This past Monday, Governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam, held a press conference, where he announced that Garth Brooks had just received his seventh RIAA Diamond Award. A diamond award indicates that an album reached sales of more than 10 million copies; Brooks is the first and only person to receive seven of these awards, making him the most successful artist in music history.
At the same conference, Governor Haslam named Brooks a Tennessee Ambassador of Goodwill.
Brooks is so incredibly grateful for the people who got him to this point, and wants to give back. He is teaming up with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development to host a free concert at Ascend Amphitheater in downtown Nashville. “The way to understand what this thing is, take the word ‘show’ out of it and think of it as a celebration,” he says, “We are going to come together and celebrate the seven Diamonds. . . Me and a guitar and the people who allowed me to get this award.”
The concert will be held at 7pm on Monday, October 24th, and tickets are only available through Tennessee Tourism’s Snapchat account (@Tennessee).
Last month, Garth Brooks performed an exclusive invite-only concert for SiriusXM listeners, held at the Ryman Auditorium, aptly nicknamed “The Mother Church of Country Music”. The concert was live broadcasted through the SiriusXM app on smartphones as well as their online player at siriusxm.com. There he announced the brand new “The Garth Channel” on SiriusXM Radio (Channel 55), which will feature 24-hour coverage of music, behind-the-scenes commentary from Brooks, guest DJ specials, live concert recordings and more.
The Garth Channel will be produced and hosted by Brooks himself and will feature songs from across his 40-year career, along with songs from the artists who influenced him.
“It’s rare to be handed an opportunity that can grow as big as you can dream. That is exactly what SiriusXM has just done,” said Garth Brooks. “I speak for myself and the entire team when I say we are very grateful for this opportunity and very excited about its potential.”
SiriusXM is home to a variety of wonderful channels including our very own RURAL RADIO on Channel 147. Tune in around the clock to catch up on rural news, agribusiness, western sports, and more!