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Garth Brooks on fire for five-concert benefit... |
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Garth Brooks on fire for five-concert benefit
Category:
Music News
Posted 2 years ago by
Queenoftab
 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country music star Garth Brooks knows he has his work cut out for him as he prepares to play five concerts in two days, starting on Friday, to benefit California firefighters and wildfire victims. But with at least $5 million in ticket sales and donations collected before he sings a single note -- and roughly $5 million more to go to reach his fund-raising goal -- Brooks, 45, insists he`s up for the challenge. "I think it comes down to turning it on," Brooks said at a news conference at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, where he will perform all five shows. "I haven`t done this since the old days, so we`ll see how it goes." The first concert opens at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by a second performance starting at 10 p.m. the same night, with three more shows on Saturday, said Staples Center general manager Lee Zeidman. Brooks will have only about an hour break between each show. The first hour of Friday`s opening concert will be broadcast live on CBS, with viewers encouraged to call in pledges for Brooks` latest charity, the Southern California 2008 Fire Intervention Relief Effort. As usual, Brooks charged a modest ticket price -- just $41 a seat -- and all five shows sold out in less than an hour, organizers said. Brooks said he got the idea for the benefit watching TV news coverage of the devastating wildfires that swept through Southern California last fall and felt moved to lend a hand. "I have much respect (for the firefighters) and these guys need all the help they can get," he said. SINGING FOR CHARITY Proceeds go to the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which will distribute the funds to various agencies supporting victims of the wildfires as well as fire departments around the state. Brooks, an Oklahoma native who achieved superstardom as he brought country music to mass audiences in the 1990s, was certified by the Recording Industry Association of America in November as the top-selling U.S. solo artist of all time. He then had 123 million album sales to his credit. He announced his official retirement seven years ago to devote more time to family but has occasionally performed for various charities, including a nine-concert series in Kansas City in October 2007. A recent greatest-hits collection, the three-disc set "Garth Brooks: The Ultimate Hits," has sold 2.5 million copies in the United States since its November 2007 release, he said. Asked whether he has considered going back on tour commercially, Brooks was emphatic. "No," he said. "After this concert, I will hopefully drop off the face of the music industry, but the charity work will continue. My youngest child is 11, and I would like to be around for her and the rest of my kids before they graduate high school."
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