Brad Day

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure to once again see my fave singer Brad Paisley in concert (third time in a year!). This time I was accompanied by Karen and her daughter Jordan, who had not yet had the "Brad experience". It's always fun to introduce someone to Brad in concert for the first time because although they might be familiar with his music, seeing him in concert makes them a devoted fan. I've had the opportunity to introduce three friends to utter Brad devotion. I remember the moment my Aunt Stephanie became a Paisley devotee--she turned to me and said, "he's so handsome!" Yes, and even better, he can write, sing and play guitar like you wouldn't believe.

Hershey happens to be the sponsor of Brad's latest tour and when guests arrived, they had a booth set up where you could eat Smores and get your picture taken with a Brad cut-out (see picture above). They also had Brad Paisley karaoke. Karen and Jordan begged me to sing one of Brad's songs for the audience. They reasoned that since I'm always singing Brad's songs to them, I should be just as comfortable singing to a couple hundred people. So I jumped up on stage and sang my best rendition of "The World". Fortunately, this particular karaoke had Brad singing so I wasn't alone up there. I must say that I gave quite the performance, even performing some killer air guitar moves. And somewhere there is a Hershey employee with a video tape of my incredible performance. The Hershey chocolate bars they gave me were well worth the effort.

In addition to seeing Brad, I always enjoy the chance to see the fabulous artists that he brings along as opening acts. Last night was no exception to the rule. Kelly Pickler, of American Idol fame, was the first opening act. She looked adorable as she sang her two hits. As the first opening act, Kelly had to contend with all the late comers to the concert and it was a bit hard to connect with the audience. However, she did seem comfortable on the stage and wil hopefully grow in her performing abilities.

Taylor Swift was the most impressive opening act of the three that night. At the tender age of 17, she has song writing skills that match any seasoned writer in Nashville. Her stage presence was unbelievable. At times you, can't believe that she is only 17. Her stories of heartbreak and love make you wonder if she's lying about her age. But her fresh face, youthful style and spunk assure you that she is in fact still a teenager. Taylor will definitely be a presence in the music industry for years to come. Her connection to the audience was electric and all the new material she performed was great. I can't wait to hear more from this immensely talented young artist.

Jack Ingraham was the final opening act. I wasn't much of a fan of Jack's based on his first few singles. His style is much more rock country but his first singles were love ballads. However, I immediately loved his hit song "Love You" when it was released last year. It's obviously a crowd favorite because Jack waited until the end of his performance to sing it. Who doesn't love pretending to say a naughty word by replacing it with a lovely word?

As we waited for Brad to come on stage, the three of us all speculated on which song Brad would open with. I suggested "Ticks" as that is his giant hit right now. Much to my surprise, Brad opened with this next single off the new album (I can't wait until June 19!), a song about being much cooler online. (I've since learned that Brad just shot a video with Jason Alexander for this hilarious single.) Brad had all sorts of new bells and whistles for his new tour stage. As always, Brad put on a fantastic show that left me wanting more. I was a bit surprised that Brad didn't perform one of Jordan's favorite songs, "Little Moments". Probably due to the three new songs he introduced, he had to leave a few oldies off the play list. All in all, it was a fun concert and I can't wait to see Brad again!