Garth Brooks Cancels Stadium Concerts and Settles for Dive Bar Shows as Coronavirus Cases Surge Across the Nation

The country singer/songwriter canceled five shows from his stadium tour in August as a result of the surge in coronavirus cases. To keep fans safe during the concerts, he has opted for dive bars instead because “dive bars are vaccinated”.

Garth Brooks Officially Rules Stadium Tours Out For the Rest of the Year

The multi-platinum country music singer and songwriter is shifting his tour from stadiums to dive bars for a safer setting as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Brooks shared the news that “stadiums are officially out for this year” on Monday during the latest episode of his Facebook series Inside Studio G.

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He further talked about his plans for returning to the stage with dive bar shows as he feels they’re the safest means to connect with his audience live.

For fans looking forward to attend, they would need a proof of vaccination or provide a negative COVID test within 72 hours of the show, which should be easier to monitor in the smaller setting.

The Grammy award-winning artist further commented that he’ll be watching and learning from the guidelines and measures put in place by other big events such as the NFL, schools and others regarding safety protocols in order to implement them for his future concerts.

“The thing that scares me that you have to look at is, I never saw the second wave coming,” Brooks said on the show. “I didn’t know there was going to be such a thing. Well, is there a third wave? So, you just watch this.”

“What you want to do is what’s best for the people. I want to play music and I want to get out there and laugh… it’d kill me to have to shut it down again.”

Best-selling Artist Garth Brooks Talks Replacement Venues

As of now, Brooks revealed that his team has found a few replacement venues and dates for the cities he originally planned to visit on his stadium tour.

He first launched the stadium tour in 2019, before postponing it in early 2020

soon after the coronavirus pandemic began.

The country star returned to the stage in July this year, and his Aug. 7 concert at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium thoughtfully featured a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on-site for attendees.

Last month, due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country and the surge of the Delta variant, Brooks canceled five shows on his stadium tour – Foxborough, Massachusetts, Charlotte, North Carolina, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Nashville.

“In July, I sincerely thought the pandemic was falling behind us. Now, watching this new wave, I realize we are still in the fight and I must do my part,” Brooks released a statement at the time, sharing hopes for rescheduled events.

Brooks and the rest of his team are fully vaccinated, and they have internal guidelines in place to keep his band and crew safe from the virus.

“My wish is … we do everything safe so [fans] can enjoy [the show] and not sit in the stands and be scared,” he said. “We’re all coming down from this at our own speed. I hope people can come [to a concert] and let it all go.”

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