Why Brad Paisley surprised The Woodlands with unannounced performance

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Visitors of Blue Door Coffee on Friday, March 15 were shocked to discover famous country music performer Brad Paisley shared their zest for good coffee. His surprise performance had been planned for quite some time.

A fun surprise delights us all. Paisley’s unannounced pop-in visit to the coffee shop complete with a one-hour acoustic performance was indeed a memorable event.

Chad Gauntt, co-owner of Blue Door Coffee, met Brad Paisley through a mutual friend, John Lasseter. “John was the writer and director of Cars, the Pixar movie, and had been a great friend of mine for many years. Brad did a couple songs on the Cars soundtrack, and he and John really became good friends. John really wanted us to meet because he thought we would hit it off. We did, and we’ve been friends since then,” Gauntt said.

Paisley and Gauntt are both huge coffee fans, cappuccinos being their caffeinated beverage of choice. Naturally when Gauntt opened a coffee shop, Paisley knew he had to visit, drink a cappuccino or two, and, of course, play music!

The plans for this informal concert at Blue Door were scheduled around the Houston Rodeo. “As soon as we got the Houston Rodeo schedule, we started working on it. He always plays the last Saturday, so we planned for him to come in a day early to play the shop. He brought Kendal Marcy, his keyboard player and band manager, his parents, Kim and the kids, and some of our other really good friends,” Gauntt said.

For Gauntt and other co-owners of Blue Door, knowing about this performance was just too big to keep under their hats, even a large cowboy hat! Each of them whispered of the event to a few people they knew, and the secret spread. So, according to Gauntt, the place was jam-packed with Paisley fans eagerly anticipating his arrival.

Since word got out, most people privileged to be there were not surprised when the beloved star made his appearance. To keep the surprise element as much as possible, Gauntt introduced Paisley as “Bradley Douglas, this guy who has been bugging me for a while to play here.” Bradley Douglas are Paisley’s first and middle names.

“My favorite thing to see that night was the people who just walked up off the street. I heard one girl say ‘that sounds just like Brad Paisley.’ Then she saw and said, ‘that looks just like him.’ Then the light went on, and she freaked. That was one of my favorite moments, that and the tip jar!” Gauntt said.

The tips showed the community’s appreciation for such a tremendous treat. The joy brought by the experience is evidently mutual for Paisley. “He honestly loves his fans, and being able to do something like this is almost as special to him as it is to them (and us). So, every time we would talk, he’d ask about the shop and remind me he was going to play there,” Gauntt said.

Blue Door Coffee plans to host live music events in the future. When asked if the community can expect any other surprise performances, Gauntt responded, “You never know! You’ll just have to stop in on the weekends and see!”

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