Garth Brooks is banning cell phones at his upcoming Garth Brooks/Plus ONE residency, held at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The Country Music Hall of Fame member says he wants the show, which will vary from night to night, to be a surprise for each of the attendees.

“It’s gonna be a show by itself,” Brooks explained on his latest episode of Inside Studio G. “So what you want is the people that — they sell tickets so far in advance for the show — you want people in December to not see the show already before they go there, through social media and stuff.”

While cell phones will be banned for all of Brooks’ performances, the singer-songwriter is offering something in exchange for fans giving up their phones.

“What I love about it is, what we take our phones for, is to post stuff, pictures, videos,” Brooks says. “What we decided, you guys are so sweet to put your phones in bags, that when you open that bag, there will be an actual QR code in there, that you can scan to get pictures from the show you were at, taken professionally of course. So I’ll be looking at them before you see them, hopefully. And hopefully, they’ll be cool but not revealing the show. And my thing is, I’m trying to talk them into getting a piece of video as well.”

 

While the video component has yet to be fully worked out, the 61-year-old does promise fans will receive plenty of incentives in exchange for their phones.

“Right now it’s just photos, but we’re going to try and upload a little bit of video in there, when something special for that night happens that’s out of the show, but identifies that night,” he explains. “I think if we can find that moment, I think that’s great. We’re going to do our best. It’s so appreciated that people put their phones in bags.”

Brooks, who also hints fans will receive gifts in their bag as well when their phone is returned, is eager to perform for the residency, which has already been extended into 2024.

“What I love about the residency is it gets so stark and so quiet, it becomes so big,” Brooks says. “I like that moment.”

When announcing the residency, the husband of Trisha Yearwood says fans should expect the unexpected.

“Vegas is the place where anything goes, and The Colosseum at Caesars is the heart of Vegas,” Brooks said when the residency was announced. “The perfect combination to present a show that will not only push the envelope, it’s gonna shred it.”

Before Brooks begins his residency, the Oklahoma native will first host the ACM Awards alongside Dolly Parton.

“When you get to work with Reba McEntire, you just wear out pencils on a notebook because you take notes, right?” Brooks reflected to Billboard. “A woman in this industry — and I’m married to one of the greatest singers ever — they have to work a thousand times harder to get a tenth as much. So you watch them go to work, and when it’s your turn, your time, you work like a girl. You outwork everybody you can.”

Brooks will, perhaps surprisingly, mark his debut as an awards show host at this year’s ACM Awards, but he is more than ready for the opportunity.

“When you think about my career, I don’t want to pick favorites, but some of our biggest nights have been at the ACMs,” Brooks said. “The fact that they would even ask is flattering, and the fact that I get to host with Ms. Parton is unbelievable. The surprise of the night is you’re gonna see this beautiful woman carry this 260-pound ass all night.”

The 2023 ACM Awards will take place on Thursday, May 11 at 8:00 PM ET, streaming live on Amazon Prime Video, from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. A limited number of in-person tickets are available at SeatGeek.com.

More information on Brooks’ residency is available at GarthBrooks.com.