Garth Brooks will be the first artist to play the legendary Notre Dame Stadium this fall, and he plans to make the night different than anything the stadium has seen before.
It was announced last month that Brooks would be the first artist to play the 88-year-old stadium, and it was just revealed that the show will happen on October 20. This date is right in the middle of football season, and although Brooks said he didn’t chose the day, he’s up for the challenge.
“We’re trying to compete with anything Notre Dame’s ever had here,” Brooks said during a Monday press conference at the stadium. “So you come in here at the right time, prime time when everything is at its fullest and at its best. You get in there and compete with your history and you compete with your future. We’re looking forward to the challenge. If that sounds egotistical, it is.”
Brooks was originally chosen to perform at the stadium because Nortre Dame President John Affleck-Graves said he best represented the school’s values. He noted that Brooks was the perfect choice of artist to perform and would equate to one of the “biggest events in Notre Dame history.” The singer explained that playing at the Indiana stadium was a “lifelong childhood dream” of his, saying that this show will mark the end of one phase of his career and the start of another.
“It’s going to be a real emotional night for all of us,” Brooks said. “If I can wrap up one word to match this university, hopefully it will be a night full of ‘class.’ We don’t do class, but hopefully by then we’ll rehearse and get it done.”
During the show, Brooks said he will perform in the round. He complimented the stadium’s design of having no second tier or upper deck seating, noting that “this is just going to be front row everywhere.” Brooks also posted a teaser video of the show to his website, taking images from previous concert specials in Texas, New York City, and Ireland.
“To bring a historic event like a Garth Brooks concert to the stadium, it just gives you goose bumps,” Nortre Dame Vice President for Event Management Lee Sicinski said.
While Brooks hasn’t released an album since 2016’s Gunslinger, he is due for a new LP in 2019. The singer just wrapped up his tour with wife Trisha Yearwood at the end of last year, and released the single “All Day Long” earlier this year.
Visit Ticket Club to find tickets to see Brooks play Notre Dame stadium this October.
