Garth Brooks‘ radio station on SiriusXM will end on Sept. 30, according to Billboard. The station called The Garth Channel ran for six years, beginning in September 2016.
The closing of The Garth Channel coincides with the end of Brooks’ 390-date arena tour which began in 2019 and was halted as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“[The Garth Channel] sold a ton of tickets for us on the [arena] tour and a ton of tickets for us on the stadium tour and now the drive for what it was and what it stood for is coming to a close,” Brooks explained to the outlet. “We plan this purposefully for all our stuff to be coming to a close here to see what our next step might be.”
“We are incredibly grateful and proud to have collaborated with Garth to present The Garth Channel on SiriusXM,” a SiriusXM spokesperson added. “We have enjoyed our creative relationship and look forward to working on future projects together.”
The Garth Channel aired on channel 55 and played various genres of music, including country, pop, and R&B, Billboard indicated. The channel also featured artists Brooks was a fan of or grew up listening to, with his own music only playing 25 percent of the time, a move that differs from other SiriusXM channels dedicated to performers such as Pearl Jam and Kenny Chesney.
Brooks said his channel was all about “breaking down barriers.”
“The greatness was that you could hear Bruno Mars and Merle Haggard back to back and you heard two great artists with two totally different great kinds of music, and you liked them both,” he shared. “So that was a sweet message to get across. I love that you heard Aretha Franklin with Adele and Tammy Wynette, and all of that worked.”
Despite closing this chapter of his career, Brooks told the outlet he may bring his channel back someday.
“In the future, if something happens, I hope my call is welcome,” Brooks said. “[The SiriusXM executives said], ‘It’s welcome anytime.’ They’ve been very sweet about everything from start to finish,” he added.
In looking ahead to what he wants to do next in his career, Brooks has also been very clear that he’s done with stadium tours. He said he’d love to do another Las Vegas residency or play dive bar shows.
The Garth Channel simulcasted Brooks’ weekly online show with his fans via Facebook called “Inside Studio G.” The Inside Studio G show, which airs on Mondays, will continue, according to the outlet.
A replacement for channel 55 is expected to be announced in the near future.
