How A Flight Delay Shaped The 2003 Taste Of Country

With the 25th Anniversary of the Taste of Country coming up in just a couple of weeks, we've been remembering the lineups and some of the behind-the-scenes stories that you might have missed from shows of the past. Today, we remember the 2003 Taste of Country and the artist who almost missed his time on stage.

The Taste of Country 2003 had the biggest lineup yet

This was our third year doing the Taste of Country. We had already gotten to do two incredible shows and for the third anniversary, we wanted to amp it up just a bit. The lineup this year included:

Diamond Rio
Gary Allan
Chris Cagle
Brian McComas
Brett James
Amy Dalley
Buddy Jewell – National Anthem only

That is 6 performances, plus the National Anthem from a guy who had just won one of the first singing competition shows for country music, Buddy Jewell. It was a show called Nashville Star, and Buddy Jewell had beaten Miranda Lambert (among others) to take the prize. He had a couple of songs on the radio, and we were able to bring him in to just sing the National Anthem.

The star who almost didn't make it

With 6 performers on the bill, we didn't have a lot of time to waste. We were really trying to keep things on schedule and things started off ok. Buddy sang the National Anthem, and Amy Dalley got things off to a great start. But when it came time to bring Brett James out, the panic started a little bit. His plane was way behind and he hadn't even landed when Amy was singing. This was one of my first shows as a full timer, so for the first time in my young career, I was able to go out and introduce acts. Therefore it was also the first time I was asked to go out and do what they call "stretch."

We had to fill some downtime while we waited for Brett James to get here!

Luckily, it worked. We threw out t-shirts and did the whole thing where we make one side of the crowd make noise, and then the other side and see which one was louder. We pulled out every trick in the book, and before we knew it, here came Brett James with a guitar strapped on and ready to go.

He became one of Nashville's biggest songwriters after that show. He wrote songs like Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take The Wheel," Brantley Gilbert's "Bottoms Up," Kenny Chesney's "Out Last Night," and more.

Sadly, Brett James died in a plane crash in September of 2025.

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.