Garth Brooks Webcast News

GarthBrooks.com to Air Exclusive Pre-Show Webcast from STAPLES Center, Friday, January 25

Program will be hosted by music industry veteran Rick Barker and will air live from just inside of the Figueroa Street Entry starting at 4:30 PM Pacific

You could win Garth merchandise

Los Angeles, CA – GarthBrooks.com will air a one hour webcast on Friday, January 25 starting at 4:30 PM Pacific. The show will originate from the main concourse of STAPLES just inside of the Figueroa Street Entry.

Hosted by music industry veteran Rick Barker, the show will feature fan interviews, giveaways and the opportunity to contribute to the “Southern California 2008 Fire Intervention Relief Effort (F.I.R.E.)." Donations can be made by calling 1-800-713-2065 or going to http://www.mccormicktribune.org/2008firerelief.

Immediately following the webcast, Brooks will play a series of 5 sold-out concerts over the next two days. The first concert will air on CBS starting at 9:00 PM (live ET/delayed PT).

All proceeds from the five concerts, organized by Brooks and AEG (owners of STAPLES Center), and sponsored by American Express, Ticketmaster and official media sponsor the Los Angeles Times, will be donated to F.I.R.E. a campaign of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. The funds will be granted to agencies providing aid to victims and the first responders of the Los Angeles and San Diego wildfires in addition to providing financial assistance to California firefighting departments and organizations in need of additional or replacement firefighting equipment to better perform their heroic duties. The Foundation will also be responsible for granting administration and recordkeeping.

The webcast is free and does not require registration. During the show, several fans will be chosen at random to receive free LA concert merchandise. To be eligible, fans can go to www.garthbrooks.com/LA and enter their name and email address starting at noon Pacific on Tuesday, January 22.

About Garth Brooks
Certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as the Number One selling solo artist in U.S. history, Garth Brooks has sold in excess of 123 million albums. He is the only solo artist in RIAA history to have six albums top the 10 million mark. This year Brooks became the first artist to put out a simultaneous edition of his latest collection for a charitable cause. Nov. 6, 2007 saw the launch of the pink edition of The Ultimate hits available only at the Susan G. Komen website. His body of work — including the groundbreaking No Fences, Ropin’ The Wind, The Hits and Double Live — propelled country music as a genre to the front pages of newspapers worldwide and the covers of magazines, to the point where Forbes declared on its cover, "Country Conquers Rock" and featured Brooks in a major music piece.

According to the RIAA, Garth Brooks is the top-selling solo artist of the 20th century. Brooks has received every accolade the recording industry can bestow on an artist, including: two Grammys, 17 American Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, 18 Academy of Country Music Awards, five World Music Awards, 12 People’s Choice Awards and 36 Billboard Music Awards. He was named Artist of the ‘90s at the 1997 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, received the Artist Achievement Award at the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, and was named Artist of the Decade at the American Music Awards in 2000 and the Academy of Country Music Awards in 1999.

Country Music: Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift, Merle Haggard, Big & Rich Contest

KENNY CHESNEY

Attn: KENNY CHESNEY fans! The country music superstar will appear on ABC's Good Morning America Show on Sept. 13. Kenny will sing "Never Wanted Nothing More."

Said Kenny: "It's the same idea as morning drive. When people are starting the day, it just sets the tone for your entire day and if we're going to kick-off a record, you wanna pull all that energy from New York City and put it right back into your music. If we can get that into people's homes, it'll be perfect."

Kenny will end the day in New York on NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

GARTH BROOKS

GARTH BROOKS has a new single out: "More Than a Memory." A new 3-disc set (2 CDs, 1 DVD) titled The Ultimate Hits will go on sale Nov. 6.

MERLE HAGGARD

Also out on Nov. 6, Time Life issues a 3-CD set titled "Legends of American Music: Merle Haggard - The Original Outlaw." (Note: merlehaggard.com is still offline. If anyone has information, please email to amy@blackbookpress.com)

JASON MICHAEL CARROLL

You can hear "Living Our Love Song" on Jason Michael Carroll's My Space page. This follow up to "Alyssa Lies" is a hit.

TAYLOR SWIFT

I would not have thought so unless I saw it myself, but it is worth watching Taylor Swift's "Teardrops on my Guitar" duet with America's Got Talent youngster Julienne Irwin. [Note to NBC: You really should have this stuff accessible on your website. You are missing fan traffic.]

WIN BIG & RICH's NEW BOOK

Send us an email with your favorite Big & Rich story. It can be your best concert memory, why you like a particular song, or why you joined the fan club. The best response will get a free copy of All Access Big & Rich, compliments of Fanscape and Black Book Press. Email amy@blackbookpress.com