Remembering that time Taylor Swift came to sing at Alliance High School

ALLIANCE – The concert was a fundraiser with a then little-known performer as a 'throw-in' act.

On Aug. 15, 2006, a country music show at Alliance High School’s auditorium was intended to raise money for the 2006 Greater Alliance Carnation Festival.

The show, featuring up-and-coming performer Jack Ingram, barely broke even.

But 17 years later, it is the stuff of local legend for an entirely different reason. One of acts was a lanky, blonde 16-year-old with curly hair who strummed her guitar as she sang songs that included “Tim McGraw,” a tune about a summer romance that had come to an end.

Yes, the woman who on Wednesday was named Time Magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year – Taylor Swift – once performed in the Carnation City.

According to organizers, most of the publicity was aimed at Ingram. Swift was a “throw-in” by record label Big Machine Records.

While she was a relative unknown, her debut single was gaining attention. Swift, a songwriter since age 12, played a few of her other compositions before she gave way to Ingram.

2023 music acts in Alliance: Jimmy and the Soul Blazers, John Hampu Band featured at Carnation Festival

Seventeen years later, some involved with the concert couldn’t even recall the name of the main attraction.

Retired Alliance businessman Ben Favazzo, a former member of the Carnation Festival’s board, recalls turning to his wife while Swift was singing to say, “this girl’s going to be somebody, someday.”

Remembering Taylor Swift's performance in Alliance

Favazzo admits that no one could have predicted how big a star she would become.

“What I remember most is that she was very impressive at such a young age, but I would never have predicted the phenomenon that she is today,” Favazzo said.

Gary Barnes, who chaired the Carnation Festival board that year, had similar thoughts.

“I recall Taylor as being very friendly, polite, and a little on the shy side – until she sang,” Barnes said.

2023 festival photos: Carnation Festival Pump-In, parade heat up Alliance

Eddie Williams, vice president of operations for Williams Recreation and Construction, was instrumental in working out details of the event.

He recalled Jeff Hartzell, a past president of the Carnation Festival board, thought staging a country concert during festival week could raise money and provide a different type of entertainment to the Greater Alliance area.

He also thought it might draw media attention.

Swift was a ‘freebie’ for Alliance High show organizers

Williams said Hartzell had a connection with Dave Steele, the program and brand manager at radio station K105 at the time. Steele became connection with Nancy Johnson, northeast regional and marketing representative with Big Machine Records, a 1-year-old record label with four artists and lots of seasoned management.

Ingram was Big Machine’s star, and he’d just had a live album released that included two songs that rose to Billboard’s Top 40 Hot Country songs.

Williams said he and Hartzell spoke with Johnson about bringing along another artist they were trying to promote for no additional cost.

“I remember Nancy asking if we had heard the song ‘Tim McGraw,’ which had just been released by this singer,” Williams said. “We said that it sounded familiar, and that we were amenable to an opening act that wasn’t costing us anything.”

Williams said Johnson reported that Swift would have accompaniment from guitar player Todd Lombardo and fiddle player Emily Poe. Swift’s mother, Andrea, and Johnson also would be on hand.

“Once all the contracts were finalized, Steele asked if we would include Karli Whetstone from Warren as a local opener at no additional cost,” Williams said. “She was looking for stage time, and it looked to be a good promotional opportunity for her. We obliged, hoping her local following would provide a boost to lagging ticket sales.”

Small audience for today’s top ticket

Williams said Carnation Festival officials had hoped to sell 1,800 tickets. General admission seats were $15, and VIP seats were $25.

It was pre-iPhone, but Williams set up online ticket sales and created a PayPal portal. “This method of attracting an audience was a big leap forward for us,” he said. “We were excited and optimistic.”

Ingram turned out to be less of a draw than organizers had predicted, and very few people knew about Taylor Swift and Karli Whetstone.

Fewer than 400 people filed into 2,000-seat Alliance High School auditorium.

Doors opened at 6:30 p.m., and Whetstone sang at 7 p.m. Taylor Swift sang at 7:30 p.m. and many in the audience had departed by the time Ingram began performing about 8:15 p.m.

“Taylor apparently had built a little bit of a following due to the release of her first single that summer, and I was surprised so many people left the concert before our headliner even started,” Williams recalled.

Taylor Swift makes lasting, friendly impression

The irony wasn’t lost on Williams.

“Jack Ingram was being touted as the next Garth Brooks, and he arrived with a bus and trailer with lots of equipment and an entourage, while Taylor Swift showed up with a guitar,” Williams recalled. “She was down-to-earth, easy-going, bright and bubbly. The thing I remember most, though, was everybody was afraid of her mom, who, rightfully, was very protective.”

Brock Schwarz, who now owners of BK Media Works in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an Alliance High School graduate who was responsible for helping with the sound and lighting.

“Taylor’s mom was a presence,” Schwarz said. “She made it clear that she did not want anyone in an unofficial capacity to approach Taylor. We had some security in place, but nothing like she has now.”

Schwarz said he thought Swift came across as genuine, and thinks she still gives off the same vibe as she did in 2006.

“We had her in Alliance at the beginning of her rise,” Schwarz said. “No doubt her fame and fortune have changed her, but her image of being genuine has stayed with her.”

Swift told The Alliance Review that she was very involved with her fans at that stage in her career.

“My favorite thing about performing is the reactions I get from people,” Swift told Joni Bowen, a reporter for the Review at the time. “I answer every email. I love just feeling like I have a thousand different friends out there in different places. I think of myself as a normal person. I’ve been that person in the front row waiting to get someone’s autograph.”

Looking back at Alliance’s moment with a legend

In the end, the fundraiser did not reach its goal.

“While we didn’t accomplish our intended purpose, look at the memories we created for those who attended,” Williams said.

Catching up with the performers finds Jack Ingram still performing country music out of Nashville. Karli Whetstone has produced a couple of hits and also remains active.

Swift, who left Big Machine in 2019, is the biggest name in show business, and has eclipsed the billion-dollar mark in accumulated wealth.

While 17 years ago, tickets to a performance could be had for $15, today’s back-row seats for her Eras Tour go for upwards of $500 apiece.

While Ingram was the headliner in September 2006, Swift ended up stealing the show. And while that Alliance concert might not have been lucrative, the memories of those in attendance are priceless.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Taylor Swift in Alliance: America's top performer performed in 2006