Watch Garth Brooks Cover ‘Fishin’ in the Dark’ at First Dive Bar Tour Stop

Garth Brooks kicked off his seven-stop Summer 2019 Dive Bar Tour in Chicago, Ill., on Monday night (July 15), packing Joe's on Weed Street with a few hundred fans, who got up close and personal with a country icon who's currently headlining stadiums. Among the highlights of Brooks' set was a series of covers, including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Fishin' in the Dark."

Readers can press play above to watch a snippet of Brooks' "Fishin' in the Dark" cover. According to CMT, the cover was one in a series that also included Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried," George Strait's "Amarillo By Morning," Keith Whitley's "Don't Close Your Eyes" and more.

Brooks' Joe's set -- which, CMT reports, was supposed to last only one hour but went well past that time frame -- began with "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House," followed by his new song "Dive Bar" (sans Blake Shelton). "Friends in Low Places" came early in the set, which also included "Callin' Baton Rouge," "The Thunder Rolls," "That Summer," "Shameless" and more."

“Everyone talks about stadium gigs and how cool they are,” Brooks told the crowd, “but I’ll take the honky-tonks any day.”

Brooks' Dive Bar Tour will continue with six more stops throughout the country, though the locations of those shows have yet to be announced. Fans will have to win their way into the performances by listening to local radio stations. As the shows are sponsored by Seagram's 7 Crown and taking place in bars, all ticketholders must be 21 years of age or older.

Brooks co-wrote "Dive Bar," the new single that inspired this trek, with Mitch Rossell and Bryan Kennedy, and asked Shelton to be part of the song after seeing him perform on the 2019 ACM Awards in April. Brooks and Shelton previously worked together on The Voice back in 2016, when Brooks was an advisor during the TV singing competition's 11th season, and both men are Oklahoma natives.

Shelton and Brooks will perform "Dive Bar" together for the first time on Friday (July 19), at Brooks' Stadium Tour stop in Boise, Idaho. The multi-year trek began in early 2019. Shelton, who is keeping busy with his coaching role on The Voice, will open that show, and their performance will be filmed.

Brooks has been working on new music as of late. He's been teasing a new album called Fun since early 2019; he tells Billboard it should be done "by the end of July."

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