Garth Brooks is taking a stand against a tough opponent: bots who are making it tough for fans to get tickets to his concerts. The country singer explained to fans the steps he has tried to make the situation better for them.
In a story posted to his website, Brooks explained what went down with bots in Kansas City, as his tour prepares to move on to Canada.
“Two cities. Two on-sales. Two dramatically different outcomes, Brooks explained that he tried “to get more tickets into fans’ hands” in Kansas City in late October, but it “went sideways when bots “flooded the on-sale for a newly added Saturday matinee.” Brooks ended up shutting down the on-sale, his website says. And it only got worse after that.
Brooks is on his “Blame It All on My Roots” arena tour.
Garth Brooks Tried Different Approaches to Stop Bots From Ruining Fans’ Experience, But He Ended Up Cancelling a Concert
Brooks indicated that he has been trying several different approaches to combat bots.
“Because of social media posts and our history with Kansas City, I felt we left people unable to get tickets on the original on-sale,” Brooks said. “I was the one who suggested we put a lower bowl Saturday matinee up for sale.”
However, 90,000 people were in the queue when the tickets went on sale, and most of them turned out to be bots, creating limited access to some tickets, Brooks’ website says. The on-sale was then shut down by AXS and T-Mobile Center.
“There will be no Saturday matinee performance in Kansas City. Those who actually were able to buy tickets to the matinee will be automatically refunded to the original method of payment used for purchase,” Brooks wrote. The tour then moved on to Seattle where he had four successful sold-out shows.
Brooks’ fans expressed disappointment over the cancelled concert. Stacy Malone, a fan who has attended many Brooks concerts in the past, told KCTV 5: “I literally cried all night, all day.” She added: “I would even purchase nosebleed tickets so I don’t miss Kansas City. But I can’t even do that until I get a refund.”
“Every time that I tried to get tickets, they were immediately taken out of my cart,” another fan named Stephanie Wilson said to the television station, underscoring why Brooks felt he needed to act.
Garth Brooks Announced That He Is Now Headed to Canada
Brooks believes that Canada has a lot of appreciation for country music, and he is heading there for the Christmas season. “Hamilton, Ontario is the first December stop on his Blame It All On My RootsTour!” he announced on his website.
“For the first time since it began, Garth Brooks’ Blame It All On My RootsArena Tour is about to pay a visit to Canada! He’ll return to Hamilton,Ontario Friday December 4 and Saturday, December 5 at the city’s TD Coliseum!” the website adds.
This is Brooks’ first return to Ontario in three decades. “It’s been 30 years since Garth made his debut on the southwest shore of Lake Ontario, playing his first Hamilton concert ever,” his website says.
Garth Brooks Takes the Fight to Bots