Garth Brooks Cancels Remaining Concert Dates, Cites Increased COVID Cases

Aug. 18, 2021, 3 p.m. ·

Memorial Stadium during the Garth Brooks Concert
The Garth Brooks concert at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln on August 14. (Photo by Dennis Kellogg, Nebraska Public Media News)

Less than a week after country music superstar Garth Brooks played a sold-out Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, the rest of his stadium tour has been cancelled. In a statement released Wednesday, Brooks said the increasing number of COVID-19 cases prompted the cancellations in Cincinnati, Charlotte, Boston, Baltimore and Nashville. Before Saturday’s concern in Lincoln, Brooks talked about being able to perform in Nebraska.

“This is a miracle that we’re even getting to play here. We understand that. We know from a lot of things,” Brooks said. “We owe a lot of thanks to the University of Nebraska for opening their doors.”

More than 86,000 tickets were sold for the concert in Lincoln in just over an hour. It was the first concert in Memorial Stadium in 34 years. Brooks said he hopes to reschedule the cancelled concerts sometime next year.