Garth Brooks: “The Wait Is Over…7/7”

“The wait is over…7/7,” it reads on Garth Brooks’ official website, accented by lightning flashes and a stormy background emblazoned with the legendary singer’s official logo.

Could July 7 bring the announcement of the full-fledged comeback tour that Brooks has spoken of for months? “We’re going to do a world tour in 2014,” he told Good Morning America in December 2013. “It sure feels good to get to throw your hat back in the ring…. All my babies are fine with it. Ms. [Trisha] Yearwood is fine with it. So now I get to do what I love to do, which is play music. I get to be with the person I want to be with, which is Ms. Yearwood.”

“My children are off on their own so the guilt of not being there… I’m a phone call dad now,” he added, saying, “‘Hey Dad, I love you, can I borrow some money?'”

Brooks stopped touring in 2001, trading in the constant traveling to spend time raising his children. He vowed to stay off the road until his youngest daughter graduated from high school. She graduated in May 2014, and Brooks soon announced a five-night run in Ireland on July 25-29 at Dublin’s Croke Park.

As of Thursday (July 3), two of those concerts have now been canceled after objections were raised by local residents in the area of the 82,000-seat Gaelic sports stadium. The residents objected to Brooks holding five successive shows; the local council has refused permission for the concerts that were scheduled for July 28 and July 29.

“I can’t thank the people of Ireland enough for how welcome they have made me feel,” said Brooks in a statement. “I have faith that Dublin City Council will make the best decision for the people of Ireland. For us, it is five shows or none at all. To choose which shows to do and which shows not to do, would be like asking to choose one child over another. However this plays out, Ireland has my heart and always will,” said Brooks.

Still, the industry and fans wait for the announcement of U.S. shows.

If July 7’s official announcement is not a long-awaited set of tour dates, perhaps it is the announcement of an upcoming album? In recent months, Brooks has been soliciting new material from Nashville songwriters for an upcoming project. Brooks’ last album was the 2013 box set, Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences, which found Brooks covering songs from Bob Seger, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and more.