Garth Brooks Has a Promise to Keep in Chicago

Garth Brooks is headed to Chicago — and he has a promise to keep.

Brooks will bring his Blame It All on My Roots Arena Tour to Allstate Arena for four shows Sept. 10-13. But somewhere in the crowd will be a 10-year-old fan named Austin who has a particularly good reason to be excited.

The story started during the tour kickoff in Indianapolis, when Austin showed up in a cowboy hat carrying a sign asking Brooks to sing “Cold Like That.”

“That one is going to be a tough one,” Brooks told him from the stage. “It’s one of my favorites, too.”

The song wasn't one Brooks could simply launch into on request because, he explained, it was a “big keyboard song.” Then he looked at Austin.

“That face,” Brooks said. “I can’t say no to that face.”

Brooks asked Austin if he knew the first line. Austin admitted he did — but couldn't remember it under pressure. Brooks laughed and said he was having the same problem.

So, he came up with another solution.

Brooks asked his crew to get Austin's address and told the young fan he had shows coming up in Chicago.

“Let me fly you to Chicago,” Brooks said.

Austin's mother, Stacy Ritter, later shared the moment on Instagram, explaining that she has been a lifelong Brooks fan and passed that love along to Austin. “Cold Like That” was already a family favorite, she said, making what happened in Indianapolis even more meaningful.

Now Austin is preparing for Chicago, too. Ritter shared that her son has been practicing the song on guitar just in case Brooks has another surprise waiting.

“I told him, ‘You better be prepared, buddy. You never know what Garth might do!’” she wrote.

Neither does anyone else.

But when Brooks returns to Allstate Arena this week, one 10-year-old fan will be ready.

Brooks will play Allstate Arena Sept. 10, 11, 12, and 13. Every ticket is priced at $153 — a $140 ticket price, $3 facility fee, and $10 service charge — plus applicable sales tax, with every seat in the house sold at one fair price. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.com.

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