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More country fun from Nancy Wilson. K99online.com
Garth Brooks is back. The return of the legendary country music superstar is official, after weeks of teases on his website and hints throughout the industry.
Garth retired from the biz back in 2001, saying he would return when his youngest daughter graduated from high school. In 2009, he began a five-year concert deal with the Encore Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. July 10 of this year he signed with Sony Records and confirmed a world tour, but just one date has been announced so far, in Chicago. We can expect a new album around Thanksgiving, and it will be available digitally but only on his site — continuing his longstanding snub of iTunes.
So, Garth Brooks’ retirement is officially over. The question is, What will he be returning to?
I’m excited about him coming back. I remember the Garth his heyday in the ’90s, selling out stadiums in nanoseconds, swinging from ropes and surfing the crowd. There’s no question Garth’s gigantic shows paved the way for Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan and countless others, but can we expect the 50-something Grandpa G to still make like Tarzan?
I know and love Garth Brooks because I experienced Garth Brooks. My nephews know who he is and what he sings, but “Friends in Low Places” was released in August 1990, when none of them were born yet. A ginormous, ageless hit, the song spent four weeks at No. 1 and was both the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Song of the Year. But to my nephews, as to a lot of young people, “Friends” is “classic country.” They’re used to a different kind of country music now, music that blends banjos, fiddles and steel guitars with rap and hard-rock basslines.
Is there a place for Garth nearly 25 years after “Friends in Low Places” ruled the airwaves? If our K99.1FM Facebook page is any indication, fans are ready for the Oklahoman to take back his spot in country music. But don’t expect the same Garth who sang “The Thunder Rolls.” If he wants to keep up with what today’s fans want, he’ll have to kick it up a notch.
Can he do it? There are already plenty of us who know and love the old Garth and have passed that appreciation on to the new generation. While we shouldn’t expect “Friends in Low Places” to suddenly become “Peeps on the Floor,” we can expect Garth Brooks to do what he does best — entertain.
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