Garth Brooks fans better have some friends in high places if they didn’t secure any tickets to his upcoming show in Edmonton.
Minutes after sales opened at 10 a.m. Friday, the 61,000-seat show at the Commonwealth Stadium was sold out, leaving thousands more fans in western Canada standing on the outside of the country music superstar’s first concert in Alberta’s capital in five years.
Brooks’ public relations team said it took 45 minutes, but some reported seeing the “sold out” status just 22 minutes after sales opened.
The country music artist whose top-charting songs include Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up) and Unanswered Prayers took to social media to say he’s heard his fans prayers to see his June 25 show.
“Talked to Ticketmaster and they said a lot of you never got in to even look for tickets … and tens of thousands of you were still in the waiting room when it sold out,” he posted on Twitter. “Let me see what the options are, please.”
A Ticketmaster spokesperson confirmed Brooks’ concert sold out within 45 minutes “due to the incredible demand from Canadian fans.”
Friday evening, Brooks tweeted that, after conversations with “radio,” Ticketmaster and the stadium, he would have a statement on Monday morning.
The ticket selling company said it is committed to preventing bots from getting tickets before fans are able to purchase them, using their “smart queue” system.
Fans prove their identity to the system with phone verification, part of their strategy that includes layered security and traffic monitoring.
Prospective ticket buyers join the “waiting room” before sales open, and once the sale begins, people are given a place in the queue.
Ticketmaster’s website claims the smart queue system is designed so “every fan gets a fair chance at tickets” and keeps bots out.
Later on Friday, tickets for the concert were posted to sites like Kijiji and Ebay.
And ticket reseller StubHub had seats available in nearly every section of Commonwealth Stadium.
In February 2017, demand for the Tulsa native extended his Edmonton run to nine sold-out shows at Rogers Place, with 160,000 fans passing through the turnstiles.
The June concert in Edmonton is Brooks’ only Canadian stop on his Stadium Tour, which was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview with Global News earlier this week, Brooks said he expected the show at Commonwealth Stadium to be like a “family reunion.”
Last Saturday, a Brooks show in Louisiana got so raucous it registered on a Louisiana State University seismograph during the song Callin’ Baton Rouge.