Skip to content
Advertisement

Concert: Brad Paisley The motivation for Brad Paisley's first number one single "He Didn't Have to Be," according to his writing partner Kelly Lovelace, was "Let's make a song about you two that will make your wife cry." The track was about Lovelace's relationship with his stepson, who Paisley correctly surmised was as dear to Lovelace as if he were his own flesh and blood. That track was released in 1999, and seven records later, still perfectly captures Paisley's knack for plucking at the human heart as if it were a guitar. On his latest album, "This Is Country Music," Paisley almost says he "almost [broke] down crying" while recording the title track. But it's not all tears with country music's wunderkind (unlike his acoustic-strumming peers, Paisley's guitar chops are as good as his vocals). The West Virginia native is also a skilled pro at weaving tongue-in-cheek pop satires into his work. See, for instance, "Celebrity" from 2003's "Mud on the Tires," a song about a small-town mechanic who claims while helping a stranded celebrity, "I'm the most famous person in the country"--the country being the backwoods. Regardless of what Paisley plays this weekend, you can bet you'll both laugh and cry, possibly during the same song.Sept. 24 at Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Dr., Bristow, VA. Phone: 703-754-6400. Web: www.livenation.com

Concert: Brad Paisley The motivation for Brad Paisley's first number one single "He Didn't Have to Be," according to his writing partner Kelly Lovelace, was "Let's make a song about you two that will make your wife cry." The track was about Lovelace's relationship with his stepson, who Paisley correctly surmised was as dear to Lovelace as if he were his own flesh and blood. That track was released in 1999, and seven records later, still perfectly captures Paisley's knack for plucking at the human heart as if it were a guitar. On his latest album, "This Is Country Music," Paisley almost says he "almost [broke] down crying" while recording the title track. But it's not all tears with country music's wunderkind (unlike his acoustic-strumming peers, Paisley's guitar chops are as good as his vocals). The West Virginia native is also a skilled pro at weaving tongue-in-cheek pop satires into his work. See, for instance, "Celebrity" from 2003's "Mud on the Tires," a song about a small-town mechanic who claims while helping a stranded celebrity, "I'm the most famous person in the country"--the country being the backwoods. Regardless of what Paisley plays this weekend, you can bet you'll both laugh and cry, possibly during the same song.Sept. 24 at Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Dr., Bristow, VA. Phone: 703-754-6400. Web: www.livenation.com

Featured Photo Galleries