It’s the controversy that refuses to go away. Last week, the Liberal reported on the fact that Garth Brooks has agreed to do matinee shows in Chicago. This was despite the fact that the option of doing matinees was turned down for the now-cancelled Croke Park concerts.
Brooks has sold out 10 concerts in Chicago and had agreed to do 2 shows on 3 of those dates. It’s news that will no doubt anger fans who are still in the course of receiving refunds for the cancelled gigs.
Dublin Lord Mayor Christy Burke certainly thinks so. He’s back on the scene and he’s pretty blunt about what he thinks should happen, saying:
“My attitude to it all, that he needs first of all – if that’s the case – to apologise to his Irish fans.”
But Brooks has his defenders too, not least concert promoter Peter Aiken who was quick to defend the star. He pointed out that the gigs in Chicago are a lot smaller that those planned for Croke Park and that they would have been “physically impossible” here.
“It was all based on the lights and production, which wouldn’t work during the day, you wouldn’t be able to see it!”
Will this be enough to satisfy the 400,000 disappointed fans here? Who knows. One thing is certain, this looks like one music story that’s going to run and run.