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From his start at Raleigh’s Longbranch to his recent three-day arena show last month, Garth Brooks is at superstar status—and a genuinely nice guy.
Garth Brooks strolls down the hall toward the press conference wearing jeans and a T-shirt with his phone held out in front of him in ‘selfie’ posture. He’s doing a live feed for the Facebook Live adventure he had just launched the day before coming to Raleigh.
He’s joking with Trisha Yearwood, his wife of 10 years, as he pivots his back to the reporters to include them all in the shot.
“You guys are on Facebook Live right now, just FYI,” Yearwood calls to us.
He shifts the focus to the roomful of reporters waving like friends being videoed at a tailgate.
“Because we’re on Facebook Live, they’re going to be very nice to me,” he says to the cyber-fans watching him.
The reporters laugh appreciatively. Brooks completely owns the room, and he’s barely stepped inside.
From putting the Longbranch on the map to proving that Raleigh is a town that can support a three-night arena appearance, Garth’s mark on Raleigh is indelible.
Full Circle
Moments before the grand entrance to the press conference, a reporter sitting in the back is shifting in her seat. She says she might be too nervous to ask a question. “I was at the Longbranch the first time he was there, and I’ve been a fan ever since,” she says.
The Longbranch had humble roots but grew to be a crucial rung for country artists as they climbed to super-stardom.
Fred Wilburn, owner of the Longbranch gave credit to Brooks in a 2007 CMT interview. “He (Brooks) really started us off. He’s the best entertainer I’ve ever seen. That guy put us on the track for getting other big stars.”
Brooks humbly gives the credit back. “Talk about full circle,” he said at the press conference. “Raleigh means the beginning for us. Longbranch took us in and booked us when no one else was.”
“What it’s all about”
Humility hallmarks the 30-minute reporter Q&A. No matter what is asked, Brooks circles it back to an artist that inspired him, the fans that keep him going or, most often, to his wife.
From her role as Mary in Fox’s The Passion: Live to her cooking show on the Food Network, Trisha’s Southern Kitchen, Yearwood is as busy as Brooks.
As she pauses to answer a question about a new cookbook, Brooks interrupts, “She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” He raises his hand toward Trisha who is wearing jeans and a shimmering grey sweater. “Sorry, go ahead, but isn’t she beautiful?”
The reporters are putty. We see her through his eyes. She joyfully soaks up the praise of a man she clearly adores. This is the kind of marriage that isn’t supposed to exist between superstars, especially not superstars who have been together for a decade.
“This is what it’s all about,” Brooks says. “I got to raise my daughters, be there for every practice, every school event, and now I get to tour with the love of my life.”
The Concert that Connects
Thousands in Raleigh turned out to see Garth Brooks at the PNC Arena March 11-13.
“He makes the audience feel special, engaged and connected,” says Megan Lumley, director of practice management for Rex Express Cares. Prior to the Raleigh show, she’d already been to three shows on Garth’s Man Against the Machine tour and was looking forward to sitting in the third row opening night in Raleigh with a sign that read, “I’m celebrating my birthday with you, Garth.”
At the press conference, Brooks recorded a birthday greeting for Lumley. “Hi Miss Megan, Happy Birthday to you. Third row, I’ll be looking for you, I’ll be the one in the hat.”
Lumley watched the recording: “OK, I can die now.”
But that moment paled in comparison when, true to his word, during Thunder Rolls, Brooks looked for her and said, “Happy Birthday, Megan.”
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