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closeSaturday will come early this week to Centre County. Country-chart topper Brad Paisley will bring his “American Saturday Night” concert tour to the Bryce Jordan today, with his patented cocktail of mischief and music, rimmed with salt-of-the-earth earnestness.
It’s got to be hard for Paisley to maintain such grounded roots. After all, Forbes Magazine lists the 36-year-old West Virginia native as the seventh biggest act in country music this year, pulling in more than $15 million between record sales, concert tickets and endorsements. His wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, is a Hollywood starlet he fell for when he saw her onscreen, and she recently gave birth to their second son. He recently was nominated for six CMA Awards, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year, more than any other artist this year.
But the guitar-playing songwriter who started his career 10 years ago penning hits for others still brings a sense of fun and reality to his music.
Fans can look forward to Paisley’s trademark infectiously lighthearted gems like “Ticks,” “Online” and “I’m a Guy” when he takes the stage, but the sidelong grin isn’t all he brings to his audience. His current chart-climber, “Welcome to the Future,” a nostalgic look-how-far-we’ve-come journey through time tailor-made for 2009 has been critically ac claim ed from all corners, including Rolling Stone, where it was heralded as a “double shot of widescreen optimism.” That wasn’t its best reception: the song had its debut at the White House in July.
Paisley also is a musician who plays music just because he can, something his friends can vouch for.
“It was an excuse for Brad to play extended guitar solos,” Keith Urban told the Centre Daily Times of his award-winning duet with Paisley on “Start a Band.” Urban didn’t play the song when he was at the BJC in May. Will Paisley’s love of a good guitar lick put it on the playlist today?
Paisley will share the stage with two opening acts that mesh well with his irreverent country-rock star image: Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne.
Bentley’s recent hits include the clubby dance beats of “Sideways” and “Feel that Fire,” a kind of country version of Train’s “Meet Virginia.” Bentley has steadily climbing the country charts since 2005, when his second studio album had two breakaway hits with “Settle for a Slowdown” and “Come a Little Closer.” “American Saturday Night” is his third major tour. Wayne is even newer to the world of big country tours. His first No. 1 hit came last year with “Do You Believe Me Now.” So far, he’s had five top 10 singles. He’ll be celebrating his 37th birthday on stage today.
The “American Saturday Night” tour is going so strong that this month Paisley announced an extension of his dates, pushing his string of concerts another three months and 19 appearances through March. But none of those dates will be in Pennsylvania. Better take advantage of Saturday today.
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