DOWN HOME: Despite his superstar status, Garth...

DOWN HOME: Despite his superstar status, Garth Brooks was able to drive his pickup truck right up to the exhibition building last week at Fan Fair, the annual Nashville country music celebration. Of course, Brooks was escorted by three uniformed cops walking alongside and a TV camera crew filming the scene from the back of the truck.

That was just one sign of how the stakes have gotten higher in country music over the past year or so. Fan Fair used to be a place where fans could interact easily with stars, but attendance has soared (24,000 people paid $75 to attend the five-day event this year) and security measures have increased.

Brooks still took the event seriously, though. He spent an average of more than five minutes with each fan who came to a booth to get a picture with the star. But that meant that some people had to wait in line for as much as nine hours.

Not everyone took things so seriously. A group called Run C&W; (which includes former Eagle Bernie Leadon) was heard performing a spoof of Billy Ray Cyrus’ smash “Achy Breaky Heart.� Their version: “Itchy Twitchy Spot.�