Tennesseans Have Friends In High Places

Garth Brooks made a special announcement this morning from Tennessee’s State Capitol Building with the governor, Nashville’s mayor and other politicians in attendance. No, the country star is not going to run for office but rather put on a benefit concert for Tennessee flood victims.

The show is set for Dec. 17 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. This concert marks Brooks’ first performance in Nashville since 1998. Brooks’ wife and fellow singer Trisha Yearwood will also perform at the benefit. He said he will likely invite other artists to join the lineup.

Tickets will be priced at $25 (plus handling) so that those who were affected by the floods might be able to come to the show. All proceeds will go towards the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Photo: AP Photo

"We Are One: Opening Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial," Washington, D.C.

Flooding in May damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and took the lives of more than 34 people in Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky. Nashville alone suffered more than $2 billion in damages. About 50 Nashville schools were damaged along with the Grand Ole Opry House, Country Music Hall of Fame and LP Field.

“I have watched with great pride how the Volunteer State has pulled together to rise above the damage suffered by the floods,” Brooks said in a statement on his website. “It was a small church sign in Hendersonville that changed my life decades ago when I read, ‘Character is not created in crisis … it is revealed.’ Tennessee has shown amazing character through all of this and it is an honor to get to be a part of the healing process.”

The Grammy-award winning singer officially retired in 2001 to spend time with his wife and his three daughters.

Last December he returned to the stage to begin a residency at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas. During a press conference for the residency he said he wouldn’t be making any new music until his youngest daughter is on her way to college. He also noted that the Wynn residency shows will be his only gigs on the books until that point.

“There will be only one arena show we’ll do this year and it will be in Nashville,” Brooks said. “If you come to Vegas you’ll see Garth Brooks and a guitar. If you come to Nashville you’ll see the band and me as you know us with the lighting and sound that you know. We are following in the footsteps of who already set the example. We are all Tennesseans helping Tennessee.”

Additional ticketing information will be announced Nov. 3 at 12 p.m. CST.

Click here for Garth Brooks’ website.