Garth Brooks Announces New Album, World Tour + Digital Music
Garth Brooks confirmed rumors of a new album and world tour at a press conference in Nashville Thursday (July 10).
The superstar -- who retired for nearly a dozen years to raise his children, performing only sporadically and releasing just a handful of singles -- announced a new record deal with Sony Music.
His longtime producer, Allen Reynolds, has retired, and Mark Miller is stepping in to produce the new project, which has no release date as yet. The album will be released through a partnership of Pearl Records and RCA Nashville.
Brooks also announced that he will finally make his music available digitally.
"That will begin within the next two to three weeks," he stated. But he's still not going to partner with iTunes, which he has long resisted. Instead, his music will be available digitally exclusively at his official website for now.
The singerr did not reveal the dates for his upcoming world tour, but did confirm that a tour is coming. He will announce the first date on July 14.
In response to a question from reporters, Brooks said he would still try to work out the five comeback shows he canceled in Ireland after the Dublin City Council refused to grant licenses for two of them, but that it would require a higher official getting involved to reverse the decision of the city manager.
"With a simple 'Yes,' you can make 400,000 people happy," he reflected.
No title has been announced for the new album, but Brooks revealed it will be a double album, and is likely to be released around Black Friday in November. The first single will be revealed in the next month.
Brooks has previously stated the upcoming tour will feature new music, and could last as long as three years.