{"id":5589,"date":"2015-10-14T07:00:24","date_gmt":"2015-10-14T12:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?p=5589"},"modified":"2015-10-13T21:45:20","modified_gmt":"2015-10-14T02:45:20","slug":"brad-paisleys-free-concert-was-priceless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/2015\/10\/14\/brad-paisleys-free-concert-was-priceless\/","title":{"rendered":"Brad Paisley’s Free Concert was Priceless"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_4766<\/a>\u201cFREE\u201d is quite possibly the most important word in a college student\u2019s vocabulary, so when Brad Paisley announced he was packing up his plethora of guitars and heading cross country on a FREE college tour<\/a>, I\u2019m pretty sure the cheers of coed country fans could be heard for miles. Naturally, I was logged on to my computer at 12:01 AM on August 26 to claim my spot among the 8,400 local Austin fans who would be crammed into the parking lot of UT\u2019s baseball field on September 10 to watch one of country music\u2019s biggest stars. When they opened the gates, my three friends and I booked it across the lot and somehow, unbelievably, managed to secure a spot at the front of the stage not three feet away from the mic. I knew then that it would be an amazing night!<\/p>\n

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Pat Green rocking Texas Country before Brad takes the stage<\/p><\/div>\n

Since\u00a0we are in Texas it would have been sacrilegious if Brad hadn\u2019t paid homage to our very own genre of Texas country,\u00a0so it was appropriate that his opening act was none other than his old friend and Texas Country all-star Pat Green. Pat has been active on the Texas Country scene since 1995, and he hasn\u2019t slowed down since. His song \u201cHome\u201d reached 5th<\/sup> on the country music charts when it was released this year. Pat is loved across the country, but he is especially revered at home in Texas. I mean, how could he not be with songs like \u201cI Like Texas\u201d and \u201cGirls from Texas\u201d? He certainly knows how to work the home-court advantage!<\/p>\n

As Pat Green closed his set with \u201cWave on Wave\u201d, Paisley warmed up backstage along with the Texas cheerleaders, UT\u2019s mascot Hook\u2019em, and his (by my count) eight guitars! At 8:40 he took the stage and his fans went wild as he opened with his hits \u201cCrushin\u2019 it\u201d and \u201cMud on the Tires\u201d. Donning a Texas Football t-shirt, he worked the crowd and made everyone cheer as he threw up his horns.<\/p>\n

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Brad throwing up his horns about 3 feet away from me!<\/p><\/div>\n

Nothing could put a damper on his performance, not even the 100% chance of rain that fell as he fittingly performed \u201cPerfect Storm\u201d and \u201cWater\u201d. It seemed as though the night could not get any better\u2026but then Brad played a familiar tune on his guitar as he was joined on stage by Hook\u2019em, and together they led the crowd of students in the most epic performance of \u201cThe Eyes of Texas\u201d that I have ever witnessed.<\/p>\n

From the quirky videos playing behind him on the big screen to his PAISLEY guitars (gotta love a man who embraces\u00a0real-life puns), Brad put on an unforgettable show! I\u2019m pretty sure the crowd could be heard all the way across campus as every soul at that concert screamed the lyrics to his closing number \u201cRiver Bank\u201d. I know I certainly had too much fun shouting the line \u201ctake a\u2026LIME AND SUCK IT\u201d.<\/p>\n

While having a free tour geared toward college students might seem like an odd choice for a veteran artist like Brad Paisley, it was actually a pretty smart career move. With songs like \u201cAlcohol\u201d, \u201cCrushin\u2019 It\u201d, and \u201cOnline\u201d, Brad\u2019s quirky sense of humor and social commentary are the perfect tools to reel in a population of young, college-aged fans. The cherry on top is his love for college football which inspired him to launch his tour at the start of the fall semester. His new single \u201cCountry Nation\u201d is his theme song for the tour; it names\u00a0dozens of college mascots, but focuses on how even though we might wear different colors on game day we are still united through country music. With its quasi-patriotic sound, it really is the perfect anthem to bring students together, and it certainly didn\u2019t hurt that it expanded\u00a0Brad\u2019s fan base in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re Mountaineers, we\u2019re Volunteers\/We\u2019re the Tide that rolls, we\u2019re Seminoles\/We\u2019re a heard of Longhorn steer\u2026On two thousand country stations\/Yeah we\u2019re one big country nation that\u2019s right\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n