Garth Brooks Talks the Magic of Housekeeping — Where Each Show Becomes Its Own

When Garth Brooks launches the Blame It All On My Roots Tour with back-to-back shows Aug. 21-22 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, fans can count on hearing their favoriteGarth hits.

What they shouldn't expect is the exact same show every night. Brooks believes one of the most important parts of his job is giving each audience an experience unique to its concert and city.

"For me, the main ingredient in entertaining is sincerity," he says. "To try to make each night different from any other show you have ever done."

Brooks accomplishes that by letting the audience guide him.

"I trust the crowd to drive the show," Brooks says. "They know where they want to go, they know what they want to hear, and a good entertainer keeps their eyes and ears open."

That philosophy often means abandoning his carefully planned setlist, which Brooks calls "the heartbeat of a show" and describes as "the roadmap for the band and crew to follow."

However, the setlist isn't a hard-and-fast script.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, we have a setlist and 100 percent of the time I NEVER follow it," he says. "For me, an entertainer has to be flexible, make audibles on the fly, and a great band and crew will make the adjustments they need to make it all appear seamless."

That flexibility leads to one of longtime fans' most beloved moments of the show — Housekeeping. Fans often bring signs with their song requests boldly written on them, large enough forBrooks to see from the stage.

"At the end of the evening…if you are lucky to be called back out, you're soaking with sweat, you have no songs left and no voice to sing them…and 'Housekeeping' starts," Brooks says. "This is where 'Wolves' is requested … where 'The Change' is wanted… 'Belleau Wood' comes to life. These are the beautiful one-on-one moments that make a night its own. My sentimental favorite part of the show."

Tickets for the first two shows of the Blame It All On My Roots Tour — Aug. 21-22 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis — go on sale at 10 a.m. ET Friday, July 17, at Ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks or through the Ticketmaster app.

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