Garth Brooks may have been standing on stage in Yankee Stadium before tens of thousands of fans, but his words had such an intimacy about them. It was as if he was leaning in for a one-on-one chat. “When I come to New York I never feel secure enough that I can be myself,” he told the wildly adoring crowd. “But it turns out that’s exactly what you want me to be. And I realize, you love me just as I am!”
As his “People Loving People,” song goes, there was a lot of love for Brooks who rousingly performed that song and other favorites like “Two Pina Coladas,” “The River,” “Papa Loved Mama,” “Friends In Low Places,” “The Dance” and more. He also sang “In Another’s Eyes” with Trisha Yearwood. And she passionately belted her classics including “How Do I Live” and “She’s in Love With the Boy.”
Thank you #NYC for waiting with us while the thunder rolled through Yankee Stadium xo pic.twitter.com/BerzHa3uHj
— Trisha Yearwood (@trishayearwood) July 12, 2016
Brooks’ recent Yankee Stadium concerts marked the first time the country superstar has performed in New York since 1997 when he played to nearly a million people in Central Park. He and Yearwood are also the first country artists to have a concert at Yankee Stadium. Just hours before taking the stage, Brooks and Yearwood talked to Parade. “The people out there have always taken care of me so I’ll go out there, have fun and trust,” said Brooks. “It’s kind of like closing your eyes, falling backward and trusting they’re going to catch you.”
Brooks and Yearwood shared more with Parade and other reporters.
Can you take us to two minutes before you’re going on tonight? How will you get there mentally?
Garth Brooks: You just keep thinking about what you’re going to try. And you try to remember. The truth is, you’re not going to remember everything by the time you get on stage. The second you get there, you’re eating as fast as you’re putting out. You’re trying to learn, especially on opening night. So tonight, I’m learning the whole time I’m doing my thing.
Garth and Trisha, how did you know the other person was the one?
Garth Brooks: When you meet someone, you know. The problem was [when I first met her] I had been married for over a year. And that couldn’t have been wrong because you’re married in front of your family and God. You think, there must be some feeling that isn’t right. Over the years you just keep going. Then I was single the same time she was. So it was pretty cool to start dating and get to know who I thought she was. I found everything I would want her to be, she was. And then the things I didn’t know about her were even better than what I had hoped. That was very sweet. I just want to be wherever she’s at. I love breathing the same air she’s breathing.
Trisha Yearwood: It was probably the minute I met him, even though I didn’t know it at the time. I just think we’re meant to be. It will be 11 years this December that we have been married. But we’ve known each other for 27 years. We have a friendship that’s a great base for all of it. We made a conscious effort when we got married not to be apart. Garth was retired but I wasn’t. So when I moved to Oklahoma I cut my tour dates way down. Then I eventually didn’t tour. That’s how my cookbook began. It was something to do creatively that I could do at home, never dreaming it would turn into all this other stuff. [Yearwood hosts her own Emmy-winning Food Network cooking show, Trisha’s Southern Southern Kitchen and wrote three cookbooks.] 99 percent of the time we’re together. We don’t spend very many nights apart.
Why do you love to sing?
Garth Brooks: Well let’s talk about what a singer does for me, someone who really can sing like the people on Broadway. They take you to this place that you wish you could be. If you have ever wished to fly, just go to a Broadway show, close your eyes and listen to that voice. All of a sudden there’s air underneath your wings.
Trisha Yearwood: Singing was not even a choice. I remember being 5 years old and thinking, this is what I do. I’ve got to figure out how to do it in a small town where no one did what I wanted to do. I never say that I chose music. I always say it kind of chose me. I really feel like it was a calling, kind of like a preacher gets called. I’m lucky to do it on this level. But I would probably be singing at the Holiday Inn five nights a week if I couldn’t do it in this way.
What it is like for you to perform in New York?
Garth Brooks: When you watch this guy, hear this guy, see what this guy does, it’s not hard to know he’s not from here. And he’s not trying to be from here. For some reason, New York’s always let me be who I am. I don’t know why. They still seem to show up. That’s a wonderful gift to give someone: to say, you can be yourself even if you’re not from here.
Trisha Yearwood: I’m from Georgia. What I knew about New York was what I had seen on TV or read in a book or magazine. It was this elusive city. Then to actually come and spend time here, I just got it. I love everything about New York. I love the food. I love the shopping. I love the vibe. I love the energy. I love the loud. I love the quiet. I love the park. I love all of it. Playing New York, I remember the very first time I was interviewed about New York. People asked, “Are there country fans in New York?’ I said, “Yeah!”
And the difference from doing Central Park in 1997?
Garth Brooks: I’m 54 now. I was 35 at that time. It’s like George Strait’s “Troubadour” when he sings, “I still feel 25 most of the time.” My knees don’t, but I do.
