Fifty years ago, a little television program called Austin City Limits (ACL) was founded by PBS affiliate KLRN-TV (which later became KLRU.) To kick off the celebration of this momentous anniversary, Austin City Limits has invited none other than country music's bestselling artist — ever — Garth Brooks to town to be inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.

Brooks is no stranger to Austin City Limits, and has performed on the show multiple times over the years. He first appeared on the program in 1990 and returned a decade later for ACL's 25th Anniversary broadcast season with two appearances. He even came back in 2021 for two intimate, acoustic, and non-broadcast performances to close out ACL's Studio 6A on the University of Texas campus; the soundstage where it all began.

Now 34 years after his first performance with Austin City Limits, Brooks is back again— but this time, he's the one being honored. In fact, this is the first time since the program started the ACL Hall of Fame a decade ago that it's only adding one artist to its ranks.

"Garth is a special friend—there’s no one else quite like him," said longtime ACL executive producer Terry Lickona in a recent press release. "He never forgets his roots, or the people who were there for him in those early days. He hit the ACL stage just as his career was taking off, kicked off our 25th anniversary season, and now almost 25 years later, it’s our turn to honor him.”

This induction event will take place September 5 at 7:30 pm at the program's studio home, ACL Live at the Moody Theater. For the occasion, Brooks and his band will perform and Austin City Limits will honor him as an artist. It may not surprise readers that the event sold out rather quickly, but don't worry; if you missed your chance to see this live, you'll be able to see musical highlights and Brooks' induction into the Hall of Fame in a special hourlong broadcast of Austin City Limits in March 2025 on PBS. It'll be part of the 50th season, which starts September 28, 2024.

And if you can't wait that long, CultureMap Austin was lucky enough to sit down with the man himself for a quick Q & A.

With over 162 million album sales, Garth Brooks is the number one selling country musician of all time, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He has been honored with dozens of awards over the years, including the Kennedy Center honor, the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, seven CMA Entertainer of the Year honors, and nine Diamond Awards, to name a few.

These days Brooks has recently opened a new bar in Nashville, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk. He's also recently returned to radio with Sevens Radio Network on TuneIn. Additionally, Brooks has a residency in Las Vegas, Garth Brooks / Plus ONE at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. 2023's tour completely sold out and dates for 2024 are currently on sale.

Here's what he had to say.

CultureMap: I know you've gotten a few awards over the years. What does the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame award in particular mean to you?

Garth Brooks: "This is sincerity. This is it. I don't think Garth Brooks the person is much different than the first guy who played here [in 1990.] But what has changed is everything around. So, stadiums, video boards, special effects... You come in here and you leave all that outside. And I think a lot of that is Terry Lickona. If you look at anything you love, I think there's a heartbeat behind it, and I think this is his. And I think that's been his mission, is to keep the music the music. That's what I love about it.

"The first thing when you come through that door, it's not the ego. The first thing that comes through that door, it's not the artist. First thing that comes through that door, is the music. And they make sure you know that. And then like anything else, the crowd reflects the room. Every time I come here, the crowd has been really sincere. They know album cuts. They know that kind of stuff. That's the people I want to play for. And I can expect that in Austin."

CM: What past inductees do you feel the most inspired by?

GB: "I think it might not be the inductees so much as it's all the people who've played here. [When I was a kid,] the two main shows we had were Gunsmoke and Austin City Limits. So as a kid, we just watched everybody [on Austin City Limits]. And the one thing we immediately recognized was, you watch one show and then you watch the next, it may not even be the same genre of music. But the common theme was, what you were seeing was stripped and raw. So that has just kind of stuck in my genes.

"And my dad, he was a smart guy. A war veteran. He could figure anything out. He was worried about his son picking this for a living— until the day I called him and I said, "Dad, you're not going to believe this, but we're going to play at Austin City Limits." And he was so happy. The second time we played, I brought him with me."

CM: What is your favorite memory of Austin City Limits?

GB: "That one that we played to close down Studio 6A over here. That was a beautiful moment."

CM: It sounded like that was a very intimate and emotional performance...

GB: "Yes, very. And I don't know whether it's raising three daughters or what, but I cry at commercials now. So it was really hard to get through. But everyone was really sweet. They let me cry; they let me tell my stories. Most of them were just about Austin City Limits."

CM: What do you think of when you think of Austin?

GB: "Austin or Austin City Limits? They're kind of the same thing for me... When I think about Austin, I think about what a city wants to be... The thing I love about Austin is, somehow it has blown up, but it has stayed Austin. And I gotta contribute that to just plain Texas hard headedness. 'We are not going to change. You can change how we look; you can change the size of our city. But we're going to stay Austin.' Which makes you wanna come back here."

CM: How are you feeling about tonight?

GB: "Good... Nervous."

CM: So, you still get nervous before a performance?

GB: "Oh yeah. You're always nervous, because the last thing you want to do is let somebody down. You get nervous because you don't want to disappoint everybody. You know that old saying, 'You can't please everybody'? Well, I don't think you can say that until you've tried. And so my thing is, I want this to be the best show they've ever seen. I want this to be the best show I've ever seen."

CM: Every time?

GB: "Every time! I love those people who say, "Shoot for the moon and if you fall short, you're still among the stars." Go for it! Every night. And do not fail."

CM: What is the most nervous you've ever been before a performance?

GB: "Central Park. Simply because they started talking about numbers, and I never looked at the crowd. But I was pasty white, like no blood running through me. I was so scared. And then when we did see all the people — first just seeing this mass of people out there — but then we heard them singing... If I hear you sing, I'm home. I'm good."

CM: Over the course of your career, what memory stands out to you as the most meaningful?

GB: "I think it was the first trip to Ireland. In 1994. So there' a guy — and you're going to think the name is made up — but his last name was Akin, his first name was Jim, so Jamaican... And he has the place called The Point, and he thinks we can sell it out. U2 sold it out five nights. And our first ticket on sale, he sells nine shows. And we're like, 'We didn't even know Ireland knew who Garth Brooks was!' And now I'm scared to death thinking, 'They think I'm somebody else!'

"We opened with this song 'Not Counting You,' And nobody knows this song. But they knew every word — and they screamed every word. And then comes 'If Tomorrow Never Comes.' And I'm crying like a baby. Remember, I'm young at that point. So I'm young, and I'm made of steel, and nothing's going to effect me... But I'm balling like a baby. And every night was that way."

CM: When reflecting back on your career and life so far, what has surprised you the most?

GB: "Everything surprises me. You were talking about going to Nashville a minute ago. When you were in Nashville, I swear, the guy who was waiting your table, he can probably sing better than me; write better than me; look better than me. So I don't know why some people get this shot and some people don't. I have no idea why. I just know that for some reason, you got this chance, this opportunity. Now it's not up to you when it ends, you just run as hard as you can while it's going. Be thankful every step. And surround yourself with people like that.

"The gratefulness of getting to do this... I can't tell you why it's happening; I can just tell you, I'm grateful that it is."