Behind The Scenes Over The Years At KICKS 99’s Guitar Pull

I've been at every KICKS 99 Guitar Pull, except for three years while I was with our company in Tampa Bay. Here are some good and not-so-good things that happen behind the scenes.

The first KICKS 99 Guitar Pull was held at Sacred Heart in downtown Augusta. It took well over a month to sell 300 tickets. The line-up? The Wilkinsons, Michael Peterson, Doug Stone, Chely Wright, and the Warren Brothers. You may have to google a few of those...HA! The Warren Brothers are very successful songwriters in Nashville now, and Doug Stone still tours.

After that first show, we all went to the Partridge Inn bar and stayed late. The next day we heard the Warren Brothers got The Wilkinsons' dad hammered and he left his guitar in the bar.

We never dreamed that this little show would grow into what it is today. Here are a few more stories.

The year we had Vince Gill on the GP with Darius was one of the years where we asked the artists to all join in on a grand finale.

We asked Vince to lead it off at the end with "Go Rest High" and he agreed. I was in the KICKS Cafe area behind the stage having a bite with one of Vince's record reps when my phone started blowing up. The staff told me Vince is singing "Go Rest High" and he wasn't supposed to do it until the end!

At intermission, I asked Vince what happened and he said a couple of the other guys were getting standing ovations, so I had to do something...Ha!

After Vince told me that, Darius overheard and said, I've got one we could do, when he started it,  the crowd went crazy and the first and only fight I've seen at GP happened. The song was the David Allan Coe tune, "You Never Called Me By My Name."

Thanks, Darius.

One of the first huge acts we got early on was Rascal Flatts. They were so big, I knew we wouldn't get them, but this is when I learned you never know till you ask. I got a call one day and it was Joe Don Rooney with Rascal Flatts and he said, we're coming!

That same year Vince was on the show and The Band Perry was seated next to Vince, he turned to the guy in The Band Perry with the mandolin and said "play that thing!", and there was an awkward moment when Vince realized Neil Perry didn't know the song.

Luke Bryan and Lady A were about to leave the venue and grab lunch after sound check and I remember seeing them as they were  walking  out and Luke said "hey, y'all want to finish writing that song?"  They returned to their dressing room and wrote it and then headed to lunch. They performed it on stage that evening and it became Luke Bryan's first number one song.."Do I."

We all remember 2001. This was such an emotional GP. After the tragedy in our country in September of that year, we wanted to do something special at the end of the show. We had a huge flag above the stage curtains and I asked Brad Paisley to play The Star Spangled Banner. Brad started picking, the flag unfurled slowly, and unrehearsed, Chris Cagle got up..grabbed a microphone, and recited "The Pledge Of Allegiance." It was an unforgettable moment.

We're busy now working on KICKS 99's Guitar Pull, 2022 edition. Hope you are making your plans to attend! See Guitar Pulls by year below!

Doug Stone
Michael Peterson
The Warren Brothers
The Wilkinsons
Chely Wright

Trace Adkins

Gary Allan

The Kinleys

Mindy McCreedy

Chad Brock

Brad Paisley

Chris Cagle

Joe Diffie

Chely Wright

The Warren Brothers

Lonestar

Trace Adkins

Mark Chesnutt

Blake Shelton

Carolyn Dawn Johnson

Cindy Thompson

Rascal Flatts

Tracy Byrd

Jimmy Wayne

Jeff Bates

Buddy Jewell

Jessica Andrews

Trace Adkins

Dierks Bentley

Darryl Worley

SheDaisy

Billy Dean

Billy Currington

Pat Green

Sawyer Brown

Danielle Peck

Trick Pony

Rascal Flatts

Jason Aldean

Jeff Bates

Darryl Worley

Julie Roberts

Dierks Bentley

Eric Church

Blake Shelton

Bucky Covington

VanZant

Jo Dee Messina

Rodney Atkins
Sara Evans
Luke Bryan
Lady A
James Otto
Kristy Lee Cook

Trace Adkins

Joe Nichols

Craig Morgan

Gloriana

Josh Turner

Big Kenny

Jason Aldean
Vince Gill
Darius Rucker
Montgomery Gentry
Easton Corbin
The Band Perry

Martina McBride

Scotty McCreery

Jerrod Niemann

Corey Smith

Gary Allan

Luke Bryan

Little Big Town

Billy Currington

Lee Brice

Brantley Gilbert

Lauren Alaina

Florida Georgia Line

Darius Rucker

Sheryl Crow

Randy Houser

Jennifer Nettles

Uncle Kracker

Hunter Hayes

Kip Moore

Joe Nichols

Thompson Square

Dan and Shay

Dustin Lynch

Sam Hunt

Thomas Rhett

Maddie and Tae

Craig Morgan

Jana Kramer

Jerrod Niemann

Cole Swindell

Kane Brown

Kelsea Bellerini

Josh Turner

Trace Adkins

Chris Janson

Jake Owen

Darius Rucker

Randy Houser

Lee Brice

Brett Young

Big And Rich

Cole Swindell

Chris Janson

Dustin Lynch

Chris Lane

Carly Pearce

Justin Moore

Luke Combs

Luke Bryan

Rodney Atkins

Riley Green

Runaway June

Let's just forget this year happened, ok? The first time we've ever canceled a guitar pull.

Darius Rucker

Clay Walker

Carly Pearce

Scotty McCreery

Jon Pardi

Brothers Osborne

Coming Soon!