ANAHEIM, Calif. – Before his days working as the lead guitarist for 14-time Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift, musician Paul Sidoti was like most people in the city of Cleveland: a big-time sports fan.
In 1999, Sidoti started what would grow into 25 years of friendship with former 16-year big league pitcher, four-time All-Star, and current Los Angeles Angels radio broadcaster Mark Langston. The two bonded over their love for music.
The two met when the Angels were on a road trip in Cleveland. Chuck Finley – a former Angels teammate – met with Langston after one of the games and told him he needed to go check out a band that was playing in a nearby bar. That band featured Sidoti as the guitar player.
Langston showed up to the bar to see Sidoti play, only to find out that they were not playing that night. However, Sidoti was excited to meet someone from his local team whom he was a massive fan of.
"Lifelong Cleveland fan, since I was a kid,” Sidoti said. “Massive Browns, Indians, Cavaliers, Ohio State Buckeyes.”
For Sidoti, sports were everything for him growing up. Throughout the seasons, he was up watching all night watching the Cleveland sports teams play. He compared Cleveland during this time to being like Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the 1990s.
In the 1990s, Cleveland sports had a lot of highs, and a lot of lows.
The city was without the Browns from 1996-1999 when the team relocated to Baltimore.
The Cavaliers started the decade off by reaching the playoffs six straight years from 1990-1995, including an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1992. Ironically, the Cavs were swept by Jordan and the Bulls in the 1992 Eastern Conference finals.
The Indians, however, were at the top of the mountain in the 1990s.
Between 1995-1999, they were nearly a lock to make the playoffs every year. They reached the World Series twice during this time in 1995 and in 1997. Unfortunately, they ended the decade without winning the final game of the season, losing to the Atlanta Braves in 1995, and the Florida Marlins in 1997.
“I went to Ohio State so sports was always in my DNA,” Sidoti said. “I played baseball in high school and I was just as serious about baseball as I was music.
“But unfortunately, I was in so many music programs I kept missing my baseball games. So I had to sort of pick a path and chose music. But I'm a huge baseball fan."
After meeting each other, Langston and Sidoti really hit it off.
The next day, Sidoti went from playing guitar in a local bar to playing inside the Cleveland clubhouse and was taking requests from the team.
He recalled the moment as a fun day for him as he got to meet all of his favorite players.
“In the back we had guitars and amps and stuff in the back room in Cleveland,” Langston said. “So (Paul) walked back there and half our team was back there and literally any song that you threw out there he could play anything.”
Following his locker room performance, Sidoti was invited to play at a bar owned by then Cleveland pitcher Charles Nagy. He would go on to perform at some team events for Cleveland as background music.
Later that year, Langston and teammate Richie Sexson brought a few guitars with them to the clubhouse to play. Langston said the two goofed around when they would play together, but then an idea sprang to their heads.
The two talked about throwing a benefit concert.
At first, they didn’t think it was possible until the Cleveland front office came to them and said, “We could make this happen.”
That first benefit concert led to the Tribe Jam.
The Tribe Jam featured Sexson and Langston playing guitar, Omar Vizquel on the drums and Jim Thome on vocals.
Sidoti performed with a band from Seattle that Langston was friends with. The event was a hit.
Over 5,000 people came out to support, to share one common goal: Raising money for charity.
“It was a way to raise money for Cleveland Indians charities and it was a blast,” Sidoti said. “The second year, my band was like the house band for it. I remember sending Mark – like a video of all the songs and how to play them on guitar and stuff. He's like 'This is great. I've learned all this stuff. I'm ready to go.”
Following the 1999 MLB season, Langston retired from baseball. But the Tribe Jam continued.
In the second year of Tribe Jam, Langston reached out to a few of his musician friends to help be a part of the event.
David Richard-Imagn Images
Aug 21,2000; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians designated hitter Jim Thome smashes a guitar during Tribe Jam 2000 at Nautica in the Flats. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley, Yes drummer Alan White, and solo-singer/songwriter Eddie Money all came to perform while Sidoti was at the forefront of the event and brought his band to be the backing band for all the performers.
After the second Tribe Jam, Sidoti told Langston that he had a bunch of songs he had written, and he was off to Nashville to try and make it.
10 years later, Langston found out he indeed made it.
One day, Langston was speaking with former Cleveland and Seattle Mariners equipment manager Teddy Walsh. Walsh asked him if he remembered Sidoti, and Langston responded with “Of course I remember Paul.”
When asked if he knew what Sidoti was up to, Langston said he did not know.
It was then he found out he was the lead guitar player for Taylor Swift.
“He’s so talented,” Langston said. “For him to get the gig of all gigs. I’m really proud of him.
“He has the next best job there is. Playing on the biggest tour in the world and being part of that. He’s been with Taylor right from the start. Right from the very start. He’s been with her. So it’s fun to see somebody that you know all of a sudden – you’re watching the show and you’re like ‘Holy smokes!’ he’s part of this huge production.”
As the two reconnected over the years, Sidoti has been a familiar face in the Angels clubhouse over the years.
In 2015, Sidoti made his way to an Angels game, where Langston brought him over to the clubhouse to meet the players, including Mike Trout.
Former hitting coach Dave Hansen had a couple of guitars set up in the locker room with amps plugged in, and like he did in 1999 with Cleveland, Sidoti was taking requests all across the room in Anaheim.
“Mike of course is the big popular guy,” Sidoti said. “It was a thrill to meet him.”
Between finding time from writing music in Nashville and spending time watching Disney+ with his family, Sidoti continuously makes an effort to come back out to Southern California when he can.
On August 2, 2025, he attended an Angels game against the Chicago White Sox.
During that game, he ran into his longtime friend of 25 years and told him he had that next Wednesday off and asked if they had anyone playing the National Anthem.
Angels Baseball
Paul Sidoti performing the National Anthem at Angel Stadium on August 6, 2025 in Anaheim, California.
Similar to how The Tribe started, Langston made a few phone calls and got Sidoti another gig.
This time it was on a Wednesday afternoon on August 6, moments before the Angels played the Tampa Bay Rays. Sidoti was the opening act and played the National Anthem on his guitar in a stadium full of Angels fans, and his longtime friend, Mark.