The Gulf Coast barrier island’s resort economy has been at a crawl since a string of barges slammed into the only bridge to the island on September 15. The midsection of the Queen Isabella Causeway collapsed. Eight drivers died when their vehicles plunged into the Laguna Madre. Travel to the island has been limited to ferry service established after the collapse.

The concert is one of three CBS-televised stops on the Garth Brooks: Coast to Coast mini-tour promoting his ninth album, Scarecrow. Tickets quickly sold out to the first concert in Los Angeles on November 14.

Brooks decided to come out of semi-retirement to perform the three concerts. The shows mark the first time that Brooks has taken to the road since ending a three-year tour in 1998. Since then, he has vowed to abstain from touring.

“I announced last year that I wouldn’t be touring again,” Brooks said. “CBS has given me an opportunity to take the music to the people in a new way, to have the fun of performing it live, and do it in such a way that I don’t have to be away from home for long periods of time. It’s going to be fun.”

A November 21 performance will air from the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier at Norfolk, Va., to welcome soldiers back from a deployment in Afghanistan.

Each concert will be broadcast as an hour-long special at 10 p.m. EST. With both coasts covered, Brooks was looking for a spot in Texas. His promoters contacted the island, South Padre Island Visitor and Convention Bureau spokeswoman Erica Pena said.

“They said he’d heard about what happened and that he wanted to do his part to help out,” Pena said.

In addition to the CBS concerts, the man who dominated country music for years is performing in a stage production of “Lime Creek Christmas.” The shows will take place in Sheridan, Wyo., and Nashville December 8 and 9, respectively.