Garth Brooks Had a Plan for Thousands of Fans Who Couldn’t Get Into His Surprise Show, but Authorities Said No

There has been a surge of “Blue Dot Fever” in the music industry over the last few years. For those who might not know, blue dot fever is a term used for artists or bands that struggle to sell tickets to their shows. The result usually included those artists either canceling shows or downsizing the original venue. Either way, Garth Brooks didn’t have that problem. More than capable of selling out arenas, venues, and stadiums, apparently, the only problem he had was not being able to play back-to-back shows. 

When Brooks traveled to Denver, Colorado, thousands of fans rushed to see the country legend on stage. But at the same time, they needed to be a true fan of the singer. Wanting to perform at a smaller venue, Brooks turned to The Grizzly Rose. But instead of promoting the show with his name, Brooks used the alter ego of “Yukon Jack.” Although keeping his name off the bill, it didn’t take long before 2,000 fans scrambled to get inside the building. 

Recalling that night, Scott Durland, the owner of the Grizzly Rose, admitted that when Brooks saw the number of people being turned away, he had an idea. “When he came in, he walked past the line outside, and we’d already shut off the doors, so those people could no longer come in, we were full. And the first thing he asked me was, ‘Let’s flip this building,’ and I said, ‘What does that mean?’ He said, ‘How about I do an hour? And then you get everybody out, and then we let the people that are waiting in line come in and I’ll do another hour.’” 

[RELATED: Remember When Garth Brooks Took on an Alter Ego for One Album in 1999?]

Garth Brooks Stopped By The Adams County Sheriff’s Office

Not sounding like a horrible idea, Durland explained that the Adams County Sheriff’s Office suggested that security reasons made the back-to-back shows impossible. But no matter what, for those who made it inside, they received a lifetime performance from not just Yukon Jack but Brooks. 

Thrilled over the success of the concert, Durland was glad the secret was out. “You’ve seen that he talks about the Grizzly Rose a lot. He’s really good to us. So, um, of course we said, ‘Yeah, absolutely, there’s no question.’ And so, we just had to make that work. Problem was, we couldn’t leak it. Like nobody, nobody could know. And so we couldn’t even tell our staff.” 

Brooks might have arrived at the Grizzly Rose as Yukon Jack, but by the end of the night, there was no hiding the country legend. And if Brooks had gotten his way, thousands more waiting outside would have experienced it too. 

(Photo by Kevin Mazur/BBMA2020/Getty Images for dcp)

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