Yukon Jack Rides Again — This Time at the Grizzly Rose

Garth Brooks fans received the surprise — and experience — of a lifetime Thursday night when Brooks and his band resurrected their 33-year-old pseudonym, Yukon Jack, for a performance at the Grizzly Rose in Denver.

The secret show served as an unofficial kickoff to Brooks’ four-concert Blame It All on My Roots Tour run at Ball Arena. He will play at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

But first, Yukon Jack.

The Grizzly Rose posted late Monday night that the band, Yukon Jack, would be playing Ladies Night on Thursday. Fans caught the hint, and by showtime, thousands were lined up through the parking lot and around the building, betting that Brooks was behind it.

At 8:47 p.m., they got their answer.

Brooks took the stage as the 2,000 fans packed inside erupted, singing along while cowboys waved their hats in the air.

"From the very start, we knew this was going to be the best night we have ever had in a honky-tonk," Brooks said. "Never seen anything like it."

The Grizzly Rose is sentimental to Brooks. He’s played the legendary Denver honky-tonk twice and name-checks it in “The Old Stuff” — the song he chose to open his retro Blame It All on My Roots Tour.

Yukon Jack has some retro history, too.

In January 1993, Brooks and his band were headed to Pasadena, California, where he would sing the national anthem at Super Bowl XXVII — with Michael Jackson performing at halftime. They booked a show at Clovis City Limits in Clovis, New Mexico, under the name Yukon Jack.

“We hadn’t played a bar in a long time at that point,” Brooks recalled. “We wanted to get back to how that felt.”

Only 10 or 11 people were there when the band started playing. Word of his pop-up performance spread during the 90-minute show.

“By the time we finished, the place was full of people who just came from their houses — wet hair, pajama tops, etc.,” Brooks said. “There was one pay phone in the place, and people were lined up to use it.”

Brooks signed autographs until about 2 a.m., then continued to the Super Bowl.

"Playing honky-tonks ALWAYS reminds me that is where Garth music came from, and where it belongs," Brooks said, still smiling.

This time, Yukon Jack doesn’t have nearly as far to travel for the next show. Ball Arena is just five miles from the Grizzly Rose.

Tickets to Brooks’ Ball Arena shows are on sale through Ticketmaster and the Ticketmaster app. There is an eight-ticket limit per purchase. Every ticket is priced at $155.25 — a $140 ticket price, $5.25 facility fee, and $10 service charge.