While driving through Nashville about 13 years ago, Jefferson City resident Kris Judd heard the song "Comin' to Your City" on the radio, but what made his heart race with excitement was the line: "Now L.A.'s got the freaks and Pinks and $15 drinks, and San Antonio was a wild, wild rodeo, and in Phoenix, Arizona, we drank way too much Corona, and we woke up by the river in Jeff City, MO."
It's not a coincidence Jefferson City is mentioned in "Comin' to Your City" by country artist Big & Rich, which is set to headline Salute to America's third annual Concert Inside the Walls on June 30 at the historic Missouri State Penitentiary site.
Judd interned through a MasterCard program 15 years ago, meeting Big & Rich in the process, and helped contribute lyrics to what later became one of the country duo's popular songs.
"That song came on the radio, and I thought, 'No way,'" he recalled. "It was really cool to hear that. It was definitely surprising. It was one of those moments that was kind of surreal because it was just sitting around with some people in a room and it turned into this popular song - and you never hear about Jefferson City."
His adventure started in 2003 when, while studying at University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg - then called Central Missouri State University - Judd heard an advertisement for the MasterCard Priceless Edge internship, which sought to give people opportunities to gain hands-on experience in fields like music, sports and film. The advertisement encouraged people to enter an essay contest.
Judd has loved music from a young age and learned to play guitar at 13 years old. He later played in a band at various venues. He submitted an essay to the MasterCard contest and later found out he was one of a handful of people to win.
Contest winners flew to Nashville for a six-week internship, where they met with music industry professionals like managers, music engineers and artists - two of whom were John Rich and Big Kenny. At the time, though, they were not signed as Big & Rich, Judd said.
The contest winners were split into groups and told to help write a song. While one of the groups helped contribute to a song that later became one of Big & Rich's most popular songs - "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy" - Judd's group helped write "Comin' to Your City."
"They're sitting in this room with acoustic guitars, so we get to talking and they ask where we're all from and what we do there. And when they got to me, I said Jefferson City because I figured they would recognize that a little easier," said Judd, who was born in Jefferson City but grew up in New Bloomfield. "When they asked what we do there, the first thing that came to my mind was there used to be an island on the Missouri River, pretty close to a boat access, so (a friend of mine and I) were camping out there not long ago, and that was fresh on my mind.
"So I said, 'Oh, we go hang out by the river, drink beer. That's what there is to do in my town.' So that's what made it into the song."
Big & Rich later recorded the songs and gave each contest winner a demo, which Judd still owns.
The News Tribune contacted Big & Rich's manager for comment, but did not receive a response by this article's deadline. However, Big & Rich spoke of the MasterCard Priceless Edge session and how asking the interns about their hometowns led to the song "Comin' to Your City" in the 2007 book "Song: The World's Best Songwriters on Creating the Music that Moves Us" by American Songwriter Magazine.
"Why would you talk about Jeff City, Missouri, in any song? Because there was a guy from Jefferson City, Missouri," Rich told American Songwriter Magazine. "Other than that, you would never write a song like that."
After the internship, Judd moved to Nashville to pursue a music career.
"It was sort of the catalyst for me actually moving to Nashville and trying to make it and play music," he said. "At this time, I was at the end of college - I was 21 or 22 - and I played in local bands and always wanted to go and try to really make it, try to get a job playing guitar and tour with a band. I don't think I would have actually taken the leap had it not been for that MasterCard Priceless Edge experience."
He chuckled: "I was literally the guy that was like, 'Here's all my stuff and I have $100 in my pocket, and I'm going to Nashville.'"
Judd worked as a freelance musician for about six years while holding down various jobs in Nashville, at places like a motorcycle dealership and guitar store. While in Nashville, he met different celebrities like country artists Gretchen Wilson, Marty Stuart and Kix Brooks from Brooks & Dunn.
While it was an exciting time, he said, it was difficult to "make it" since Nashville had a plethora of talent.
"You just had to be at the right place at the right time, and that's kind of how the Big & Rich thing happened," he said. "The people you see who make it, the big stars, there's a thousand of people who are just as good or better than them, just all over the place. You just have to just so happen to be the one there when it's time."
Once living gig to gig lost its appeal and he wanted to start a family, Judd returned to his home state in late 2009 to finish college at Central Methodist University in Fayette. There, he met his now-wife, Sarah, and they have three children - Joslyn, Jameson and Lenora.
The 33-year-old works as an information center representative at Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri in Jefferson City but still plays guitar in the area.
While some of his fondest memories from the internship were working with young musicians, Judd said, his favorite part of the whole experience was learning how some celebrities act like "normal people."
"People think they're celebrities and they're marketed as these super people, but they're just people - just regular, normal person that you can talk to," he said.
Sarah said most people would not have the courage to chase their dreams but her husband did, something she is proud of.
"Leaving college to run off to Nashville to play guitar may not have been the best choice he could have made back then, but I think for him, it was his only choice (because) he had to try it," she said. "He followed a big dream, got to do some really neat things, spent almost six years playing music in Nashville and touring, and he ran his dream down to the very end. He never has to look back and wonder, 'What if?'"
Salute to America organizers announced last week Big & Rich will headline the June 30 Concert Inside the Walls, and the Judds plan to purchase tickets. Judd said he has not seen Big & Rich in concert since his internship, and the concert will "bring this full circle."
"A lot of people have a dream, but they never take a swing at it," he said. "It was quite an experience, and it was good to have at that time in my life."