Tag: SiriusXM

Historic ‘first’ concert at the Ryman Auditorium

Garth Brooks took a short break from his three year “Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood” to launch his new channel on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.  He kicked it off with a press conference September 8, at Sirius XM’s studios at Bridgestone Arena on Broadway in Nashville, in front of an ‘invitation only’ group of print and broadcast media, before performing a concert at the Ryman Auditorium.

Garth started out by saying, “I got to step inside the [Ryman] yesterday. That’s a cool place, man. Feels good. Don’t know if I deserve to be there but it treated me like welcome. It welcomed the band and everybody. I hope it knows its heart and soul, because you might have said it in front of as big a country fan [as me], but you’ll never say it in front of a bigger one.”

He went on to describe how it would feel, walking on to that historic stage with his guitar for his first ever concert at the Ryman. It’s amazing to think this was to be a ‘first’ for Garth.

“The only time I got to stand on the Ryman stage was at Loretta Lynn’s Lifetime Achievement Presentation and I had to stand in for Conway on “Cold As Ashes,” said Garth.

Representing ‘those who’ve been before’

I asked Garth to compare the difference between two milestones in his career, playing Central Park and playing at the Ryman. Garth said, “Probably feeling the same good anxiety, good fear, all those good things. Central Park was cool for its size and stuff. I wanted to represent Country music, I wanted to represent the flag of Country music, your family and God the best you can. Everybody is in their seats. Tonight you think about, this ain’t a million people, there has been about a hundred names that played that house that – you – want  – to – represent…” (He slows he speech down with emotion as he finished the sentence.)

He continued, “To represent those people who have been there before. The biggest thing between this and Central Park is just that the Central Park show was representing Country music as it was. Here [Ryman], I think we’re trying to represent Country as it is, as it was and of course – as always like a family moving together – hopefully for the future of it.”

Like a homecoming

All throughout the press conference he would turn every few minutes and look out the window at the Ryman Auditorium with evident emotion in his voice and his eyes welling up, referring to the Ryman as “The House”. This seemed almost like a homecoming, just to listen to his sincerity and honestly as he spoke his thoughts and heartfelt emotions.

He was asked what song he was going to start the concert with and he said that he couldn’t even tell us what song he was going to start off with or end with, and assured those present that he was being totally upfront with the media.

Immediately following the press briefing, Garth crossed the street to Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium for a soundcheck preceding his performance at the special concert in front of invited guests.  The concert aired live on the Garth Channel, SiriusXM channel 55 and via SiriusXM apps on smartphones and other connected devices.

His appearance marked the first time in Garth’s career that he has put on a full concert at the Ryman Auditorium, known as “The Mother Church of Country Music.”

Additionally, Garth recently launched Inside Studio G, a weekly Facebook Live series that will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of his next album. It airs every Monday on Garth’s Facebook page at 7:00 PM EDT.

The final leg of his and Trisha’s North American Tour resumes on Monday, September 12.

More information at Garth’s Facebook page and www.siriusxm.com

NOTE: Due to limited space, some quotes were shortened to fit accordingly.