Garth Brooks, Lainey Wilson to play Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff show

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Country music superstar Garth Brooks will headline the first ever Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff show in the Caesar’s Superdome on Sept. 2.

Brooks will share the stage with Louisiana native Lainey Wilson and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Tickets go on sale July 21, starting at just under $100.

Proceeds from the event will go toward assisting the Allstate Sugar Bowl in its support of numerous community programs, including the New Orleans Teacher Collective. Funds will also go toward the aid of scholarship programs and youth events the Bowl supports annually.

“What an opportunity for me,” Brooks said at the announcement ceremony on Wed., July 12. “The best thing about playing the Superdome is the state it’s in. Playing in Louisiana is always special. It’s gonna be nuts. What an honor for me.”

The last time Brooks played “Callin’ Baton Rouge” in Baton Rouge, was in April of last year. The roar of over 102,000 fans singing along registered on LSU’s seismographs.

See also: Seismograph records earthquake in Tiger Stadium during Garth Brooks concert

The Sugar Bowl Committee hopes the Country Kickoff can become an annual event. Festivities also include “Tailgate Town,” where organizers will take over Champions Square and turn it into a football-themed interactive experience.

The semi-final college football game will take place on Jan. 1.

“As the College Football Playoff looks to expand a year from now, we find ourselves in an increasingly competitive environment,” said Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley. “This has caused us to look at everything with a fresh set of eyes and to look at creative ways to drive revenue in order to remain competitive with larger cities in possession of much larger corporate bases. The Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff provides us with just such an opportunity while allowing us to continue to do good things for our city and state.”

“We are excited to have not just Garth Brooks in the Superdome, but also our very own Louisiana Music Ambassador and Louisiana native Lainey Wilson,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “She rocked the world with us on our float in the Rose Parade and we know she will get the crowd rocking to welcome Garth to the stage in New Orleans. This lineup has all the makings of a great Louisiana Saturday night.”

A native of the small northern Louisiana town of Baskin, Wilson is a rising star in her own right.

In 2021, her single “Things a Man Oughta Know” hit No. 1 on the charts. She was most recently honored at the Academy of Country Music Awards as Female Artist of the Year and her album “Bell Bottom Country” won Album of the Year.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.

Subscribe to the Fox 8 YouTube channel.

Copyright 2023 WVUE. All rights reserved.