On a recent #AskGarth segment of his Inside Studio G Facebook show, Garth Brooks revealed why — as a strict rule — he never sells tickets for the first two rows of his concerts. The answer reveals much about who Garth is, both as a person and a performer.
Brooks notes that he “is tired of dealing with ticket scalpers and [disinterested] spectators not really into the music and looking around to see who’s seeing them being there at the show.” So, after consulting with other members of other regularly touring acts like Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, and U2, he devised a strategy.
Instead, he’d give away those prime tickets to fans who had already purchased upper deck seats. Brooks says that he sends his crew up to the highest sections furthest away from the stage. Ideally, the “Friends In Low Places” vocalist believes that those fans would be “very excited” to be down in front and would appreciate the concert more than those with scalped seats.
The “The Thunder Rolls” crooner is currently on the road for a sold-out stadium tour nationwide. After playing his first gig at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, he had a positive note for artists cautious about wanting to re-engage with live events: “To every musician out there, all I can say is get back in the game because it’s the greatest feeling in the world.” He added concerning playing gigs safely, “I really hope that that message gets across, that if you’re going to do it, do it responsibly until we can get back to being real musicians and not having to be responsible.”
