LAS VEGAS – It was nothing short of glorious as Garth Brooks greeted a sold-out roaring crowd of 69,000 fans. His stadium tour was abruptly halted just like the rest of the world of live entertainment 17 months ago as the pandemic made in-person gatherings impossible. Now Brooks, who was recently celebrated at the 2021 Kennedy Center Honors, is not only brimming with his signature energy and enthusiasm, he’s also urging every artist to launch their tours as well.
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“I can tell every musician out there to get back to it, because it’s the greatest feeling in the world,” he shared from the stage.
For Bandit Lites who weathered the storm of 2020 thanks to chair and founder Michael T. Strickland’s tireless efforts, the Garth Brooks Stadium Tour is another sign live events are back. He attended the launch of the world’s live event stadium show.
“From the opening chords of “All Day Long,” as Garth emerged from under the drum riser and as it flew upward, Garth looked like the character in Atlas Shrugged, carrying the weight of the riser,” Strickland said. “But the symbolism of this single act was much larger than just the drum riser. Garth literally had the weight of the entire live entertainment world on his shoulders at that moment. The success of this single packed show, as well as all those to follow, leads the rebirth of the large gatherings needed for the industry to spring to life. Had Garth failed in the Las Vegas endeavor, the industry may just have again hit pause.”
“But, as with all things Garth, failure is never an option,” continued Strickland. “From a completely masked crew, to the weeks of rehearsal in advance, Garth left no stone unturned on the road to success. And boy did he succeed. On a record setting 117-degree temperature day in Las Vegas, Garth turned it up even higher inside Allegiant Stadium and delivered a blazing performance. 69,000 people never sat down and never stopped singing. It was complete magic.”
For the in the round lighting system, designed by Dave “Gig” Butzler, Bandit Lites supplied nearly 500 fixtures, including MAC Viper AirFX, VL 6000 Beams, Atomic 3000 LED Strobes, GLP JDC1 Strobes, GLP KNV Cubes, GLP KNV Dots, Ayrton MagicRing-R9, ROBE BMFL, ROBE BMFL WashBeams, ROBE Robin 1200 LED Washes and Showline SL Nitro 510C.
Garth’s crew for the tour is comprised of Lighting Designer/Director Dave Butzler, console operator John Hoffman, crew chief Chuck Hastings, programmer Aaron Swetland, Billy Willingham, Steve Strickland, and Tanner West with additional support coming from project manager Don Lockridge.
Butzler delivered his consistently magical show to heighten the Garth experience for the audience. Both Butzler has been with Garth since day one, with Bandit’s Steve Strickland joining just a short time later, totaling more than 30 years with the music icon.
“No moment was bigger than when Garth broke into the Lady Gaga hit “Shallow”, and his beautiful wife Trisha Yearwood emerged onto the stage,” finished Strickland. “The audience blew the roof off the stadium with the biggest eruption of the night. Garth and Trisha performed this on a television special during the off time and it became a massive fan favorite. The duo rehearsed this extensively before the tour and on this night, they delivered a bombshell to a most appreciative audience.”
Once again, Garth Brooks, the world largest-selling artist, lead the way for the industry. Bandit Lites is proud to be a part of the Garth family and looks forward to many more great years together.
The Las Vegas show was just the first in a long line of upcoming performances, including sold out shows at Cheyenne, WY, Salt Lake City, UT (the fastest stadium sellout in Ticketmaster History), Nashville, TN, Kansas City, MO, Lincoln, NE, Baltimore MD, Boston ME, and others to be announced.
For more information about the Garth Brooks Stadium Tour visit https://www.garthbrooks.com/performances.
