GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Blake Shelton's restaurant "Ole Red" is officially open in Gatlinburg.
Wednesday night he kicked off the grand opening event with a private concert for ticket winners only.
Fans waited several hours before cashing in their VIP tickets for the event.
"Between my music and then just the general interest of what this place is for the local people here, this should be a pretty exciting night," said Blake.
Two of those fans waiting outside for their exciting night to begin were Tim and Rhonda Brown.
They'd met Blake Shelton before.
"April 16, 2002," Tim said.
That was the day the music video was filmed for Blake's song "Ol' Red".
The Browns had the video star the singer was looking for.
"There was a website called Coonhound Central and they were advertising for a Bluetick Coonhound for a country music video," Tim said.
His Bluetick Coonhound Princess got the part.
"She got paid $300 a day," Tim explained.
In the music video, Princess helps Blake Shelton escape from jail by distracting the guard dog named Ol' Red.
"That's how we met Blake and how our dog was in the video," said Brown.
That's also how they made it to the concert at Ole Red Wednesday.
Blake traded them tickets to the show for pictures of that day.
Princess, now passed away, lives on in spirit every time they hear the song Ol' Red. It's all thanks to the singer.
"That shows you what a good guy Blake really is," Rhonda said. "He doesn't forget about his fans from the start."
Concerts are running all this week at Ole Red, all of which are open to the public as part of the venue's Spring Blake opening event.