AUSTIN (KXAN) — Marking the 50th anniversary of Austin City Limits music series, Garth Brooks was officially inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
Brooks was part of the 25th anniversary broadcast and is back for the 50th. That event can be viewed on Sept. 28 on PBS.
To celebrate his induction, KXAN’s Erica Brennes and Kristen Currie spoke with Brooks, who said he felt lucky to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
To watch the interview in full, view the video player above.
“It’s really neat to be in a venue where they put music first. And ‘oh, guess what? You get to join the Hall of Fame with your heroes that you were raised on,'” Brooks said.
Brooks said he loves that music is going to be first here in Austin.
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Garth Brooks will be inducted in the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Sept. 5 (Tim Holcomb/KXAN News) -
Garth Brooks is shown in a photo performing at Austin City Limits in 1990. (Erica Brennes/KXAN News) -
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 18: Garth Brooks performs at Auditorium Shores during the 2017 SXSW Conference And Festivals on March 18, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
“Tell me in this day and age where do they do that? Where the music is first. I love this place,” he said.
If anyone knows the music scene, Brooks said Austin knows it inside and out.
“Texas knows its music,” he said. “That’s my favorite thing about Austin. It’s becoming one of the biggest cities, but it’s staying Austin and putting that music front.”
When asked what was his biggest accomplishments, Brooks said family means a lot to him.
“Being a dad through it all is my favorite thing. I’m lucky enough to be married to the love of my life. My children are healthy, so I don’t know what else you ask for,” he said. “My mom started this business. She was a singer and one of the best ones, and she gave it up for us kids. So I think one of my most favorite moments for all of our family was when we started taking her on tour with us. I miss my mom tremendously.”
Brooks just came out with a new album, and he said he loves it.
“I love the album. I’ll never let it go,” he said. “I hope you hear new music from Garth Brooks that has that little thread, or vein, of old music. Hopefully why maybe you started listening in the first place.”