Vacations Blog

Performed at the White House – Check. Late show with David Letterman – Check. 24 hit singles on the Billboard Charts, 11 CMA awards and 3 Grammy awards – Check, Check and Check.

Brad Paisley at the White House

Meet Brad Douglas Paisley – country music singer, song writer and guitarist all rolled into one.

And now he’s got himself another 7 nominations to this year’s  County Music Association Awards, which by the way – he’s co-hosting again with Carrie Underwood on Nov 11 in Nashville, TN.

Brad Paisley is clean as a whistle – a family guy, and the only thing that keeps him in the limelight (and on the road) is his voice, his lyrics and his guitar.

For country singers, doing the honky-tonks of Route 66 is a rite of passage. Brad Paisley did one better, and got himself instant fame in a TLC special by performing Route 66 (the song) live on a bridge in Kansas.

Being on the road with Brad Paisley certainly doesn’t involve any of the usual hedonistic pursuits that celebrity performers wallow in. So what does it feel like?

He says he finds inspiration on Route 66 from the common man, which you can’t find on the Interstate. The video above shows him with a colorful character who can twist his feet completely backwards. And this common touch that he finds on the road is what helps him connect with his audience while on stage.

10 days on the road with Brad Paisley begins with a special night on Oct 15 in Jacksonville, Fla. Something to do with the sale of 1 million Brad Paisley tickets for the ‘American Saturday Night’  Tour. The couple who bought the millionth ticket were flabbergasted when they were handed the keys to their brand new Chevy Truck. 

After a sold-out show in Tampa, the next stop was a headliner in Madison Square Garden, New York City - where the security was heavy and Michael J. Fox dropped in before the show to say hello. The crowd started chanting “USA, USA” during the performance of ‘When I Get Where I’m Going’ because of the 9/11 tribute on the screen.

Brad Paisley at Madison Square Garden, New York City

From there, it was on to Baltimore and then to State College in PA, where Brad and company lit into the many flavors of icecream available at the famed Penn State Creamery.

The last stop of this year’s tour came on Oct 24 at Uncasville, CT. There was a lot of fun on stage, with pranks involving Dierks Bentley and inflated condoms, and Jimmy Wayne landing up on stage in his underwear.

Bottomline – it’s no accident that Brad Paisley is one of the living legends of the Country Music scene. He’s got oodles of talent, works hard, and keeps it real by connecting with his fans on the road.

If you’re planning to be in Nashville on the 10th of November, don’t forget to add the Brad Paisley-Carrie Underwood pre-CMA concert to your list of attractions. Free admission.  

White House photo - public domain from White House photo stream; Mag covers courtesy Sony Music, Nashville; NYC photo by Ben Enos, courtesy Sony Music, Nashville.