Garth Brooks in Gainesville

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Although many concerts have been played in our basketball arena over the years, it's been 25 years since a large outdoor concert was played in our football stadium. That drought came to an end last night when mega-country superstar Garth Brooks took the stage in front of 75,000+ fans. Another country star in his own right--Chris Young--was the opening act. In what felt more like a college football game atmosphere than a country concert, fans arrived early in Gainesville and on the University of Florida campus to tailgate and pre-party before the show. Tents, grills, corn hole games and beer were in force around town. The only difference was the twang in people's voices and the abundance of cowboy boots! Garth Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood, held a private tailgate party in front of the stadium before the show, and treated guests to unlimited barbecue and drinks. Yearwood, who has published several cookbooks in addition to being a country music star, treated the audience to several cooking demonstrations. During sound check on Friday night, Garth held a Q&A session with University of Florida students (who were admitted free into the stadium for sound check), and one student in particular asked if Garth would sing "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty to honor the Gainesville native, who passed away several years ago. Garth is well know for playing cover songs during his concerts, but admitted he hasn't played the Tom Petty song before and wasn't sure he and his band could learn the song in less than one day. When Garth took the stage later in the evening, fans went wild. It was evident that Garth Brooks is loved by both young and old. And Garth did not disappoint, singing many of his top hits that had the stadium both dancing in their seats, and signing along. Of course, the stadium went wild when in the middle of his set he broke out and started singing several Tom Petty songs, including "I Won't Back Down." His wife Trisha Yearwood joined him on stage and both did an electrifying performance of the iconic TP song. I'm sure residents in neighboring towns could hear the roar of the crowd at that point! I had an amazing time at the show, which is one that will go down in the history books (well, at least the Gainesville history books). Garth is only playing six concerts in 2019, all in large stadiums, so it was an honor that he came to our sleepy little college town to play a show. Have any of you ever seen Garth Brooks in concert? Although I've been to hundreds of concerts over the years, this was my first time seeing Garth Brooks. Have any of you ever been to a large stadium concert?