Eagle-eyed Garth Brooks fans knew Sunday evening that something was going on. Brooks posted a video to his social media stories showing him climbing onto his private jet with a duffle bag.
The caption was “Stagecoach Never Broke My Heart”.
Brooks joined Luke Combs on stage at Stagecoach in Indio, California, a while later.
Their song of choice? “Friends In Low Places,” of course.
Combs started the song, Brooks walked out, and they finished the song together. The men even collaborated on the song’s infamous third verse.
“Just wait ’til I finish this glass / Then sweet little lady, I’ll head back to the bar / And you can kiss my ass.“
Brooks prompted the audience to shout the last line of lyrics with him, and thousands happily obliged.
Brooks’s surprise appearance at Stagecoach marked the first time he’d returned to the California country music festival since he and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, headlined the event in 2018.
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Before Brooks walked out, Combs teased his audience, telling them something special was planned to help him close his set. But, before they got to the last song, Combs had already shocked audiences with Bailey Zimmerman and Good Charlotte making unannounced appearances.
Garth Brooks Tells Crowd to “Raise ‘Em Up”
Good Charlotte emerged to sing their hit “The Anthem” and Zimmerman delt his new song “Backup Plan.”
But Brooks’ appearance won the night. Combs began with the opening lyrics, and then Brooks nonchalantly strolled out and claimed his hit. The audience was stunned and then exploded into excited cheers and applause. While the men sang parts of the song, they also turned chunks of it over to the California country music fans, all building toward the live-only third verse.
Combs wagged his finger as he sang: “Just wait ’til I finish this glass.”
“Raise ’em up!” Brooks raucously instructed the crowd. “Then sweet little lady, I’ll head back to the bar / And you can kiss my ass,” he nearly shouted.
Combs ended the night, yelling: “It’s Garth freaking Brooks, everybody!”
Brooks declared Combs a “future Hall of Famer.”
Combs’ set also included his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”, “Hurricane”, and “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma”.
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However, Combs wasn’t done when his set was over. He joined the Backstreet Boys, adding his North Carolina drawl to their throwback hit “I Want It That Way.”
Combs wasn’t the only headliner to incorporate special guests this weekend. Jelly Roll also brought a small army of surprise singers on stage Saturday night. His list included MGK, Shaboozey, Wiz Khalifa, Lana Del Rey, and Brandon Lake. Jelly Roll and Lake wowed audiences with their collaboration “Hard Fought Hallelujah” while Lana Del Rey stood in for Lainey Wilson on her “Save Me” duet with Jelly Roll.
The moral of the story? At Stagecoach, country music has friends who are high, low, and everywhere in between. Jelly Roll and Lake wowed audiences with their collaboration “Hard Fought Hallelujah” while Lana Del Rey stood in for Lainey Wilson on her “Save Me” duet with Jelly Roll.
The moral of the story? At Stagecoach, country music has friends who are high, low, and everywhere in between.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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