Garth Brooks Reaches 7 Diamond Career Milestone

A capacity crowd filled Nashville's Ascend Amphitheatre Monday joining Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and a host of friends to celebrate Garth Brooks becoming the first recording artist in history to earn Seven Diamond Album Certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The evening kicked off with Gov. Haslam welcoming fans and presenting Brooks with a commemorative belt manufactured by Lynnville-based Col. Littleton and sterling silver & gold buckle designed by Gist Silversmiths with seven diamonds to highlight each of the awarded albums. Celebrity guests Reba McEntire, Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Young, Steve Wariner, and wife Trisha Yearwood took the stage to congratulate Brooks as well as sing their favorite song from one of his Diamond Certified albums, Garth Brooks, No Fences, Ropin' The Wind, The Hits, Double-Live, Sevens, and The Ultimate Hits. Brooks followed with a seven song set, one song from each of his Diamond-certified records, all of which were recorded in Tennessee.

In a surprise gesture, Tennessee whiskey brand Jack Daniel's presented a full barrel of their Old Number 7 Whiskey to Brooks.

The celebration culminated with RIAA Gold & Platinum Program and Communications Director, Liz Kennedy Holman, presenting Brooks with his record-setting seventh Diamond Award, for The Ultimate Hits,followed by a firework display over the heart of Nashville.

"I can't thank the state of Tennessee enough for taking me in as if I was one of their own and allowing me to chase a dream and make music. I hope this state is as wonderful of a home for all of you as it is to me. I could not be more proud to bring the seven Diamond Certification home to country music," Brooks stated.

In addition to the special celebration at Ascend, the city turned downtown Nashville's 7th Avenue into 'Garth Brooks Way' for the day to celebrate the themed achievement of seven RIAA Diamond Album Certifications. Thousands filled Nashville's Riverfront Park to enjoy the celebration on giant video screens powered by Amazon Music, a Budweiser beer garden, and local food trucks. Participating bars on Nashville's famous Broadway saluted Garth with free Budweiser and ticket giveaways to lucky fans on the day of the event.

"In Tennessee, we make things - from guitars to cars to whiskey to M&Ms. One of the things we make more of and better than anyone else is music, and as tonight shows, one of the people that does that better than anyone else is Garth Brooks. Garth can make his music anywhere he wants, and the fact that he has chosen to do that in Tennessee over all these years says a lot about our state. We congratulate him on this achievement and are grateful he represents our state and inspires people from all over the world to visit Tennessee and experience, as we say, the soundtrack of America," said Governor Bill Haslam.

Fans gained access to the free celebration at Ascend by following Tennessee Tourism on their Snapchat channel "Tennessee" and redeemed access codes through Ticketmaster. The partnership between Garth Brooks and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development supports the state's dedication to music and tourism initiatives as part of "The Soundtrack of America. Made in Tennessee" campaign.

Tennessee has long been known as a global music destination, where the genres of blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, rockabilly and rock 'n' roll originated and has more musicians per capita than any other place in the world. It is the state where artists come to create and perform their music. Tennessee is home to world-renowned music attractions like Graceland, Beale Street, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Bluebird, Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Grand Ole Opry and the famous Ryman Auditorium.

For more information, visit tnvacation.com and follow "Tennessee" on Snapchat.

Garth Brooks is certified by the RIAA as the #1-selling solo artist in U.S. history with over 138 million albums. He has received every accolade the recording industry can bestow on an artist. Garth has been inducted into the International Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame and most recently, the Musicians Hall of Fame.

Garth is currently on the three-year Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood. The tour began with 11 sold out shows at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. The tour is smashing records previously held by such acts as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and even Garth Brooks. In just over a year and a half, the tour is approaching 5 MILLION tickets sold making it the biggest tour in the world. He also just received his 11th nomination for Entertainer of the Year from the CMA Awards.

Recently Garth launched Inside Studio G, a weekly Facebook Live series that will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of his next album. It airs every Monday on Garth's Facebook page at 7:00 PM EDT.

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