Paul Sidoti, a veteran lead guitarist for Taylor Swift, wowed fans at Huntington Bank Field with his shredding abilities as the Browns hosted the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The Cleveland native opened the show as he provided the intro before the Browns exited the tunnel and onto the field in front of their home fans.
A native of Strongsville, Ohio, Sidoti has been Swift’s lead guitarist since 2007 and was part of her recently concluded and record-breaking Eras Tour. The fourteen-time Grammy winner once called the musician “one of my favorite people in the world” before he played Cleveland in 2009.
“When we hired him it was because he’s an incredible guitarist,” Swift said. “But he also has great sub-singing.”
After the European leg of the Eras Tour concluded in August, Sidoti wrote about the “incredible, fun, memorable summer in Europe.”
“The summer of 2024 will go down as the most rewarding, remarkable experience of my professional career as a musician,” the father of two wrote alongside photos from the shows.
Taylor Swift’s lead guitarist Paul Sidoti played the intro for the Browns-Chiefs game on Sunday
Travis Kelce and the Chiefs posted a 21-7 victory to move to 13-1 without Swift present
“The record numbers this tour has generated on a global scale will never be matched and to be a small part of that is truly humbling,” Sidoti added. “A year from now I will be able to tell my children what their father was a part of and that will bring me so much joy and happiness.”
Videos of Sidoti during soundcheck were posted before his performance, as fans speculated about a Swift performance.
Although the pop star was not present in Cleveland, the Chiefs and Travis Kelce left Ohio with a 21-7 win to move to 13-1 on the season. On the other hand, Sidoti’s Browns moved to 3-11 with the loss.
Patrick Mahomes completed 19 of 38 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns to Noah Gray and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Xavier Worthy also scored a rushing touchdown for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Meanwhile, Kelce made four receptions for 27 yards. Kansas City will take on the Houston Texans on December 21 as they cap off a dominant regular season.
Sidoti was not the only guest who showed up with guitar on Sunday. Another Cleveland native, UFC heavyweight legend Stipe Miocic, captained Dawg Pound on Sunday and broken Chiefs themed guitar to incite the crowd.