Garth Brooks: Chicago Saved Us

When Garth Brooks returns to Chicago’s Allstate Arena on Sept. 11 and 12 as part of the Blame It All On My Roots Arena Tour, he'll be returning to much more than one of his favorite venues.

He'll be returning to the city that helped bring him back.

Fourteen years after announcing his retirement, Brooks was preparing to launch his Comeback Tour in Dublin, Ireland. Five concerts at Europe's third-largest stadium had sold out, but after the licenses for all five shows were denied, the shows were canceled. More than 400,000 tickets were refunded.

"It was like a death in the family," Trisha Yearwood said. "He took that hard ... everyone did."

After the disappointment in Ireland, Brooks returned to the United States looking for a city willing to launch his first tour in 16 years … he found Chicago.

"That was when the life came back into our house," Yearwood said. "Call me dramatic, Chicago saved Garth and that tour."

The city responded in a way Brooks has never forgotten.

His 2014 Comeback Tour launched at Allstate Arena with an 11-show run, continuing a relationship that began in 1993 and now includes an unprecedented 23 concerts at the venue — more than any other artist in the arena's history. Brooks previously played four nights there in 1993 and eight more in 1997.

"I owe that city; we all do on this team," Brooks said. "I can't wait to get there to show the people of Chicago our gratitude and how much we love them."

Following a record-setting kickoff in Indianapolis and more than half a million people joining the queue for tickets in Denver, Brooks is bringing the Blame It All On My Roots Arena Tour back to Chicago to make more memories.

Brooks’ retro tour is returning to many of the cities where his biggest hits first came to life. Each performance will also serve as the foundation for his new live recording project, which will capture history in real time.

Tickets for the Chicago performances go on sale Friday, Aug. 7, at 10 a.m. CT through Ticketmaster and the Ticketmaster app. There is an eight-ticket limit per purchase. Every ticket is priced at $153 ($140 ticket price, $3 facility fee, and $10 service charge), plus applicable sales tax, with every seat in the house sold at one fair price. All tickets go on sale simultaneously, with no presales or advance box office sales.

Fans are strongly encouraged to sign in to their Ticketmaster account — or create one — before the on-sale and join the waiting room so they are ready to enter the queue when tickets become available. The waiting room opens 30 minutes before the on-sale. Tickets will be available at Ticketmaster.com.