Garth Minus Glitz

Garth Brooks debuted his five-year, three-a-week concert residency at Wynn Las Vegas Dec. 13 with a special guest – wife Trisha Yearwood – and a decidedly un-glitzy stage show before 1,500 lucky fans.

Appearing at the Encore Theatre in a hoodie and baseball cap, he told concert-goers he’d just come straight from his daughter’s soccer game in Memphis (by private jet, of course) for the show. He proceeded to play a stripped-down concert without the flashy special effects one would have expected from Brooks in his arena-playing heyday, let alone in Vegas.

Brooks performed a mix of original tunes and snippets of covers including hits by George Strait, Merle Haggard, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Jim Croce and even Dave Loggins, according to the Los Angeles Times.

His deal with Wynn Resorts calls for him to perform 15 weekends per year, for up to five years. Tickets for the first 20 shows of the residency sold out within five hours of onsale, at $125 each.