Vendor Writing

Shameless: How I Got To See Garth Brooks In Concert

BY NORMA B.

With the upcoming Garth Brooks concert taking place on July 31, 2021 at Nissan Stadium, I can’t help but reflect on when I got to see him in concert with Trisha Yearwood on Nov. 7, 1991 at MTSU’s Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Even back then, it was clear that the two of them had undeniable chemistry.

Though it was almost 30 years ago, I still remember it like it was yesterday! That should come as no surprise as anyone who’s EVER seen one of his live shows can attest they’re ALWAYS memorable events!

No one thought I’d get a ticket, but I never gave up! At $25 each, the show sold out in minutes — that hasn’t changed. I tried everything I could think of to get tickets to no avail.

Then one day, I was listening to the radio for yet another chance to call in and win. Alas, some guy won instead of me, and he wasn’t even excited! I just couldn’t believe it! As I was complaining about this to my husband, he suggested that I should call the guy who won the tickets and tell him about it (which was my husband’s way of saying he didn’t want to hear anymore about it).- Of course, he was joking. He never thought I’d actually do it. He was wrong!

The guy who’d won the contest did have an unusual name — Duncan Kinnerly — and as it turned out like me, he lived in Sumner County, close by in Hendersonville, Tenn. We lived in the Gallatin/Cottontown area, but that’s crazy, right? Well, call me crazy!

I looked him up in the phone book (obviously this was BEFORE they became obsolete.) I worked up my courage and called him. (If I’m honest, there were two or three prank calls before I actually managed to speak.)

I asked if he was the guy who had just won the tickets on the radio and he said yes. I said, “if you don’t mind me saying so, you didn’t sound that excited.” I went on to explain how long I’d been trying to get tickets, and to my surprise, he patiently listened. Then I asked him what he intended to do with them. He said he was going to put an ad in the paper and sell them.

I figured I didn’t stand a chance to get them. They were going for hundreds of dollars each. I told him how much I REALLY wanted to go to the concert, but that I was poor.

I offered to pay the face value of the tickets, and I figured I’d never hear from him again. I pointed out that he would be making a little money if he sold them to me. I mean, he didn’t pay anything for the tickets. A few days before the concert, he called and agreed to sell them to me at face value! (Garth would’ve been SO happy. He HATES scalpers!)

He said his wife Carolyn had told him my husband and I reminded her of them as a young married couple. Thank you, Carolyn!

Living in Hendersonville, my mother-in-law agreed to pick up the tickets for us. As it turns out, they knew each other from church. They joked that I should be sold at Steiner-Lift for all the brass I had. Duncan said I deserved the tickets because I had the nerve to call him and ask for them.

Seeing how determined I was to go to the show, my mother-in-law even agreed to watch both of our kids overnight! (This was a BIG deal because I’d NEVER left my babies overnight. They were nearly four and two at the time.)

Once I got the tickets, I had another problem: the concert was in Murfreesboro, and I lived in Cottontown, which was not exactly bustling with transportation options for someone who doesn’t drive. (Lyft and Uber didn’t exist back then.)

Fortunately, I had a friend who was planning to go to Murfreesboro on Friday, but the concert was on Thursday. Ugh!

After spending a considerable amount of time explaining why he should go on Thursday instead of Friday, (traffic would be much worse, the increased potential for bad weather — all of which was true), he finally came out and asked me, “Just what is it you want to do in Murfreesboro on Thursday?”

I replied, “Since you asked, there’s this concert I REALLY want to go to!”

It is worth noting that I probably wouldn’t have done that with just anyone, but John was almost my step-dad on more than one occasion, and he seemed to always be there for me throughout my life when my own dad wasn’t.

He asked me how many tickets I had. I said two, and although my husband was the obvious choice as my date, I did offer to take John instead. (Like I said, I REALLY wanted to go to the show!) He declined and I did end up going with my husband. As much as John loved me, deep down I knew he’d much rather spend the evening with my mom and their mutual friend Zee, so I “arranged” for that to happen. That way everyone got something that they wanted.

The rest, as they say, is history. We made it to the show. We had good seats right behind the WSM radio personalities.

Although the venue was much smaller than many of his other shows, (attendance was 11,376) I honestly feel that allowed Garth to make a more of a ‘real connection’ with the audience.

Ms. Yearwood (as Garth calls her in many interviews) had some “technical difficulties” (sound/microphone) but she just kept right on going — a true testament to the saying, “The show MUST go on.” A genuine professional! All I can say is AMAZING...WOW!

The show was GREAT! I was on my feet practically all night, and that’s saying something for me. (As many of you know, I have cerebral palsy.)

I sang along, I screamed and hollered until I had absolutely no voice left — a condition that lasted for several days. (At that point, my husband was thoroughly convinced that there was a God, because I was rendered speechless — quite literally — and that doesn’t happen often!)

Not everything went according to plan though. After the show, I wanted to try to get an autograph, but my husband said I’d never get close enough to get one, so I left empty handed, but with a wonderful memory that would last for a lifetime!

Later, I reminded my husband, “you said I’d never get a ticket, and I did, and you said I’d never get to the show, and I did.”

Needless to say, that’s one argument he NEVER won!