Garth Brooks Concert At PayCor Stadium In Cincinnati Ohio

In 2022 I requested to photograph the Garth Brooks concert at PayCor Stadium, formerly Paul Brown Stadium. Months went by with me as the backup photographer for Cincinnati CityBeat. I hadn’t requested the show in time. 24 hours before the show, I got a call from my credentialing contact saying the other photographer was sick. I jumped on the opportunity to photograph arguably the biggest name ever in music.

The next day I made my way to the home of the Cincinnati Bengals and entered the media entrance on the lower level. I was the only photographer besides the Cincinnati Enquirer photographer. No one else was approved to shoot night 1, and no one was approved to shoot night 2. We sat with the stadium press handlers and shot the breeze for about an hour. We then made our way to the Bengals’ tunnel entrance. This is where behind me we could see their locker room and in front of me, we could see the stage and the crowd. For about 90 minutes, I waited for the show to start while I chatted about the music industry with his awesome publicist.

Photographing The Garth Brooks Concert (for 4 minutes)

We were given 4 minutes to photograph one of the fastest-moving music stars ever which just added to the challenge. Additionally, we were about 50 yards away standing on a stool. Four minutes later, we were escorted out by the publicist. It was over! What a great time I had as a professional concert photographer that night.

The following night my wife and family and I attended the concert as fans. As we entered the stadium there was severe weather and tens of thousands of fans were stationary after entering. It was awful, and I said I’d never attend another concert here. We finally made it through the poorly managed stadium and stood still for 90 minutes until the weather passed. He came out on stage and put on a typically amazing Garth Brooks concert. To cap off the night, Trisha Yearwood came out to sing a few songs.