Fun Facts From Each Year Of The WYRK Toyota Taste Of Country

We have been putting on the WYRK Toyota Taste of Country since 2001. Do you remember these fun facts from each of the years?

There is so much that happens at the WYRK Toyota Taste of Country every year. Some of the things you might notice, other's might be more behind-the-scenes.

Here are some fun facts from every year at the WYRK Toyota Taste of Country:

2001

Neal McCoy

Joe Diffie

Travis Tritt

Tammy Cochran

Clay Davidson

Colgate Country Showdown

Fun Fact: This was the first TOC at the ballpark. Back then it was called Dunn Tire Park. Before that, the first TOC was held at Chestnut Ridge Park with local bands for the acts.

2002

Brad Paisley

Emerson Drive

Lonestar

Ty Herndon

Fun Fact: Brad Paisley was still dating his current wife Kimberly Williams before this show. They weren’t married yet, but she was still here in Buffalo at this show to support him. He ended up marrying her the following March.

2003

Diamond Rio

Gary Allan

Chris Cagle

Brian McComas

Brett James

Amy Dalley

Tebey

Buddy Jewell – National Anthem only

Fun Fact: Buddy Jewell was just coming off a win on a singing competition show called “Nashville Star.” One of the finalists that he had to beat to win…Miranda Lambert. Also, this is the last Taste of Country show that was held on a Sunday.

2004

Keith Urban

Craig Morgan

Terri Clark

Scotty Emerick

Josh Gracin – National Anthem Only

Fun Fact: Not only was Josh Gracin a contestant on American Idol but he was also a United States Marine. He came in his dress blues to sing the National Anthem for us. Also, this was the first time the Taste of Country was moved to a Friday night.

2005

Jo Dee Messina

Phil Vassar

Neal McCoy

Brian McComas

Fun Fact: Jo Dee Messina filmed parts of her video for the song “Delicious Surprise” were filmed at the WYRK Taste of Country. She ended up singing the song multiple times during that show to make sure they got the right shots.

2006

Lee Ann Womack

Ronnie Milsap

Mark Wills

SheDaisy

Keith Anderson

Fun Fact: Kelsi, one of the sisters from the band SheDaisy was pregnant with twins in the summer of 2006 and could not perform. They had their other sister Karli take her place for our Taste of Country show and also for the rest of the shows during their Fortuneteller’s Melody tour that summer.

2007

Sara Evans

Josh Turner

Darryl Worley

Jason Michael Carroll

Fun Fact: This was the first time that Josh Turner performed at the WYRK Taste of Country but it wouldn’t be his last. He came back as the headliner in 2011.

2008

Dierks Bentley

Rodney Atkins

Sarah Johns

James Otto

Phil Stacey -National Anthem only

Fun Fact: This was Dierks Bentley’s first time at the WYRK Taste of Country, but certainly not the last. He is the artist who has headlined the show more than any other with 3 appearances in the top spot.

2009

Blake Shelton

Craig Morgan

Randy Owen

Julianne Hough

Fun Fact: Randy Owen had just started his solo career at this point and was hoping to get it off the ground. However, we were treated to more than a fair share of Alabama hits from the band’s lead singer.

2010

Billy Currington

Luke Bryan

Joe Nichols

Rodney Atkins

Trailer Choir

Fun Fact: This is the one and only time that Luke Bryan performed at our Taste of Country, and that line up that you see above is correct. He was NOT the headliner of that show. He was still on his way up at this point.

2011

Josh Turner

Chris Young

Easton Corbin

Josh Thompson

Chuck Wicks

Fun Fact: While the name Chuck Wicks may not sound too familiar to you, he is well known to one of the biggest stars in country music today. His brother in law is none other than Jason Aldean.

2012

Eric Church

Joe Nichols

Eli Young Band

Dustin Lynch

Casey James

Caitlin Koch – National Anthem Only

Fun Fact: This is the first year that we were not able to finish the WYRK Taste of Country due to weather. Unfortunately a heavy rain storm with strong winds rolled in just after Joe Nichols finished his set and the show was canceled. Thankfully out of the goodness of his heart, Eric Church set a rescheduled date and played another show at Darien Lake to make sure that his fans got to see him. JT Hodges opened the rescheduled date.

2013

Darius Rucker

Rodney Atkins

Gloriana

Jana Kramer

Sheryl Crow

Fun Fact: Sheryl Crow opened this show for us because she was just getting her country career started. But she came back out on the stage to finish the show along with Darius Rucker and the rest of the acts at the end of the night.

2014

Jake Owen

Montgomery Gentry

Tyler Farr

Joel Crouse

The Cadillac Three

Fun Fact: Joel Crouse’s birthday is on June 14^th. This show was on June 13^th so not only did we sing Happy Birthday to him but we presented him with a cake on stage that night.

2015

Dierks Bentley

Joe Nichols

Frankie Ballard

Craig Campbell

Canaan Smith

A Thousand Horses

Fun Fact: This was Dierks Bentley’s second time headlining the Taste of Country for us (The first time was in 2008). He had recently gotten his pilot’s license and actually flew himself to the show…in his own plane!

2016

Billy Currington

Eli Young Band

Jerrod Nieman

Granger Smith

LoCash

Fun Fact(s): This was Billy Currington’s second time headlining our show and Eli Young Band’s second time at the show also. Granger Smith brought his alter-ego Earl Dibbles Jr. along with him. And LoCash decided to hit the parking lots to play some beer pong and take pictures with fans.

2017

Rascal Flatts

Justin Moore

Randy Houser

Michael Ray

Eric Van Houten - TOC Riser Competition Winner

Fun Fact(s) – This was the first year we did the Taste of Country on a Saturday. The first couple of years it was on a Sunday. Every other year it's been a Friday night. This is also the first time we were able to showcase our local talent with their own set before the show as we brought Eric Van Houten on stage as our Taste of Country Riser. Michael Ray brought out Buffalo Bills center and current color commentator for the Buffalo Bills Eric Wood onto the stage to sing “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” with him. Randy Houser brought his friend Johnny Galecki (From Big Bang Theory) on stage to play drums with him on a song too! These were some of the moments that you would have never guessed would happen unless you were there.

2018

Thomas Rhett

Chris Janson

Scotty McCreery

Danielle Bradbery

Kate Mallen – TOC Riser Competition Winner

Fun Fact: People may not know that backstage was locked down extra for this year because Thomas Rhett had his entire family with him. His new girls were backstage and he wanted to make sure that no one would bother them back there.

2019

Luke Combs

Brett Eldredge

Lee Brice

Joe Diffie

Jillian Eliza - TOC Riser Competition Winner

Fun Fact: Luke Combs wasn’t going to be the headliner for this show. Originally, Brett Eldredge was set to be the headliner but this was literally the moment when Luke Combs career skyrocketed. Brett Eldredge graciously stepped out of the headlining position to give it to Luke. It was also the last time we would see Joe Diffie perform in Buffalo. He passed away just a couple months later in March of 2020.

2020

ORIGINAL LINEUP DIDN’T PLAY BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC

Lady Antebellum

Jake Owen

Midland

Maddie & Tae

Fuzzy & The Rustbelts - TOC Riser Competition Winner

Fun Fact: This is the show that never ended up happening. The lineup was all set to go but then the pandemic put a wrench in everyone’s plans. It was pushed to the fall and then eventually canceled as everything was still shut down.

2021

No Show because of the pandemic

2022

Tim McGraw

Billy Currington

Walker Hayes

Thompson Square

Osborne Nash - TOC Riser Competition Winner

Fun Fact: This was Billy Currington’s third time playing the Taste of Country and his first as anything other than the headliner of the show.

2023

Dierks Bentley

Brothers Osborne

Big & Rich

Michael Ray

Dan Minogue - TOC Riser Competition Winner

Fun Fact: This was Dierks Bentley’s third time headlining the WYRK Toyota Taste of Country and while many people left during what appeared to be his last song, they missed out on a huge part of the show. Dierks and the band transformed themselves in the the Hot Country Knights and came out to play a medley of 90’s hits for another 20-30 minutes to finish the show.