Garth Brooks proves he's a country titan at Vegas opening night with Trisha Yearwood

LAS VEGAS – Five hours before show time, Garth Brooks had no idea what song he would play first on the opening night of his Las Vegas residency.

Turns out it wasn’t even one of his, but Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind.”

Brooks has never been reticent about his affection for covering songs from his idols, and there were many splashed throughout the nearly 2½-hour show at Caesars Palace Thursday night. But the newly christened Garth Brooks/Plus ONE is fully, solidly and completely an exuberant romp through the best of a country music titan.

The crux of the residency – his third since 2009 – is to expect the unexpected. Guests will pop up, Brooks’ taut 10-piece band and two backup singers will unspool record-perfect renditions of his classic singalongs, and Brooks will roam the Colosseum stage with his headset strapped under his chin and his acoustic guitar hanging from his shoulder.

But the songs won’t remain the same. Each night, pre-submitted requests from audience members will differ, and the sparkling vibe of Brooks’ beloved Miss Yearwood – or Trisha, as she’s also known – won’t always be present, as she was at the opener.

In addition to the 27 shows he’s performing through July and then November-December, Brooks announced 18 more shows in April-July 2024. Verified Fan registration will be open through 5 p.m. May 25 at ticketmaster.com/GarthVegas.

Earlier in the day, Brooks, 61, shared his goal for the residency.

“I want people to walk away loving each other more than when they came into the room,” he said.

More than three decades into a record-setting, Hall of Fame career, he remains an ebullient ringleader.

Garth Brooks shares his tears freely

As he strolled the stage in an all-black uniform of jeans, hoodie and baseball cap, toting his “g” emblazoned guitar, Brooks frequently stopped to grin uncontrollably, sheepishly run his hands through his hair as fans roared, and throw his arms wide open to embrace the sold-out crowd.

“That’s what I’m talking about!,” he bellowed after the sneak attack that introduced the band to the stage for “Rodeo.”

But as unabashedly happy as Brooks appeared throughout the show, he also didn’t hide his tears.

Whether it was his fiery hand-patting-chest rendition of Billy Joel’s “Shameless” or the uncorked emotion that feeds “The Dance,” Brooks’ piercing eyes watered as he marveled at the crowd response.

He also played part of a darkly introspective new ballad with the chorus about taking “pleasure in the pain.” Workshopping new material is one of the reasons Brooks’ Vegas shows are phone-free experiences (don’t panic, you keep the Yondr bag containing your phone with you, and there's a QR code where you can download pictures from the night).

Also, as he explained earlier Thursday, “I want the show to be brand-new for (every audience), not something they can go online and see the whole damn thing.”

Garth Brooks is a no-frills kind of guy

With a set list that included the zippy “Callin' Baton Rouge,” the locomotive groove of “Papa Loved Mama” and emotive covers of Elton John’s “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” and Seger’s “Turn the Page,” Brooks pulled from a seemingly limitless well of robust material.

He's also overflowing with unforced charisma, so a stage that featured his band spread across the back in front of a massive video screen sufficed with nary a frill.

A few cocktail tables flanked the stage for the band to convene whenever Brooks took the stage solo, but otherwise, closeups of his smile-etched face provided the main visuals.

By the time he rolled into an encore – after leaving the stage chugging a beer and proclaiming, “I hope every show gets better, but tonight was (expletive) amazing" – his infectious bliss was all that was needed to spark singalongs of Joel’s “Piano Man” and his own close-down-the-bar stomper, “Friends in Low Places.”

Trisha Yearwood is definitely in love with the boy

As the opening guitar notes of “Shallow” rang from the stage, the audience knew that inevitably, Yearwood would join her husband for their sumptuous duet of the Oscar-winning ballad from “A Star is Born.”

As she waltzed in from the wings, radiant in a patterned jumpsuit, the response was rapturous. This pair, married for 17 years, knows how to tease out a duet by actually making eye contact and transferring emotion. But no doubt, this was Yearwood’s showcase, a welcome platform for her to belt.

The easy chemistry between Yearwood and Brooks was as apparent in their meshing vocals as it was their cute banter. But while Brooks graciously ceded the spotlight for Yearwood to perform her 1991 smash “She’s in Love with the Boy,” he also came to her rescue and popped back out to sing the second verse after Yearwood amusingly forgot the words.

The 'five strong women' in Garth Brooks’ life

Brooks’ adoration of Yearwood is always readily on display, and earlier Thursday, he shared a new look: The country superstar is sporting new body art, a tattoo of ivy covering his upper left arm.

Pulling up his sleeve, he explained the tattoo is in honor of his three daughters with their birth years – 1996, 1994 and 1992 – “so they’re always by my side.”

Brooks’ Vegas-based tattoo artist also inked his back shoulder representing his mother as “the angel on my shoulder.” His full left chest is dedicated to Yearwood. And yes, its placement over his heart is intentional.

“Five strong women in my life,” he said. “I love ‘em.”

More on the hottest shows in Vegas:

• 'Thank you for coming back to me': Adele captivates fans at Caesars Colosseum

• 'I don't have to prove anything': Katy Perry finds freedom in getting older, Vegas residency

• 'A whole different leap for me': Miranda Lambert is ready for the steadiness of a Vegas residency and not waking up 'in a parking lot'

• U2 prepares for liftoff: The Edge calls the new Las Vegas Sphere a 'quantum leap'

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Garth Brooks Vegas opener had a surprise Trisha Yearwood duet