre in the round" configuration; however, tickets are sold for all seats in the areas, including those located behind the stage.[59]

Before the start of the third leg, the stage received some renovations including wing expansions and video screen redesign.[49]

Format and setlists

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Show outline

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Depending on the specific venue, the show begins with a performance from opening act and backing vocalist Karyn Rochelle.[60] The stage consists of a large cube video monitor, featuring four sides showing Brooks' logo prior to the concert beginning. At the start, the cube is raised and Brooks appears as the first song is played. He begins his set, performing nearly all popular songs from his early albums. Yearwood then accompanies Brooks for a duet, followed by performing a select few of her songs. Brooks returns to perform additional songs, then two separate sets of encores.[60]

Main set

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Brooks' silhouette as shown in the concert opening

As shown in the first legs of the tour, the first four songs are always the same. The concert begins with footage of Brooks' silhouette while singing the opening lines to the first song ("Man Against Machine" in the earlier shows, later replaced with "Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance"). He then appears via elevator through the floor of the stage, pauses, and the bridge and final chorus are omitted and it transitions to "Rodeo", followed by "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House", and "The Beaches of Cheyenne".[60] Next, depending on the venue, other songs such as "The River", "Two Pina Coladas", "Papa Loved Mama", and "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)". "Unanswered Prayers" follows, with the audience singing the entire song with little accompaniment from Brooks. Additional songs, including "That Summer", "The Thunder Rolls", and "We Shall Be Free" may follow.[61] Excluding the opening, Brooks only performs one or two songs from his newer albums (such as "Ask Me How I Know" or "Mom"). When questioned on his lack of new songs in the setlist, he remarked, "I'm just like you... I see the guys I like and I want to hear the old stuff."[62]

 
Brooks dances atop the drummer's sphere during "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)"

Brooks then begins singing "In Another's Eyes", as Trisha Yearwood enters the stage and performs the duet. Yearwood goes on to performs a select few of her songs, including "XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl)", "How Do I Live", "She's in Love with the Boy", and "Georgia Rain".[60] Brooks then returns to sing "PrizeFighter" with Yearwood and transition back into his set. Additional songs performed by Brooks may include "Callin' Baton Rouge" and "Shameless". "Friends in Low Places" is then performed, followed by "The Dance" as the main set ends and the band departs from the stage.[61]

Encores

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At each concert, Brooks and crew return to the stage and perform "The Fever". Brooks dances on a conveyor belt as the drummer's sphere rises above the stage. Following the performance, the band leaves the stage once again. Brooks then returns, often unaccompanied, for what he dubs the "housekeeping segment", in which he scans the crowd for fans with signs requesting songs, performing them acoustically.[63] In some instances (such as the Atlanta concerts in September 2014), he may also perform acoustic covers of songs like "Amarillo By Morning", "Night Moves", and "Piano Man".[64] Regardless, the encore set commonly concludes with the band returning to perform "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)", or another classic song.[61]

Special performances and broadcasts

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During the second concert of the tour in Rosemont, Illinois on September 5, 2014, Kelly Clarkson made a surprise appearance to perform the duet "PrizeFighter", alongside Yearwood (Brooks normally sings Clarkson's verses).[65] Clarkson also made an appearance and sang the duet once again at the concert in Atlanta on September 19, 2014.[64] Brooks made national headlines in November 2014 after noting a fan's sign at a concert in Minneapolis. The sign, reading "Chemo this morning. Garth tonight. Enjoying the dance.", caught Brooks' attention during his performance of "The Dance". After getting emotional, Brooks expressed his support.[66] Later that same month, Brooks performed "People Loving People" on the American Music Awards of 2014 live via satellite from the concert in Greensboro, North Carolina.[67] On the second to last concert of Brooks' six-night residency in Boston on January 25, 2015, Lee Brice joined him on stage and the two performed "More Than a Memory".[68] Brice also opened for Brooks during his first show in Bossier City on July 29, 2016 and again performed the duet during Brooks' set.

At a Pittsburgh concert on February 7, 2015, Brooks' birthday, Pittsburgh Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin, as well as players Ben Roethlisberger, Cameron Heyward, Heath Miller, and Brett Keisel joined Brooks on stage, singing "Happy Birthday" and presenting him a jersey.[69]

On November 10, 2016 a concert special showcasing the tour's shows from Yankee Stadium aired in 4K exclusively through AT&T and DirecTV on Audience.[70]

Critical response

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Ray Waddell of Billboard noted the tours imminent success, saying Brooks could generate "more than double U2's attendance record" on their U2 360° Tour (the all-time highest-grossing concert tour).[12] Commenting on the show itself, Jon Bream of the Star Tribune described it as "all about Garth being Garth, being humble and hammy, sincere and silly, romantic and rowdy — and making the fans believe that he's having as much fun as they are."[71] Melissa Ruggieri of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted Brooks' skill of "toggling between the barn burning slickness of 'Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)' and the restrained acoustic beauty of 'Unanswered Prayers'."[64]

Commenting on Brooks' return to his native state of Oklahoma, Brandy McDonnell of The Oklahoman remarked "the frenzied audience nearly drowned out Brooks' stellar band on several occasions." She later stated, "[Brooks'] talent and zeal as an entertainer remain unmatched."[72] Also following a concert in the tour's second leg, Francie Swidler of The Denver Post stated, "Brooks seemed to want to make everyone in the arena to feel special, fan or not", noting that Brooks "made it all look effortless".[73] After Brooks' 8-concert stint in Houston, Chris Gray of the Houston Press summarized the concert by saying, "Combine raw adrenaline, effortless showmanship, grade-A musical smarts, flawless execution, and enough heart to power the CenterPoint substation across the street from Toyota Center, and you’ve got a performer for whom there's no such thing as too much hype."[74]

Tour dates

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List of concerts, showing date, number of shows, city, country, and venue
Date
Number of shows
City Country Venue
North America Leg 1
September 4, 2014 Rosemont United States Allstate Arena
September 5, 2014
2 shows
September 6, 2014
2 shows
September 11, 2014
September 12, 2014
2 shows
September 13, 2014
2 shows
September 14, 2014
September 19, 2014
2 shows
Atlanta Philips Arena
September 20, 2014
2 shows
September 21, 2014
September 26, 2014
September 27, 2014
October 10, 2014 Jacksonville Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
October 11, 2014
October 12, 2014
October 16, 2014
October 17, 2014
October 18, 2014
October 31, 2014
2 shows
Lexington Rupp Arena
November 1, 2014
2 shows
November 6, 2014 Minneapolis Target Center
November 7, 2014
2 shows
November 8, 2014
2 shows
November 9, 2014
November 13, 2014
November 14, 2014
2 shows
November 15, 2014
2 shows
November 19, 2014 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum
November 20, 2014
November 21, 2014
November 22, 2014
November 23, 2014
December 4, 2014 St. Louis Scottrade Center
December 5, 2014
December 6, 2014
December 7, 2014
December 11, 2014 North Little Rock Verizon Arena
December 12, 2014
December 13, 2014
North America Leg 2
January 9, 2015 Tulsa United States BOK Center
January 10, 2015
2 shows
January 11, 2015
January 15, 2015
January 16, 2015
January 17, 2015
January 22, 2015 Boston TD Garden
January 23, 2015
2 shows
January 24, 2015
2 shows
January 25, 2015
February 5, 2015 Pittsburgh Consol Energy Center
February 6, 2015
2 shows
February 7, 2015
2 shows
February 8, 2015
February 20, 2015 Detroit Joe Louis Arena
February 21, 2015
2 shows
February 27, 2015
February 28, 2015
2 shows
March 5, 2015 Buffalo First Niagara Center
March 6, 2015
2 shows
March 7, 2015
2 shows
March 8, 2015
March 18, 2015 Denver Pepsi Center
March 19, 2015
March 20, 2015
2 shows
March 21, 2015
2 shows
March 22, 2015
2 shows
March 24, 2015
March 27, 2015 Sacramento Sleep Train Arena
March 28, 2015
2 shows
March 29, 2015
March 31, 2015
April 1, 2015
April 12, 2015
2 shows
Portland Moda Center
April 13, 2015
April 15, 2015
April 16, 2015
April 24, 2015 State College Bryce Jordan Center
April 25, 2015
2 shows
May 1, 2015
May 2, 2015
2 shows
May 7, 2015 Omaha CenturyLink Center Omaha
May 8, 2015
2 shows
May 9, 2015
2 shows
May 10, 2015
May 28, 2015 Knoxville Thompson–Boling Arena
May 29, 2015
May 30, 2015
May 31, 2015
June 12, 2015 Birmingham Legacy Arena
June 13, 2015
2 shows
June 26, 2015
2 shows
Houston Toyota Center
June 27, 2015
2 shows
July 3, 2015
2 shows
July 4, 2015
2 shows
July 10, 2015 New Orleans Smoothie King Center
July 11, 2015
2 shows
July 12, 2015
North America Leg 3
September 17, 2015 Dallas United States American Airlines Center
September 18, 2015
2 shows
September 19, 2015
2 shows
September 20, 2015
September 22, 2015
September 25, 2015 Milwaukee BMO Harris Bradley Center
September 26, 2015
2 shows
October 9, 2015
2 shows
Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena
October 10, 2015
2 shows
October 16, 2015 Phoenix Talking Stick Resort Arena
October 17, 2015
October 23, 2015
2 shows
October 24, 2015
2 shows
October 29, 2015 Salt Lake City Vivint Smart Home Arena
October 30, 2015
2 shows
October 31, 2015
November 5, 2015 San Diego Valley View Casino Center
November 6, 2015
November 7, 2015
2 shows
November 8, 2015
November 13, 2015 San Jose SAP Center
November 14, 2015
November 15, 2015
December 3, 2015 Wichita Intrust Bank Arena
December 4, 2015
December 5, 2015
2 shows
December 6, 2015
2 shows
North America Leg 4
January 14, 2016 Sunrise United States BB&T Center
January 15, 2016
January 16, 2016
January 29, 2016[a] Baltimore Royal Farms Arena
January 30, 2016
2 shows[b]
January 31, 2016
2 shows[c]
February 12, 2016 North Charleston North Charleston Coliseum
February 13, 2016
2 shows
February 14, 2016
February 26, 2016 Worcester DCU Center
February 27, 2016
February 28, 2016
March 11, 2016 Raleigh PNC Arena
March 12, 2016
March 13, 2016
March 24, 2016 Hamilton Canada FirstOntario Centre
March 25, 2016
March 26, 2016
2 shows
March 27, 2016
April 1, 2016 Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre
April 2, 2016
April 3, 2016
2 shows
April 8, 2016
2 shows
Louisville United States KFC Yum! Center
April 9, 2016
2 shows
April 15, 2016 Columbus Schottenstein Center
April 16, 2016
April 17, 2016
April 22, 2016
April 23, 2016
April 24, 2016
April 29, 2016
2 shows
Des Moines Wells Fargo Arena
April 30, 2016
2 shows
May 1, 2016
May 3, 2016
May 5, 2016 Fargo Fargodome
May 6, 2016
May 7, 2016
May 8, 2016
May 12, 2016 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena
May 13, 2016
2 shows
May 14, 2016
2 shows
May 15, 2016
North America Leg 5
June 9, 2016 Saskatoon Canada SaskTel Centre
June 10, 2016
2 shows
June 11, 2016
2 shows
June 12, 2016
June 17, 2016 Winnipeg MTS Centre
June 18, 2016
2 shows
June 19, 2016
June 24, 2016 Las Vegas United States T-Mobile Arena
June 25, 2016
July 2, 2016
July 3, 2016
2 shows
July 4, 2016
July 8, 2016 New York City Yankee Stadium
July 9, 2016
July 22, 2016 San Antonio AT&T Center
July 23, 2016
2 shows
July 24, 2016
July 29, 2016 Bossier City CenturyLink Center
July 30, 2016
2 shows
North America Leg 6
September 16, 2016 Anaheim United States Honda Center
September 17, 2016
September 18, 2016
September 23, 2016 Fresno Save Mart Center
September 24, 2016
2 shows
September 25, 2016
October 8, 2016
2 shows[d]
Orlando Amway Center
October 9, 2016
2 shows[e]
October 21, 2016 Charleston Charleston Civic Center
October 22, 2016
2 shows
October 23, 2016
November 11, 2016 Richmond Richmond Coliseum
November 12, 2016
2 shows
November 13, 2016
November 18, 2016 Greenville Bon Secours Wellness Arena
November 19, 2016
November 20, 2016
December 7, 2016 Honolulu Blaisdell Arena
December 8, 2016
December 9, 2016
December 10, 2016
North America Leg 7
January 21, 2017 Cincinnati United States U.S. Bank Arena
January 22, 2017
January 27, 2017
January 28, 2017
January 29, 2017
February 2, 2017 Memphis FedExForum
February 3, 2017
2 shows
February 4, 2017
February 17, 2017 Edmonton Canada Rogers Place
February 18, 2017
2 shows
February 19, 2017
2 shows
February 23, 2017
February 24, 2017
February 25, 2017
2 shows
March 10, 2017 Albany United States Times Union Center
March 11, 2017
March 12, 2017
March 24, 2017 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center
March 25, 2017
2 shows
March 26, 2017
March 30, 2017 Lubbock United Supermarkets Arena
March 31, 2017
April 1, 2017
2 shows
April 2, 2017
April 7, 2017 Las Cruces Pan American Center
April 8, 2017
2 shows
April 9, 2017
2 shows
April 28, 2017 Champaign State Farm Center
April 29, 2017
2 shows
April 30, 2017
May 5, 2017 Kansas City Sprint Center
May 6, 2017
2 shows
May 7, 2017
2 shows
May 12, 2017
May 13, 2017
June 9, 2017 Billings Rimrock Auto Arena
June 10, 2017
2 shows
June 11, 2017
2 shows
June 23, 2017 Lafayette Cajundome
June 24, 2017
June 25, 2017
June 30, 2017
July 1, 2017
July 14, 2017
2 shows
Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Arena
July 15, 2017
2 shows
July 21, 2017 Inglewood The Forum
July 22, 2017
July 28, 2017
July 29, 2017
North America Leg 8
September 1, 2017 Calgary Canada Scotiabank Saddledome
September 2, 2017
2 shows
September 3, 2017
September 8, 2017
September 9, 2017
2 shows
September 15, 2017 Sioux Falls United States Denny Sanford Premier Center
September 16, 2017
2 shows
September 17, 2017
September 22, 2017
September 23, 2017
2 shows
September 24, 2017
2 shows
October 5, 2017 Indianapolis Bankers Life Fieldhouse
October 6, 2017
October 7, 2017
2 shows
October 8, 2017
October 12, 2017 Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium
October 20, 2017 Lincoln Pinnacle Bank Arena
October 21, 2017
2 shows
October 22, 2017
2 shows
November 3, 2017 Tacoma Tacoma Dome
November 4, 2017
2 shows
November 5, 2017
2 shows
November 9, 2017 Spokane Spokane Arena
November 10, 2017
November 11, 2017
2 shows
November 12, 2017
2 shows
November 14, 2017
December 1, 2017 Newark Prudential Center
December 2, 2017
December 3, 2017
December 9, 2017 Nashville Bridgestone Arena
December 10, 2017
December 15, 2017
December 16, 2017
December 17, 2017
December 22, 2017
December 23, 2017
October 20, 2018 South Bend Notre Dame Stadium

Cancelled shows

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List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and reason for cancellation
Date City Country Venue Reason
June 5, 2015 Tampa United States Amalie Arena Canceled due to a scheduling conflict with the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.[54]
June 6, 2015
2 shows

Personnel

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  • Robert Bailey – backing vocals
  • Bruce Bouton – pedal steel guitar, lap steel guitar, electric guitar
  • Garth Brooks – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Steve Cox – keyboards
  • David Gant – keyboards
  • Johnny Garcia – electric guitar
  • Mark Greenwood – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Vicki Hampton – backing vocals
  • Jimmy Mattingly – fiddle, acoustic guitar
  • Mike Palmer – drums, percussion
  • Karyn Rochelle – backing vocals
  • Trisha Yearwood – vocals

Grossing

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  • 2014: $51.0 million from 51 shows[75]
  • 2015: $114.9 million from 120 shows[76]
  • 2016: $97.0 million from 102 shows [77]
  • 2017: $101.4 million from 93 shows [78]

Total available grossing: $364.3 million from 366 shows.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ This date was added at the last minute after the January 23 and 24 shows were rescheduled as a result of the January 2016 United States blizzard.
  2. ^ The show that was originally scheduled for January 23 was postponed to the afternoon of January 30 due to the blizzard.
  3. ^ The show that was originally scheduled for January 24 was postponed to the afternoon of January 31 due to the blizzard.
  4. ^ The show that was originally scheduled for October 6 was postponed to the afternoon of October 8 due to Hurricane Matthew.
  5. ^ The show that was originally scheduled for October 7 was postponed to the afternoon of October 9 due to Hurricane Matthew.

References

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  1. ^ "2016 Year End Top 100 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). Pollstar.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  2. ^ "2017 Mid Year Top 100 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). Pollstar.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-31. Retrieved 2015-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-08. Retrieved 2016-04-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "The Garth Brooks World Tour Sponsored by Amazon Music Unlimited at Bridgestone Arena on Sat Dec 23, 2017 7:30 PM CST — Live Nation". Archived from the original on 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  6. ^ "Garth Brooks".
  7. ^ Wilkin, Jeff (8 March 2017). "Garth Brooks: Big music for big crowds". Daily Gazette. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Announce 2017 World Tour". Forbes.
  9. ^ Kindelan, Katie. "Garth Brooks Announces World Tour on 'Good Morning America'". ABC News Blogs. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  10. ^ "Garth Brooks, Sony Music Entertainment Announce Highly Anticipated New Music, World Tour and Going Digital" (PDF). garthbrooks.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ "Garth Brooks Launching Tour With 10 Chicago Shows". CMT.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  12. ^ a b Waddell, Ray (10 October 2014). "Inside Garth Brooks' Master Plan to Launch the Biggest Tour of All Time". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  13. ^ a b Hall, Tara. "Garth Brooks breaks record with Chicago, Atlanta shows and ticket sales". SoundSpike. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  14. ^ Abbott, Jim. "Garth Brooks beats his own record with Jacksonville ticket sales". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  15. ^ McDonnell, Brandy. "Garth Brooks breaks his Lexington, Ky., sales record". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  16. ^ a b McDonnell, Brandy. "Garth Brooks sells more than 201,000 Minneapolis tickets, launches official Facebook". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  17. ^ "Garth Brooks Breaks His NC Ticket Sales Record for Upcoming Greensboro Concerts". Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. ^ Alexander, Shannon. "Garth Brooks breaks another record and adds two more St. Louis dates". AXS. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  19. ^ McDonnell, Brandy. "Garth Brooks breaks Arkansas state record for ticket sales to Little Rock show". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  20. ^ "Garth Brooks sells over 105,000 tickets for Tulsa shows in just 2 hours, 7 concerts coming in January". KFOR-TV. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  21. ^ Thompson, Gayle (8 February 2015). "Garth Brooks Breaks Pittsburgh Ticket Sales Record". The Boot. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  22. ^ Lacy, Eric (9 February 2015). "Garth Brooks breaks Michigan record for concert tickets sold with brisk sales for six Detroit dates". MLive.com. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  23. ^ Whitaker, Sterling (6 December 2014). "Garth Brooks Breaks Buffalo Record, Passes a Million Ticket Sales for Tour Read More: Garth Brooks Breaks Ticket Sales Record in Buffalo". TasteofCountry.com. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  24. ^ Miller, Matt (16 January 2015). "Garth Brooks breaks a record: 140,000 tickets sold for Denver shows". Denver Post. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  25. ^ McDonnell, Brandy. "Garth Brooks sells more than 84,000 tickets and sets record for his Sacramento shows". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  26. ^ Allers, Hannahlee (16 March 2015). "Garth Brooks Breaks Ticket Sales Records in Oregon". The Boot. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  27. ^ Berger, Zach. "Garth Brooks Reclaims Title For Fastest BJC Sellout". Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  28. ^ Mertes, Micah (27 March 2015). "Garth Brooks just broke the Nebraska ticket sales record, previously held by Garth Brooks". omaha.com. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  29. ^ Allers, Hannahlee (6 May 2015). "Garth Brooks Sets Concert Record in Knoxville". The Boot. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  30. ^ McDonnell, Brandy. "Garth Brooks breaks his Houston ticket sales record". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  31. ^ McDonnell, Brandy. "Garth Brooks breaks Louisiana ticket sales record in 43 minutes". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  32. ^ Armstrong, Jordan. "Garth Brooks breaks ticket record; schedules 7 Dallas shows". WFAA-TV. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  33. ^ "Garth breaks Phoenix record". garthbrooks.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  34. ^ "Garth Brooks breaks his own record for EnergySolutions Arena ticket sales". Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  35. ^ a b "Garth Brooks Continues to Set Records on World Tour". The Boot. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  36. ^ "Garth breaks south Florida record". garthbrooks.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  37. ^ "Garth sets new record in Baltimore". garthbrooks.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  38. ^ "Garth breaks record in South Carolina". garthbrooks.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  39. ^ McDonnell, Brandy. "Garth Brooks breaks his ticket sales record in North Carolina's Triangle". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  40. ^ a b "Garth smashes records in Canada". garthbrooks.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  41. ^ "Garth breaks his Ottawa record". garthbrooks.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  42. ^ "Garth breaks Iowa record". garthbrooks.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
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