Garth Brooks Pulls Off Rock Star Moves at Rodeo, Uses Surprise Guest to Shock Record Crowd: Brooks is no George Strait, But he Has Plenty of Springsteen in Him

Booking not one but two Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo concerts, book-ending the institution with opening and closing shows, is a rock star move. But Garth Brooks has always been a stealth rock star.

It’s what’s made him one of the biggest selling musicians of all time (with seven certified Diamond albums). To go out and close the Rodeo with an all-time attendance record, too, with 75,577 paid attendance in the record books… well that’s just the icing on the cake.

Brooks, who had not played the Rodeo since 1993 before this year, a not-inconspicuous absence from one of the most important country music stages this side of Grand Ole Opry, was about to wrap up the three-week event with perhaps the biggest Rodeo concert ever.

This was not a mere show, it was an event. Even the woman directing people to their seats stressed the show is “very sold out.”

Sure enough, the mass of humanity filling out NRG Stadium Sunday afternoon was staggering, and the nonstop noise the mega crowd produced rivaled a jet engine tarmac. Brooks delivered a kinetic performance full of sweat and fury, playing all the way to the cheapest seats at the highest level.

He knew to close down the rodeo after 25 years, he had to make it count.

“Rodeo,” “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House,” and “The River” is a hell of a starting lineup to greet a crowd of 75,000-plus. Brooks said he got his band together after the first show and they asked themselves how to improve the second show. The solution was simple — play more songs.

Trisha Yearwood’s Surprise Pop In

After the raucous “Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up),” a visibly winded Brooks stepped aside to welcome his wife and fellow country superstar in a surprise appearance: Trisha Yearwood. Their duet (“In Another’s Eyes”) was a nice breather, as the show was threatening to peak too early.

If Brooks made his concert entry at a 10, there was nowhere higher to go. Yearwood stepped up and performed her solo hit “She’s in Love with the Boy” while the show settled.

Garth was enamored with the Rodeo’s new rotating, five-point-star stage and stalked every peak with manic precision. At one point, Brooks hopped onto the Rodeo dirt and climbed the fence to sing to fans. He ran to the other side of the stadium and shook hands like a politician. It was a great spectacle.

No wonder even 93-year-old George H.W. Bush came out to watch on this final night of the Houston Rodeo.

A native of Oklahoma, Brooks has nonetheless sidestepped questions about authenticity and his commitment to country music even when his career was at its zenith in the 1990s. Of his contemporaries, he lacks the gravitas of George Strait, the charm of Alan Jackson, the soul of Randy Travis.

His songs often deal with topics close to country’s sensitive heart, but strictly in PG-13 terms (most apparent during his set’s one-two punch of “That Summer” and “The Thunder Rolls,” songs about lust, adultery, and domestic violence).

His eagerness to please the audience Sunday was a striking reminder that Garth Brooks became a transcendent country star precisely because he lacked contrived aw-shucks down-home country manners. He was an average guy singing songs that were country-inspired, and the way he brought together wide swaths of everyday people and made them believe in themselves makes him more of a Billy Joel figure, or even Bruce Springsteen, than anyone else in country music.

It’s not a Garth Brooks concert without “Friends in Low Places.” A few songs before, he covered George Strait’s “Amarillo By Morning,” in a moment designed to remind people that yes, Brooks is a country artist.

But the difference between Strait’s trademark song and Brooks trademark song tells you everything you need to know about each artist. Strait’s world-weary stoicism is informed by back-breaking rodeos, being a poor cowboy, letting personal relationships decay, and only feeling free eight seconds at a time.

“Friends in Low Places” is a big dumb fun song about being an unapologetic degenerate. Both are great, but only one feels fantastic to scream along to at the top of your lungs from inside a football stadium.

As Brooks launched into his closer, “The Dance,” he said he’s still in love with music and hopes to be around long enough to play the Rodeo’s centennial installment 15 years from now. I’m sure in 2033, it’ll still be amazing to sing along to “Friends in Low Places” with nearly 100,000 of your friends.

Only Garth Brooks can give you that feeling.