Remembering The Memorable 2002 Taste Of Country Concert

We've had some pretty famous people randomly show up at our Taste of Country shows. We've had famous actors and athletes, and Brad Paisley was one of the first to start the trend.

WYRK throws the second big TOC at the ballpark

In 2002, we were throwing our second big Taste of Country show at the ballpark. Now it's known as Sahlen Field, but at the time it was called Dunn Tire Park. We knew to make this thing into the heritage event that it is now, this lineup would have to be huge, and it was! We ended up bringing in some names that would go on to become the biggest names in country music for years to come.

This was the lineup:

Brad Paisley
Emerson Drive
Lonestar
Ty Herndon
Cyndi Thompson

In the beginning of this series of concerts, we would throw them on a Sunday. This one happened to be Sunday June 3, 2002. When it comes to weather, it was the polar opposite of what we had the year before. While we were getting rained on in 2001, it was completely dry in 2002. It was a beautiful, spring-like, sunny day.

Brad Paisley brought a famous actress to the show

It was a huge deal that we were able to land Brad Paisley as our headliner that year. His song, "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)" was huge, and he was on his way up the charts. It was no secret that he had a woman named Kimberly Williams in the video and that they had begun dating. A lot of people knew her from the "Father of the Bride" movie franchise that also starred Steve Martin.

The big question was whether or not he would be bringing his new girlfriend to the show with him.

Kimberly Williams was, in fact, with him

It was a huge deal to this young part-time worker when they were looking for someone to give Brad Paisley a shuttle back to his room. These days, they would've definitely had that arranged, but back in the day, I overheard my boss saying that they needed someone who hadn't had anything to drink yet to take Brad Paisley to his hotel.

Obviously, I agreed, and it wasn't until then that I was told that she would be coming with him! I was about to have two huge superstars in my vehicle (thank God it wasn't a mess!). As a young guy who hadn't had much interaction with famous people prior to that moment, you can probably imagine that this was a huge rush! Imagine having one of the biggest stars on the radio and another from Hollywood in your car for 10-15 minutes and you can talk with them about anything!

It wasn't until the following March that they got married and have been ever since! She's now Kimberly Williams-Paisley.

I didn't say much at all to them. It was a combination of being star-struck and wanting to be sure I was driving safely. I kind of just stayed out of their business, but man was that a cool story to tell when I got home!

Tickets are on sale for this year's Towne Auto Taste Of Country

A lot has changed over 25 years, but what hasn't is that we are still doing this show, year after year, for you. Every year, we look forward to a chance to get together with you and enjoy some great music. If you'd like to join us this year and make some new memories with us, get your tickets now.