NEW ORLEANS (July 12, 2023) – The inaugural Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff presented by the Louisiana Office of Tourism, a music and entertainment event to celebrate the start of the 2023 college football season, will be held Saturday, September 2, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Garth Brooks will headline this inaugural Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff, with opening acts for the event including Louisiana’s own Lainey Wilson and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The event is expected to be an annual Labor Day weekend affair, adding another world-class musical occasion to the New Orleans calendar.
Tickets will go on sale on Friday, July 21, at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.com/GarthBrooks. Tickets will be $98.95 all inclusive.
Festivities for the Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff on September 2 will begin at Champions Square with Tailgate Town, a football-themed interactive experience sponsored by New Orleans & Company. That portion of the event will feature up-and-coming music talent and will set the stage for the main entertainment in the Superdome. Tailgate Town will also feature special college football and amateur sports spotlights, sponsor activations, and other games and activities throughout the day before the fans move inside the Superdome for the performances by headliner Garth Brooks and openers Lainey Wilson and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Wilson, a native of Baskin, La., was the CMA 2022 Female Vocalist of the Year; and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is a GRAMMY®-winning band that has delighted audiences for nearly 60 years.
“Being asked to be part of the first ever Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff is an honor,” Brooks said. “The fun will be in getting to perform with Legends Nitty Gritty and future legend Miss Wilson in front of arguably the greatest country music fans on the planet. Any trip to Louisiana is a guaranteed good time so PLEASE count me in!!”
“The Sugar Bowl Committee is always looking at ways to bring first-rate entertainment that will drive tourism in Louisiana,” said Sugar Bowl President Richard Briede. “While efforts have traditionally focused on sporting events, Russell Doussan and the Doussan Music Group have provided us the opportunity to add great music, another hallmark of the state, to the Sugar Bowl repertoire as we start a new football season. The Sugar Bowl is particularly pleased that proceeds from the event will help support the work our organization is doing in the community.”
Proceeds from the event will go toward assisting the Allstate Sugar Bowl in its support of numerous community programs, including the organization’s much-publicized backing of the New Orleans Teacher Collective. Funds will also go toward the aid of existing scholarship programs and youth events the Bowl supports annually.
“As the College Football Playoff looks to expand a year from now, we find ourselves in an increasingly competitive environment,” said Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley. “This has caused us to look at everything with a fresh set of eyes and to look at creative ways to drive revenue in order to remain competitive with larger cities in possession of much larger corporate bases. The Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff provides us with just such an opportunity while allowing us to continue to do good things for our city and state.”
“We are excited to have not just Garth Brooks in the Superdome, but also our very own Louisiana Music Ambassador and Louisiana native Lainey Wilson,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “She rocked the world with us on our float in the Rose Parade and we know she will get the crowd rocking to welcome Garth to the stage in New Orleans. This lineup has all the makings of a great Louisiana Saturday night.”
“Creating an Annual Music Event to celebrate the opening of the College Football season in my hometown, with the Sugar Bowl and then launching it with Garth Brooks is truly a dream come true,” said Russell Doussan, the owner and president of Doussan Music Group.”
For the latest updates on the Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff, follow @CountryKickoff on Twitter and Instagram, “like” Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff on Facebook, or visit SugarBowlCountryKickoff.com.
