Garth Brooks Hears New Single on the Radio for the First Time

Does Garth Brooks ever get sick of hearing his songs on the radio? He'll tell you no.

The superstar was in Austin, Texas on Friday (March 17) for SXSW 2017, where he debuted a new single called "Ask Me How I Know," and he too was hearing it for the first time when it aired on local station KASE101.

A behind-the-scenes Facebook video shows Brooks lightly jamming to his song, the second single from his latest album Gunslinger. At one point, he even looks at the camera and whispers the words, "This is so cool."

The country music icon took in the experience backstage before a press conference where he also announced a free show at the city's Auditorium Shores venue. SXSW 2017 was a buzzworthy stay for Brooks as one of the music festival's keynote speakers. In addition to a session with Amazon Music's Steve Boom on Friday, Brooks made an unplanned stop at Austin's famed country dive, the Broken Spoke. The next night, he took a larger stage in front of 15,000 screaming fans gathered at Lady Bird Lake — his first official Austin show in 25 years.

Gunslinger was released in 2016 and has produced two singles thus far, including "Ask Me How I Know."

"'Ask Me How I Know’ is I think gonna be — ‘More Than a Memory’ for Lee Brice?" Brooks tells Taste of Country, admitting that he has high hopes for success due to his admiration for the songwriter, Mitch Rossell. "I’m hoping that’s gonna be it for him because he’s a sweet guy and we need to hear his music."

Brooks' current tour dates run through April, though he's slotted to open and close the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo in 2018.