MT. PLEASANT–The Basin Drive In was buzzing with excitement on Saturday night as show time drew near for a nationwide, one-of-a-kind concert featuring Garth Brooks that was designed for drive-in theaters.

A sell-out crowd of fans from near and far came early to enjoy snacks from the grill and tailgating with their families.

Fans set up speakers on the tops of trucks and cranked up their car stereos. They sat in the open on lawn chairs, in truck beds and in their vehicles. As the sun was going down, video music clips of Randall King played on the screen to set the mood.

Then came Garth Brooks, reaching out to fans in Mt. Pleasant and throughout the nation.

Garth and his band played 18 songs in all, including nostalgic favorites like “Fishin’ in the Dark” and “Friends in Low Places.” He touched the audience with “We Shall Be Free,” and when Garth’s smoky voice sang “The Thunder Rolls,” it seemed appropriate that a brief rain shower drizzled on Mt. Pleasant.

The audience was clearly appreciative of the effort Garth Brooks put into the event, but with social distancing on everyone’s mind, fans mostly kept to their own vehicles. It was evident that the chance to get out and to see this country music legend perform uplifted the audience.

Between songs, Brooks spoke to the fans from his heart and his genuine sincerity was very moving.

Event production company Encore Live presented the concert. The company plans, organizes and executes many types of events across the country. Encore Live founder and CEO Walter Kinzie said, “Garth worked around the clock at his ranch near Nashville to bring this thing to life.”

Americans are surely wondering if they have witnessed the dawn of a new era of entertainment. Speaking about that idea, Kinzie is not saying much about Encore Live’s plans, but said the company would have some announcements later on while mentioning, “Ticketmaster is in the process of developing an all-new piece of software” aimed at helping his company sell tickets for similar future events more efficiently.

When the Garth Brooks drive-in concert tickets went on sale on June 19, more than 50,000 tickets were sold within two hours. Ticketmaster was forced to halt sales at one point as more than 300,000 people were in the queue waiting to purchase tickets.

They relaunched the ticket sales the following day. It is estimated that more than 1 million fans saw the show.