Garth News

Top 5 revelations from Garth Brooks' Arlington show press conference

Garth Brooks at press conference in Arlington on July 29.

Photo by Malcolm Mayhew

One day before his sold-out show on July 30 at AT&T Stadium, country megastar Garth Brooks was doing what Garth Brooks always does the day before a show: meeting up with the media.

Casually dressed in blue jeans and a sweatshirt, Brooks hosted a press conference with about 20 reporters from local and regional media as far as Waco in the stadium's press room, where he leaked some highlights re: the Arlington stop on his 2022 Stadium Tour.

It's unusual for a musical act to hold a press conference the day before, especially when the show is already sold out. It's not like he needs to sell tickets. But Brooks is not your usual musical act.

These are the top 5 things Garth Brooks shared about the upcoming concert in Arlington:

1. The set list
Longtime fans will recall Brooks' trio of record-breaking, sold-out shows in 1993 at the now-gone Texas Stadium in Irving, the other house that Jerry Jones built, which were visual and theatrical wonders. Brooks flew over the audience via wires and utilized one-of-a-kind technology simulating a rainstorm in which audience members got wet.

"Back then, we weren't afraid to make any mistakes," he said. "We dropped five brand-new songs that people hadn't heard yet. Today, you'd be too scared to do that, right? I'm still looking for that renegade guy that I was back then, but it's kind of a balance. I know I need to play certain songs. I mean, nothing would piss me off more than going to a concert and just hearing a bunch of new stuff."

2. The backup band
Brooks' backup band will include members of the G-Men, a group of studio musicians who have performed on every Garth Brooks studio album, but have rarely performed live with him. The seven-piece band was inducted into the Musician's Hall of Fame in 2016.

"So the guys that do the records are different from the guys that do the tours," Brooks said. "I told them, 'You guys need to get out there and see what you've done.' They’ve done every record from "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" to "Dive Bar," but they've never gone on the road with us."

They'll join Brooks' current tour band, which includes veteran and new members. "There's five of us left from our 1988 shows. And then there are two guys from '91 and '92, and our fiddle player joined in 1994. We also just took on a kid named Bobby Terry. He’s the newest member."

3. FaceTime with Garth
Concert attendees will be given a code at Saturday's show for a chance to FaceTime with Brooks after the show. This has been a new feature during this tour which has proven to be hugely popular.

4. The show at AT&T Stadium will be recorded
Brooks revealed that the concert would be recorded, although he didn't say exactly for what.

"You don't come into this place without wanting to preserve history," he said.

5. Garth hearts Dallas-Fort Worth
Brooks spent much of the conference reminiscing about the area, saying, "This is where it started," he said, name-dropping venues such as the Crystal Chandelier, Borrowed Money, and Billy Bob's.

"I remember how hard it was getting my first show at Billy Bob’s," he said, recalling his first gig there in 1989. "I don't think you can (write) any page in any chapter of our story without talking about Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington. They've been a great home for us and thank God they continue to be."

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Books News

Indie Bird's Bookstore to open store & cafe at Preston Royal Dallas

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Brick-and-mortar bookstores continue their thrilling comeback, with a new one coming to a prominent North Dallas corner: Called Bird’s Bookstore, it's an independently-owned store opening in the Preston Royal shopping center at 6025 Royal Ln. #207, in a former massage place next to Eatzi's, where it will debut in August.

Bird's Bookstore promises to be a unique retail destination incorporating elements of Scandinavian, Japanese, and mid-century modern design with books, magazines, and artisanal products.

Owners Drew and Emily Dawson are a young couple inspired by design, history, and travel. Drew previously worked in the nonprofit sector to private equity before pursuing this decade-long dream. Emily is a former graphic designer who founded Emily by Design, a wardrobe consultation company in 2022.

The couple first conceptualized the idea when they began dating 11 years ago while students at the University of Texas at Austin.

“Initially, it was an idea that we wanted to execute towards retirement age,” Drew says. "But as I saw Emily follow her passion and open her own vintage clothing styling business a year and a half ago, I said, 'It's time for me too. I want to follow my passion and open this bookstore.' There's really no time like the present."

Drew estimates that the shop will carry about 3500 adult fiction and nonfiction books at at time, along with 2500 kids and young adult books.

“I like everything,” Drew says. “I like incredibly thick history books, memoirs, biographies, horror — all of it. We’ll be selling everything, including self-help and kids' books, since the area has a ton of families, and Emily and I have our own little one on the way."

Emily and Drew DawsonCourtesy

While Drew handles the bulk of the book selection, Emily will oversee coffee table books, design books, and magazines.

“We're going to have a strong selection of about 20 magazines covering the design and creative fashion industries, like Neptune, The Gentlewoman, and L’Etiquette," Emily says. "I'm anticipating there will be a draw for that because — other than certain shops in New York — there's not a place where you can buy these titles in person."

Bird’s will also sell stationery and paper goods from European and Japanese vendors, as well as plates and bowls from Marcello Ortega of Marcello Andres Ceramics.

The store will also house a small cafe serving coffee from Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters and baked goods from acclaimed Bresnan Bread and Pastry in McKinney.

The couple keep their eyes on current reading trends, using sites like TikTok’s “BookTok” community, as well as literary social media outlets like Goodreads. Emily credits these platforms — as well as book clubs by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Jenna Bush Hager — for keeping bookstores alive.

Dallas-Fort Worth is witnessing a small independent bookstore revival with Interabang Books nearby, plus Wild Detectives and Poets Bookshop, which just opened a second outpost in Deep Ellum.

With the opening of Bird’s Bookstore, they hope to not only cultivate a space for those passionate about books, but also eliminate the burnout that comes from being attached to screens all day.

“I think there's a fatigue of everything being online,” says Emily. “And I think there's a yearning for a community space that is beautiful, and feels like a second home — a place where you can get amazing customer service. We're excited to hopefully be that place for some people.”

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