Photo: CBS
Garth Brooks pledged that his soon-to-open Nashville honky tonk will be a place of inclusion following a debate around a popular brand of beer earlier this year. Brooks hopes his upcoming bar, Friends In Low Places, will serve as a way to repay Music City for kickstarting his career.
Brooks, who announced plans to open a bar named after one of his most iconic 90s anthems last year, recently spoke about the venue in an interview with Jane Pauley on CBS News Sunday Morning. That discussion included a reflection of the stir earlier this year when Brooks said Friends In Low Places would serve Bud Light, which spurred debate after teaming up with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“I think if you want division on this planet at this time, talk about unity, talk about love … What’s our other option, right?” Brooks said in his interview with Pauley. “I’m with love. You come on this ship or not. But love is big enough for all of us. They say the hardest question on the planet is why are we down here? That’s the easiest one. We’re down here for each other. That’s why there’s more than just one of us down here. So I love that … And I kind of love the differences because that’s the fun part of it. …‘Friends in Low Places,’ for me, is a chapter in country music, so I think it needs to be here.”
Brooks, known for decades of smash-hit country anthems, also said he hopes opening his bar in Nashville will serve as a way to repay the country music hub for launching his opportunities to record and release music over the years. Friends In Low Places will be a three-story, 40,000 square foot venue. Brooks teamed up with Nashville-based Strategic Hospitality to open the bar at 411 Broadway. The address is the former location of Downtown Sporting Club. Brooks will join a growing number of country superstars to open a venue on Lower Broadway, along with Miranda Lambert, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton and Dierks Bentley, to name a few.
Brooks’ interview is set to air on CBS News Sunday Morning on Sunday (November 19) at 9 a.m. ET. It will also steam on Paramount+.