Luke Reacts To Garth Comments

Back in November, Garth Brooks presented Luke Bryan with the CMA Entertainer of the Year Award.  It was the first time Luke had met Garth.  One month later, Garth and Trisha were on Country Countdown USA, and they talked about that moment with host Lon Helton:

(Garth) “The thing you learn about any artist is if they’re a good person or not.  And I’ve never word a bad word in this town with that guy’s name on it. So I already knew that he was a winner in that category, which is all that matters to me truthfully, but sweet kid.  He’s enjoying every second of the ride, and good for him.”

(Lon) Did you chat with him afterwards? (Garth) No I didn’t, but the guy I got to chat with was his dad, who filled me in on the story about him & his brother.  So we got to talk dad to dad, and I got to tell him that the most important thing is his boy is looked upon as a very nice young man, and everything else is what it is.”

Last week, we played those quotes from Garth for Luke, and here’s what he said: “Lon, you don’t need to do this to me on air.  We have a photo of him and my dad talking right after I won.  A lot of my family were in close proximity to my dad and Garth, and they recited what my dad and Garth were talking about.  What an amazing thing to sit here and get to hear from him.  You hear of great things people do, and Garth is one of those people.  You look up to those people.  Garth was such a great example.  It’s very amazing hearing those words come from him.  I had good teachers!”

Did you ever see a Garth concert? “I was a little young at the time, but my brother went to a show in Tallahassee.  I remember when he got back at 2AM, I was still up, and I asked him what it was like.  He goes, and I’m getting chill bumps thinking about it, but he goes ‘Luke, for two hours, no one sat down.’  I remember him trying to explain that to me.  I remembered that when I moved to Nashville.  I wanted to put on a show where no one would sit down.  This was before Garth did his TV specials.  My brother was there wearing his starched Wranglers and white t-shirt and cowboy hat, so it was amazing.  He told me his best interpretation of that concert, and it was like I was there.  I don’t think I’ve ever told that story, but that’s verbatim.”  Sadly, Luke’s older brother Chris was killed in a car crash a few years later.  Luke still gets emotional talking about his brother, and it’s likely that Luke’s father told that story to Garth on CMA night.

Luke Bryan is now nominated for the ACM Entertainer of the Year, and in that same category is Garth Brooks.  Afterwards, Luke was asked about being in the same category with his hero: “That’s pretty crazy.  I never thought I’d be in a category with Garth.  It’s very mind-boggling, but that’s this business. Now I’m nominated with Garth Brooks, you see the paper and you want to frame it.  I always feel blessed in these moments.   I did Lon’s Countdown, and Lon got Garth to speak about me, and I’m listening to that, and I’m like, ‘What is going on,’ and to hear Garth say the things he said about me, I just can’t believe I’m in this situation where these people know who I am.  I never would have thought I’d be here.”

Tags: garth brooks, luke bryan

Category: Audio