McGraw was a couple of verses into the song during his Tuesday night set at Auburn’s White River Amphitheatre when he got involved in a scuffle with a belligerent fan that’s made national news, gossip and video sites like TMZ.com and YouTube.com.

According to McGraw’s Nashville, Tenn.-based publicist, Jessie Schmidt, the country star spotted an aggressive fan rushing the stage as he sang. When the man attacked a woman near the stage, McGraw tried to summon security before dealing with the aggressor with the help of his crew, Schmidt said Wednesday.

Several thousand concertgoers witnessed McGraw gesture toward fans near the stage as his band continued to play. The country superstar called for security and reached down and grabbed a burly man before he and two roadies forcibly plucked the man from the crowd.

The belligerent fan went stumbling toward the back of the stage, regained his bearings and took a few menacing steps toward McGraw with his hand raised. The muscular country star cocked his own fist, ready to retaliate before crew members rushed his would-be attacker offstage.

Then McGraw jumped coolly into the groove as if the incident had been part of the show, a surreal notion reinforced by the song’s next lyric.

“I ain’t lookin’ for trouble,” McGraw sang.

The disorderly fan was turned over to authorities, Schmidt said. But King County Sheriff’s Department spokesman John Urquhart said no arrest had been made regarding the incident.

“There is no crime, at least no reportable crime,” Urquhart said.

“They detained him, they identified him, they kicked him out,” he said, calling that a standard approach to dealing with drunken patrons.

Urquhart said syndicated entertainment news show “Inside Edition” had called him about the incident. A video of the incident also made popular gossip site TMZ.com.

Officials with Live Nation, the company that runs the White River Amphitheatre, declined to comment on the incident.

It’s not the first time a ruckus has unfolded on White River’s main stage. A Kent man sued rapper Snoop Dogg after he said he was beaten by members of the rapper’s entourage when he got on stage in 2005.

Tuesday’s performance was McGraw’s third Puget Sound-area appearance in less than two years, following stops at KeyArena and the Tacoma Dome with wife Faith Hill in 2006 and 2007. He sang new songs “Still,” “Southern Voice” and “You Had to Be There” from an album he’s recording.

Ernest A. Jasmin: 253-274-7389

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