The Cap Times is an independent newsroom serving Madison and Wisconsin. Sign up for the Morning Update to receive news in your inbox each morning.
Twenty years ago on Aug. 4, a virtually unknown Taylor Swift performed at Madison’s Willow Island, known as Brat Fest’s home and a makeshift campground for horse fairs and dairy events.
Swift, then a chipper 16-year-old singer and songwriter, played about 10 original songs on an outdoor stage at country radio outlet Q106’s birthday celebration. Of the lineup’s six national acts, Swift landed at the roster’s bottom and filled the 4:45 p.m. slot that Friday…