Garth Brooks headlined two incredible sold-out shows in Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium over the weekend, and we had a chance to get up close and personal with the man himself before he took the stage.

I had the chance to attend Garth's Stadium Show press conference Friday afternoon in the interview room, backstage at U.S. Bank Stadium. It was really cool -- we were escorted by stadium staff into areas you NEVER get access, and then before we knew it, there was Garth himself!

My wife Katie and I saw Garth's one-man show he did about 8 years ago at the Wynn in Las Vegas. I asked him how he was able to transition from connecting with the audience in a small venue like that was (probably about 350 seats or so) to the massive 70,000-seat U.S. Bank Stadium. Check out what he had to say below!

Garth also mentioned how appreciative he is of Minnesota. In fact, the Land of 10,000 Lakes is the area where he's sold the most tickets out of any of his shows, anywhere. He mentioned how amazed he was during his 2014 World Tour that he was able to do 11 separate shows at Target Center. He said the support he's had here in Minnesota has been with him his entire career, and he can't quite explain it, although he was quick to point out that radio stations like Quick Country 96.5 were some of the first to play his music when he was first starting out 30 years ago.

Garth flew into Minnesota Thursday night, and spent some time with the crew doing what they usually do when they're in Minnesota-- playing some basketball! They also always enjoy dinner at Manny's Steakhouse in Minneapolis. And, on Saturday morning, Garth and his wife, Tricia Yearwood, spent some time at Prince's Paisley Park. (The purple 'G' hat Garth wore during the press conference was in honor of Prince, he said, because he's married to 'the world's biggest Prince fan.')

It was a pretty surreal moment, realizing I was talking one-on-one with the biggest selling artist on the planet-- the same guy I've seen in concert many times and whose songs I've played on the radio countless times. I tried not to be too starstruck, but it was tough to do! Check it out:

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc

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