Remember When: Garth Brooks Flew Over the Audience at Texas Stadium in 1993 and Changed Country Music Performances Forever

There was a time when arenas were more for rock and roll and not country music. In the early to mid-1990s, artists like Hank Williams Jr., Charlie Daniels, Alan Jackson, Alabama, Clint Black, George Strait, and Reba McEntire started moving fans from the theaters to the much bigger stages.

By the early ’90s, Garth Brooks also took things up a notch, setting the bar—and the entire stage—with more theatrical live productions.

The Wireless Mic

After Brooks had his breakthrough with his eponymous debut and No. 1 hits “If Tomorrow Never Comes” and “The Dance,” he went on his first major tour supporting Kenny Rogers. By the time his second album No Fences came out in 1990, Brooks was a No. 1 country artist. The album remained on the top of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for 23 weeks and launched what would become his signature anthem, “Friends in Low Places,” which also topped the chart along with “The Thunder Rolls,” “Unanswered Prayers, and “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House.”

Brooks was a bonafide country superstar and he had the stage presence to match it. On tour, Brooks started switching out the regular standing microphone for a wireless headset mic so he could walk and run around the stage while performing and connect better with the audience.

His theatrics added more energy to the typical stand-and-deliver performances by country artists of yesteryear, and on October 6, 1990, Brooks became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

A Trifecta of Albums and Texas Stadium

Between 1991 and 1992, Brooks released a trio of hit albums Ropin’ the Wind, The Chase, and Beyond the Season, and moved up to even bigger stadiums and productions.

When Brooks embarked on his 1993 world tour, he made his way to the UK for the first time, where he played at Wembley Stadium in London, making him the first country artist in history to play at the venue. He also made his way throughout Europe, South America, New Zealand, and Australia.

That year, Brooks also filmed a special for NBC, This is Garth Brooks, Too!—a follow-up to the 1992 broadcast This is Garth Brooks—featuring live footage from his concert at Texas Stadium on June 12, 1993. The show sold out 65,000 tickets in 92 minutes and broke Paul McCartney’s previous record at the venue.

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Throughout the 13-song set, Brooks moseyed around the stage in his usual manner playing through “The River,” “The Thunder Rolls,” “Standing Outside the Fire,” “Friends in Low Places,” “Shameless,” and more.

For the finale, Brooks had something special in store. During the final song, “Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up),” another No. 1 from his ’93 album In Pieces, Brooks was hoisted in the air and glided above the audience at Texas Stadium.

The moment was unlike anything anyone ever saw at a concert, much less a country music show, and made other artists step up their stage game during the ’90s and through the present.

Photo: Trevor George