Brad Paisley surprises Woodlands coffee shop customers with acoustic concert

Brad Paisley showed up at Blue Door Coffee Company in The Woodlands for an impromptu concert. Brad Paisley showed up at Blue Door Coffee Company in The Woodlands for an impromptu concert. Photo: Mike Sims Photo: Mike Sims Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close Brad Paisley surprises Woodlands coffee shop customers with acoustic concert 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

Brad Paisley played for almost 75,000 fans Saturday night at RodeoHouston. He high-fived. He took selfies. He signed autographs.

But Friday night, Paisley kept things low-key for about 150 people at a coffee shop in The Woodlands.

Paisley surprised latte and espresso drinkers at Blue Door Coffee Company, where he spent an hour running through some of his biggest hits, including "Ticks," "I'm Gonna Miss Her" and "Alcohol."

THE BIG SHOW: Brad Paisley gets up close and personal with RodeoHouston fans

He even debuted an unreleased song, "No I In Beer." His wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley, children and parents were there, too.

How did it happen? Blue Door co-owner Chad Gauntt has been good friends with Paisley for more than a decade. Their families have even vacationed together in Lake Tahoe.

Gauntt is a lawyer and opened Blue Door in November. Paisley promised Gauntt he'd show up one day.

"He's a huge coffee guy," Gauntt says. "He said, 'I'm gonna play there. I promise you.' Every time we would talk, he'd ask."

Paisley's 13th RodeoHouston appearance provided the perfect opportunity. Gauntt debated tweeting out the surprised but decided against it when he realized a crowd was showing up before it even started.

"It was supposed to be a secret. I have 15 employees. I think every single employee told about 10 people," Gauntt says.

He introduced Paisley by his first and middle name, "Bradley Douglas," to keep it a surprise for those who didn't know.

After the show, Paisley enjoyed fajitas at Gauntt's home. And he returned Saturday to Blue Door for more coffee.

Your move, Starbucks.

Joey Guerra writes about music and pop culture for the Houston Chronicle. He will be writing about every single RodeoHouston concert. Follow him on Twitter. Send him news tips at joey.guerra@chron.com.