Garth Brooks Reveals How Ed Sheeran's Tour Posters Inspired His 2027 Irish Trek

Garth Brooks was inspired to bring his concerts directly to regional fans across Ireland after noticing tour posters for Ed Sheeran during his 2022 Dublin residency.

The American country music icon spent five historic nights performing in Croke Park during September of 2022.

While backstage at the famous Dublin stadium, the singer found himself studying the promotional displays lining the venue walls.

Those displays highlighted nationwide Irish itineraries completed by British pop superstar Ed Sheeran and American rock legend Bruce Springsteen.

Rather than forcing supporters from every corner of the island to commute into the capital, both artists had taken their live productions on the road.

Brooks paid close attention to how Sheeran had mapped out multiple consecutive dates across several provincial stadiums before arriving in Dublin.

The concept immediately captured the country star's imagination as he prepared to conclude his own mammoth Dublin run.

Speaking to reporters at a pre-show press conference ahead of his final 2022 concert, Brooks openly voiced his admiration for the model.

He admitted that seeing Sheeran's touring routing made him reconsider his entire approach to performing in Ireland.

"I’m not sure about [Croke] Park. Ed Sheeran, I love to death. I looked at his [tour posters] and he’s got two nights somewhere, two nights somewhere, and a few nights in Croke Park but it was a full tour," he told reporters at the time.

"After this week of travelling, I don't mind coming to you. I just love this place. I want to play here, it's all I want to do."

THE BACKSTAGE CONVERSATION

The ambition did not remain an idle backstage musing.

Promoter Peter Aiken of Aiken Promotions recently confirmed that Brooks was serious about replicating that exact format from the very moment he stepped off stage.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 with host Oliver Callan, Aiken recounted standing beside the superstar inside Croke Park while looking at the event posters.

Both Sheeran and Springsteen had successfully balanced high-demand capital fixtures with major provincial stadium stops across the country.

Aiken revealed that Brooks turned to him directly behind the scenes and stated that he wanted to organize a comparable regional trek.

The idea continued to develop quietly between the promoter and the musician over the following months.

Formal planning accelerated suddenly when Aiken traveled to Florida to attend one of Brooks's concerts in Orlando.

During that backstage meeting, the country music legend told Aiken that the time had come to turn the regional Irish concept into reality.

Aiken initially assumed the proposed tour would target the summer of 2028.

Brooks corrected him instantly, instructing the promoter to lock down regional stadium availability for 2027 instead.

That conversation set in motion one of the most ambitious and surprising live music announcements in modern Irish entertainment history.

REGIONAL AUDIENCES DRIVE THE ROUTE

The decision to bypass Dublin entirely for 2027 was rooted firmly in real audience ticketing data.

During his interview on RTÉ Radio 1, Aiken explained that Brooks had carefully analyzed where his ticket buyers actually lived.

For a standard major headline concert at Croke Park, roughly half of all ticket purchasers reside in the greater Dublin area.

Brooks discovered that his own 2022 Croke Park sales told a radically different demographic story.

Less than 20 percent of the attendees at his five sold-out Dublin stadium shows were local Dublin residents.

The overwhelming majority of the audience had traveled long distances across Ireland to reach the capital.

Ticket transactions showed immense, concentrated fan loyalty in western counties, the midlands, the south, and Northern Ireland.

Sales numbers were exceptionally robust in Belfast, Limerick, and Galway.

Brooks recognized the immense financial and logistical burden his rural and regional followers had shouldered to reach Croke Park.

Hotels, train tickets, fuel, and lengthy travel times had defined the 2022 experience for tens of thousands of concertgoers.

Armed with the box-office breakdown, Brooks and Aiken Promotions decided to eliminate Dublin from the 2027 itinerary altogether.

By taking the stage directly in regional sports grounds, Brooks could bring the spectacle right to the doorsteps of his most dedicated supporters.

TEN STADIUM SHOWS ACROSS FIVE CITIES

The newly confirmed 2027 schedule features ten stadium concerts spaced across five major hubs.

Every selected location will host Brooks for back-to-back performances on consecutive evenings.

The nationwide trek kicks off in Northern Ireland at Boucher Road Playing Fields in Belfast on Friday, May 21, and Saturday, May 22, 2027.

From Belfast, the massive staging production moves westward to Connacht for two nights at Pearse Stadium in Galway on Saturday, May 29, and Sunday, May 30, 2027.

The following weekend takes the tour into the heart of Leinster with shows at UPMC Nowlan Park in Kilkenny on Friday, June 4, and Saturday, June 5, 2027.

Munster will then host the remaining four dates of the historic country music run.

Brooks will perform at TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick on Friday, June 11, and Saturday, June 12, 2027.

The grand Irish finale will take place at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork on Friday, June 18, and Saturday, June 19, 2027.

"This has been a dream of mine since the first time we played Ireland. Once you get a taste of how the Irish love music, you can't play there enough!"

Brooks stated upon announcing the tour.

THE DUBLIN EXCLUSION CONTROVERSY

Despite the excitement across the provinces, the complete absence of a Dublin fixture triggered instant public debate.

National radio stations, morning talk shows, and digital outlets across the capital immediately questioned the choice to bypass the country's primary metropolitan hub.

Commentators noted the sheer rarity of an international stadium-filler playing ten Irish concerts without scheduling a single appearance in Dublin.

The omission prompted heated online discussions regarding the singer's status, catalog, and relationship with the Irish public.

Media outlets ran audience opinion polls questioning Brooks's musical appeal and debating whether the snub was justified by the demographics.

For regional supporters, however, the tour routing represents a welcome reversal of traditional concert logistics.

Fans in Ulster, Munster, and Connacht have long voiced frustration over the centralization of major international tours in Dublin.

Aiken reiterated that the artist's management team views Ireland as his premier global territory on a per-capita basis.

The promoter noted that Irish tricolour flags are a constant presence at Brooks's American arena and stadium concerts.

CATERING TO A HISTORIC BOND

The 2027 visit marks the latest chapter in a long, dramatic saga between the Oklahoma native and Irish audiences.

Born Troyal Garth Brooks, the performer stands as the most commercially successful solo artist in United States recording history.

He remains the only recording artist in music history to surpass 200 million certified album sales.