Garth Brooks Plays Surprise Show at SXSW 2017 [WATCH]
After hinting earlier in the day that he might pop up somewhere in Austin, Texas, that night, Garth Brooks played an unannounced, intimate concert during SXSW 2017 on Friday night (March 17), at the Broken Spoke.
Austin360 reports that Brooks took the stage at the Broken Spoke at 11PM and began his set with "Friends in Low Places;" readers can see a snippet of that performance above. Throughout 40 minutes, the country superstar played 17 songs; he closed with "The Dance," followed by a short encore of "Callin' Baton Rouge," the former of which readers can see a snippet of below. Video from Instagram users also shows that Brooks performed "The Thunder Rolls," "Two of a Kind (Workin' on a Full House)" and "That Summer."
On Friday afternoon, Brooks joined Amazon Music Vice President Steve Boom for a keynote conversation about their exclusive streaming relationship and the changing face of music services. That morning, the singer announced that he would be playing a free show for Austin residents and SXSW-goers on Saturday (March 18), at the SXSW Outdoor Stage at Lady Bird Lake in Austin.
On Friday morning, Brooks also announced his new single, “Ask Me How I Know;” the song is off of his most recent studio album, Gunslinger. He is currently out on the road for his World Tour, which began in September of 2014.
Brooks is not the only country icon to pop up at SXSW 2017 unannounced: On Tuesday night (March 14), Willie Nelson made a surprise appearance at Ray Benson's birthday party.
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