Taylor Swift's lessons learned from Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley’s won over a lot of fans during the 10 years since he put out his debut album, and one of the biggest also happens to be the biggest-selling act in pop music of the past year, Taylor Swift.

Paisley invited her to be his opening act for his 2007 tour, giving many of his fans their first chance to see the teenage phenom in person.

“I’ll never forget my first big tour,” Swift told The Times by e-mail this week. “I was 16 when I got the call that Brad Paisley was offering to take me out as one of his opening acts on his Bonfires and Amplifiers Tour.

“I immediately started screaming," she recalled. "I had no idea how much I would learn from him over the next 10 months."

Among the revelations: he’s no skinflint.

“One of the first things that really caught my attention about Brad’s character is that I found out that he had gone out and bought my album in order to decide whether or not to offer me the tour,” Swift wrote.

 “He could’ve gotten a free copy from anyone, or just made the decision based on my single doing well at radio. He’s very meticulous, and wanted to make sure he was investing in the right artist.”

Apparently he’s also a pretty easy-going boss too. When Swift came down with a cold, causing her to cut one performance short, Paisley didn’t bat an eye.

A patriot for changing times, Brad Paisley decides his music has room to grow and dives hat first into ‘American Saturday Night.’

In the decade since country singer Brad Paisley put out his debut album, the kid from Glen Dale, W.Va., has concocted a savvy musical amalgam of Roger Miller's songwriting wit, Buck Owens' hard-rocking twang and Chet Atkins' guitar wizardry. But there's powerful evidence of another influence at work in Paisley's music, one of the titans of American popular culture: Mark Twain. 

 Like Twain's youthful literary hero Tom Sawyer, Paisley frequently couples wisdom with a finely honed sense of humor, and appears to share Huck Finn's disenchantment with the emphasis that all those grown-ups around him place on becoming "sivilized." 

In hits such as "Online," "Celebrity" and "Ticks," he's proved to be a skillful sneak, slipping in the kind of clever ideas and wordplay that few of his peers at the top of the country sales charts dare to venture. He's tackled the subject of alcohol abuse from different vantage points in two hit songs, the whimsical "Alcohol" and the artistic punch to the gut "Whiskey Lullaby," his award-winningduet with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss.

Paisley's eighth album, "American Saturday Night," due out Tuesday, has the usual complement of straightforward love songs (the first single, "Then"), ruminations on love lost ("Oh Yeah, You're Gone") and humorous come-ons ("You Do the Math").

But what is likely to elevate Paisley's standing as a musician, both in and potentially outside of the Nashville music community, are two key tracks: the title song and "Welcome to the Future," both of which broach topics that also were favorites of Samuel Clemens.

Read the full story: Brad Paisley breaks the pattern

Related: Brad Paisley: Album by album

Backstage at Stagecoach:

Saturday's opening of this weekend's Stagecoach country music festival drew a sellout crowd of 40,000, the biggest turnout yet for the 3-year-old event, Goldenvoice chief Paul Tollett said near the end of the day, which featured headliners Brad Paisley and Reba McEntire. There's good reason to expect that today's closing show, topped by Kenny Chesney and Kid Rock, will do every bit as well. Year in and year out, Chesney sells more concert tickets than virtually every other act in pop music.

In addition, arrests were down from last year's pace, according to Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron, with 14 arrests Saturday and three on Friday among those who had arrived early to set up in the adjacent campgrounds. Last year, when Stagecoach ran three days, Guitron said there were 80-plus arrests over the course of the event.

Saturday's results represented quite a turnaround for Stagecoach organizers and brought another dose of good news following the response to last weekend's three-day Coachella Music and Arts Festival. That event drew 160,000 total, the second-highest turnout in the decade-old festival's history.

Brad Paisley’s wrong — he’s not cooler online.

In fact, the coolest thing about the singer, songwriter and guitarist is that he’s become one of country music’s biggest stars by fully embracing his inner nerd.

It wasn’t even all that inner during his headlining set at Stagecoach on Saturday night, the final stop — a belated hiccup, almost — on his Paisley Party Tour that formally ended in March.

His estimable string of hit singles encompasses a good percentage that reflect youthful awkwardness and the way that plays out for so many people in adulthood:  “I’m Just a Guy,” “Online” and “Letter to Me.” He writes and delivers them with such unforced wit and Everyman honesty, it’s understandable that he’s connected with a broad swath of country fans.

As it was stated so eloquently in the 1984 cinematic classic “Revenge of the Nerds,” when the head nerd went nose-to-nose with the top jock: “There are a lot more of us than there are of you.”

But what is still a bit surprising, in a good way, is that Paisley’s crafted hit after hit without sinking to lowest-common-denominator level of so much of what’s on country radio today. His lyrics are fresh, rife with brilliant twists (“I’m Gonna Miss Her [The Fishing Song]”), the occasional bawdy double-entendre (“Ticks”) and even profundity (“Whiskey Lullaby”). On top of that, he's one of the most dazzling guitarists ever to come down the pike, a worthy heir to the tradition of Chet Atkins, Jimmy Bryant, Albert Lee and Vince Gill.

Underwood takes entertainer of the year; Hough wins best new artist.

The 44th Academy of Country Music Awards swung political, personal, playful and patriotic on Sunday and ultimately opted for popular in bestowing its top honor on "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood, naming her entertainer of the year over veteran male performers George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban.

"I've had a lot of good moments in the past four years," the Oklahoma-born Underwood said at the climax of the three-hour event at the MGM Grand Arena, "but this one takes the cake."

The award was determined for the second year by popular vote during the show at CBS.com instead of being determined as it had been in past years by the performer who sold the most concert tickets during the previous 12 months, which would have given a fifth title to Chesney.

But the ACM, in striving to boost ratings and make the event more interactive for fans, opened the voting for entertainer and new artist to the public. That helped TV-friendly faces such as Underwood and former "Dancing With the Stars"-turned-country singer Julianne Hough, who took home the new artist trophy.

It was a big night as well for Internet-savvy teen phenom Taylor Swift, who sold more albums in 2008 than any other artist in any genre, passing 5 million. Her overwhelming success contributed to her sophomore album, "Fearless," which has topped 3 million since its release in November, being named album of the year.

Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music unveiled the nominations for its award show today. Leading the pack is Brad Paisley, who scored six nods, including entertainer of the year. The ACM Awards ceremony will be broadcast live for the East Coast on April 5 on CBS.

Paisley is also nominated for top male vocalist, and two of his nods stem from the single "Waitin' on a Woman," which was re-recorded for his 2007 album "5th Gear." He won twice at this year's Grammys -- best male country vocal performance for "Letter to Me" and best country instrumental performance for "Cluster Pluck."

In the entertainer of the year field, Paisley will vie for the trophy with last year's winner Kenny Chesney, as well as George Strait, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.

Underwood accomplished a rare feat by scoring an entertainer of the year nomination. If she wins, according to the ACM, she'll be only the seventh female to take the top honors. Not since the Dixie Chicks won in 2000 has a woman taken home entertainer of the year.

Underwood is also the first woman since 2000 to even get nominated for entertainer of the year, when, in addition to the Chicks, Faith Hill was nominated.

Elsewhere, former Trick Pony vocalist Heidi Newfield scored scored five nods. She'll compete for top female vocalist with Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Underwood and Lee Ann Womack. Newfield released her solo debut, "What Am I Waiting For," last August.

George Strait and Jamey Johnson received four nominations apiece. Johnson is nominated for the first time as an artist (he won in 2006 for writing Strait's "Give It Away"), and is up for top new male vocalist, as well as single record of the year and song of the year for his hit "In Color."

Chesney has won the top prize four years running. Last year, there was a mini-controversy  when Chesney took issue with the fact that the ACMs opened up voting on entertainer of the year to fans. After the awards he was quoted as saying, "They took it from what the award really represents into a sweepstakes to see who can push people's buttons the hardest on the Internet."

His complaints didn't inspire any change. The entertainer of the year award will again be open for online voting, and fans will be able to text in their votes via phone during the broadcast.

Additionally, the three awards for new artists -- top new female vocalist, top new male vocalist and top new vocal duo -- will also be open for online voting. And here's where you need to pay attention: For the new-artist categories, fan voting begins here Feb. 13, and continues through March 3. The winners in each category will be announced March 9, and then compete in a new category, top new artist. A list of artist nominations can be found after the jump.

- Todd Martens

Photo: Brad Paisley at the Grammy Awards. Credit: Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times

Brad Paisley might be one of contemporary country's master wordsmiths, but on his fifth album, he hardly says a word. With "Play," a largely instrumental collection, Paisley shows off his jaw-dropping musical chops. Despite the fret board fireworks, this is an honest love letter to the art of making music.

Paisley covers an impressively broad stylistic range that includes the ghost-surfers-in-the-sky vibe of "Turf's Up," the hard Texas blues of "Playing With Fire" and the sweet balladry of "Kim," a wordless love song for his wife. He might be out of his league vocally in his duet with B.B. King on one of the blues great's signature tunes; both still manage to "Let the Good Times Roll" anyway.

He also offers up salutes to guitar hero Les Paul and one of his own mentors, Buck Owens. The pairing with Owens might be the album's highlight, a posthumous duet that niftily quotes Buck's great country instrumental "Buckaroo," then retools his 1964 song "Hello Trouble" on its way to completing a latter-day recording its composer never finished.

Country radio will want to jump all over "Start a Band," a duet with Keith Urban channeling the joy of strumming in the company of like-minded buds, but only true guitar geeks will be able to sort out who's playing what on "Cluster Pluck." It's a six-stringed summit meeting among Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner.

--Randy Lewis

Brad Paisley
"Play"
Arista Nashville
Three and a half stars

Brad Paisley breaks the pattern

A patriot for changing times, Brad Paisley decides his music has room to grow and dives hat first into ‘American Saturday Night.’

In the decade since country singer Brad Paisley put out his debut album, the kid from Glen Dale, W.Va., has concocted a savvy musical amalgam of Roger Miller's songwriting wit, Buck Owens' hard-rocking twang and Chet Atkins' guitar wizardry. But there's powerful evidence of another influence at work in Paisley's music, one of the titans of American popular culture: Mark Twain. 

 Like Twain's youthful literary hero Tom Sawyer, Paisley frequently couples wisdom with a finely honed sense of humor, and appears to share Huck Finn's disenchantment with the emphasis that all those grown-ups around him place on becoming "sivilized." 

In hits such as "Online," "Celebrity" and "Ticks," he's proved to be a skillful sneak, slipping in the kind of clever ideas and wordplay that few of his peers at the top of the country sales charts dare to venture. He's tackled the subject of alcohol abuse from different vantage points in two hit songs, the whimsical "Alcohol" and the artistic punch to the gut "Whiskey Lullaby," his award-winningduet with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss.

Paisley's eighth album, "American Saturday Night," due out Tuesday, has the usual complement of straightforward love songs (the first single, "Then"), ruminations on love lost ("Oh Yeah, You're Gone") and humorous come-ons ("You Do the Math").

But what is likely to elevate Paisley's standing as a musician, both in and potentially outside of the Nashville music community, are two key tracks: the title song and "Welcome to the Future," both of which broach topics that also were favorites of Samuel Clemens.

Read the full story: Brad Paisley breaks the pattern

Related: Brad Paisley: Album by album

Backstage at Stagecoach:

Saturday's opening of this weekend's Stagecoach country music festival drew a sellout crowd of 40,000, the biggest turnout yet for the 3-year-old event, Goldenvoice chief Paul Tollett said near the end of the day, which featured headliners Brad Paisley and Reba McEntire. There's good reason to expect that today's closing show, topped by Kenny Chesney and Kid Rock, will do every bit as well. Year in and year out, Chesney sells more concert tickets than virtually every other act in pop music.

In addition, arrests were down from last year's pace, according to Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron, with 14 arrests Saturday and three on Friday among those who had arrived early to set up in the adjacent campgrounds. Last year, when Stagecoach ran three days, Guitron said there were 80-plus arrests over the course of the event.

Saturday's results represented quite a turnaround for Stagecoach organizers and brought another dose of good news following the response to last weekend's three-day Coachella Music and Arts Festival. That event drew 160,000 total, the second-highest turnout in the decade-old festival's history.

Brad Paisley’s wrong — he’s not cooler online.

In fact, the coolest thing about the singer, songwriter and guitarist is that he’s become one of country music’s biggest stars by fully embracing his inner nerd.

It wasn’t even all that inner during his headlining set at Stagecoach on Saturday night, the final stop — a belated hiccup, almost — on his Paisley Party Tour that formally ended in March.

His estimable string of hit singles encompasses a good percentage that reflect youthful awkwardness and the way that plays out for so many people in adulthood:  “I’m Just a Guy,” “Online” and “Letter to Me.” He writes and delivers them with such unforced wit and Everyman honesty, it’s understandable that he’s connected with a broad swath of country fans.

As it was stated so eloquently in the 1984 cinematic classic “Revenge of the Nerds,” when the head nerd went nose-to-nose with the top jock: “There are a lot more of us than there are of you.”

But what is still a bit surprising, in a good way, is that Paisley’s crafted hit after hit without sinking to lowest-common-denominator level of so much of what’s on country radio today. His lyrics are fresh, rife with brilliant twists (“I’m Gonna Miss Her [The Fishing Song]”), the occasional bawdy double-entendre (“Ticks”) and even profundity (“Whiskey Lullaby”). On top of that, he's one of the most dazzling guitarists ever to come down the pike, a worthy heir to the tradition of Chet Atkins, Jimmy Bryant, Albert Lee and Vince Gill.

Underwood takes entertainer of the year; Hough wins best new artist.

The 44th Academy of Country Music Awards swung political, personal, playful and patriotic on Sunday and ultimately opted for popular in bestowing its top honor on "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood, naming her entertainer of the year over veteran male performers George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban.

"I've had a lot of good moments in the past four years," the Oklahoma-born Underwood said at the climax of the three-hour event at the MGM Grand Arena, "but this one takes the cake."

The award was determined for the second year by popular vote during the show at CBS.com instead of being determined as it had been in past years by the performer who sold the most concert tickets during the previous 12 months, which would have given a fifth title to Chesney.

But the ACM, in striving to boost ratings and make the event more interactive for fans, opened the voting for entertainer and new artist to the public. That helped TV-friendly faces such as Underwood and former "Dancing With the Stars"-turned-country singer Julianne Hough, who took home the new artist trophy.

It was a big night as well for Internet-savvy teen phenom Taylor Swift, who sold more albums in 2008 than any other artist in any genre, passing 5 million. Her overwhelming success contributed to her sophomore album, "Fearless," which has topped 3 million since its release in November, being named album of the year.

Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music unveiled the nominations for its award show today. Leading the pack is Brad Paisley, who scored six nods, including entertainer of the year. The ACM Awards ceremony will be broadcast live for the East Coast on April 5 on CBS.

Paisley is also nominated for top male vocalist, and two of his nods stem from the single "Waitin' on a Woman," which was re-recorded for his 2007 album "5th Gear." He won twice at this year's Grammys -- best male country vocal performance for "Letter to Me" and best country instrumental performance for "Cluster Pluck."

In the entertainer of the year field, Paisley will vie for the trophy with last year's winner Kenny Chesney, as well as George Strait, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.

Underwood accomplished a rare feat by scoring an entertainer of the year nomination. If she wins, according to the ACM, she'll be only the seventh female to take the top honors. Not since the Dixie Chicks won in 2000 has a woman taken home entertainer of the year.

Underwood is also the first woman since 2000 to even get nominated for entertainer of the year, when, in addition to the Chicks, Faith Hill was nominated.

Elsewhere, former Trick Pony vocalist Heidi Newfield scored scored five nods. She'll compete for top female vocalist with Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Underwood and Lee Ann Womack. Newfield released her solo debut, "What Am I Waiting For," last August.

George Strait and Jamey Johnson received four nominations apiece. Johnson is nominated for the first time as an artist (he won in 2006 for writing Strait's "Give It Away"), and is up for top new male vocalist, as well as single record of the year and song of the year for his hit "In Color."

Chesney has won the top prize four years running. Last year, there was a mini-controversy  when Chesney took issue with the fact that the ACMs opened up voting on entertainer of the year to fans. After the awards he was quoted as saying, "They took it from what the award really represents into a sweepstakes to see who can push people's buttons the hardest on the Internet."

His complaints didn't inspire any change. The entertainer of the year award will again be open for online voting, and fans will be able to text in their votes via phone during the broadcast.

Additionally, the three awards for new artists -- top new female vocalist, top new male vocalist and top new vocal duo -- will also be open for online voting. And here's where you need to pay attention: For the new-artist categories, fan voting begins here Feb. 13, and continues through March 3. The winners in each category will be announced March 9, and then compete in a new category, top new artist. A list of artist nominations can be found after the jump.

- Todd Martens

Photo: Brad Paisley at the Grammy Awards. Credit: Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times

Brad Paisley might be one of contemporary country's master wordsmiths, but on his fifth album, he hardly says a word. With "Play," a largely instrumental collection, Paisley shows off his jaw-dropping musical chops. Despite the fret board fireworks, this is an honest love letter to the art of making music.

Paisley covers an impressively broad stylistic range that includes the ghost-surfers-in-the-sky vibe of "Turf's Up," the hard Texas blues of "Playing With Fire" and the sweet balladry of "Kim," a wordless love song for his wife. He might be out of his league vocally in his duet with B.B. King on one of the blues great's signature tunes; both still manage to "Let the Good Times Roll" anyway.

He also offers up salutes to guitar hero Les Paul and one of his own mentors, Buck Owens. The pairing with Owens might be the album's highlight, a posthumous duet that niftily quotes Buck's great country instrumental "Buckaroo," then retools his 1964 song "Hello Trouble" on its way to completing a latter-day recording its composer never finished.

Country radio will want to jump all over "Start a Band," a duet with Keith Urban channeling the joy of strumming in the company of like-minded buds, but only true guitar geeks will be able to sort out who's playing what on "Cluster Pluck." It's a six-stringed summit meeting among Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner.

--Randy Lewis

Brad Paisley
"Play"
Arista Nashville
Three and a half stars

Stagecoach 2009: Day 1, by the numbers

Backstage at Stagecoach:

Saturday's opening of this weekend's Stagecoach country music festival drew a sellout crowd of 40,000, the biggest turnout yet for the 3-year-old event, Goldenvoice chief Paul Tollett said near the end of the day, which featured headliners Brad Paisley and Reba McEntire. There's good reason to expect that today's closing show, topped by Kenny Chesney and Kid Rock, will do every bit as well. Year in and year out, Chesney sells more concert tickets than virtually every other act in pop music.

In addition, arrests were down from last year's pace, according to Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron, with 14 arrests Saturday and three on Friday among those who had arrived early to set up in the adjacent campgrounds. Last year, when Stagecoach ran three days, Guitron said there were 80-plus arrests over the course of the event.

Saturday's results represented quite a turnaround for Stagecoach organizers and brought another dose of good news following the response to last weekend's three-day Coachella Music and Arts Festival. That event drew 160,000 total, the second-highest turnout in the decade-old festival's history.

Brad Paisley’s wrong — he’s not cooler online.

In fact, the coolest thing about the singer, songwriter and guitarist is that he’s become one of country music’s biggest stars by fully embracing his inner nerd.

It wasn’t even all that inner during his headlining set at Stagecoach on Saturday night, the final stop — a belated hiccup, almost — on his Paisley Party Tour that formally ended in March.

His estimable string of hit singles encompasses a good percentage that reflect youthful awkwardness and the way that plays out for so many people in adulthood:  “I’m Just a Guy,” “Online” and “Letter to Me.” He writes and delivers them with such unforced wit and Everyman honesty, it’s understandable that he’s connected with a broad swath of country fans.

As it was stated so eloquently in the 1984 cinematic classic “Revenge of the Nerds,” when the head nerd went nose-to-nose with the top jock: “There are a lot more of us than there are of you.”

But what is still a bit surprising, in a good way, is that Paisley’s crafted hit after hit without sinking to lowest-common-denominator level of so much of what’s on country radio today. His lyrics are fresh, rife with brilliant twists (“I’m Gonna Miss Her [The Fishing Song]”), the occasional bawdy double-entendre (“Ticks”) and even profundity (“Whiskey Lullaby”). On top of that, he's one of the most dazzling guitarists ever to come down the pike, a worthy heir to the tradition of Chet Atkins, Jimmy Bryant, Albert Lee and Vince Gill.

Underwood takes entertainer of the year; Hough wins best new artist.

The 44th Academy of Country Music Awards swung political, personal, playful and patriotic on Sunday and ultimately opted for popular in bestowing its top honor on "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood, naming her entertainer of the year over veteran male performers George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban.

"I've had a lot of good moments in the past four years," the Oklahoma-born Underwood said at the climax of the three-hour event at the MGM Grand Arena, "but this one takes the cake."

The award was determined for the second year by popular vote during the show at CBS.com instead of being determined as it had been in past years by the performer who sold the most concert tickets during the previous 12 months, which would have given a fifth title to Chesney.

But the ACM, in striving to boost ratings and make the event more interactive for fans, opened the voting for entertainer and new artist to the public. That helped TV-friendly faces such as Underwood and former "Dancing With the Stars"-turned-country singer Julianne Hough, who took home the new artist trophy.

It was a big night as well for Internet-savvy teen phenom Taylor Swift, who sold more albums in 2008 than any other artist in any genre, passing 5 million. Her overwhelming success contributed to her sophomore album, "Fearless," which has topped 3 million since its release in November, being named album of the year.

Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music unveiled the nominations for its award show today. Leading the pack is Brad Paisley, who scored six nods, including entertainer of the year. The ACM Awards ceremony will be broadcast live for the East Coast on April 5 on CBS.

Paisley is also nominated for top male vocalist, and two of his nods stem from the single "Waitin' on a Woman," which was re-recorded for his 2007 album "5th Gear." He won twice at this year's Grammys -- best male country vocal performance for "Letter to Me" and best country instrumental performance for "Cluster Pluck."

In the entertainer of the year field, Paisley will vie for the trophy with last year's winner Kenny Chesney, as well as George Strait, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.

Underwood accomplished a rare feat by scoring an entertainer of the year nomination. If she wins, according to the ACM, she'll be only the seventh female to take the top honors. Not since the Dixie Chicks won in 2000 has a woman taken home entertainer of the year.

Underwood is also the first woman since 2000 to even get nominated for entertainer of the year, when, in addition to the Chicks, Faith Hill was nominated.

Elsewhere, former Trick Pony vocalist Heidi Newfield scored scored five nods. She'll compete for top female vocalist with Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Underwood and Lee Ann Womack. Newfield released her solo debut, "What Am I Waiting For," last August.

George Strait and Jamey Johnson received four nominations apiece. Johnson is nominated for the first time as an artist (he won in 2006 for writing Strait's "Give It Away"), and is up for top new male vocalist, as well as single record of the year and song of the year for his hit "In Color."

Chesney has won the top prize four years running. Last year, there was a mini-controversy  when Chesney took issue with the fact that the ACMs opened up voting on entertainer of the year to fans. After the awards he was quoted as saying, "They took it from what the award really represents into a sweepstakes to see who can push people's buttons the hardest on the Internet."

His complaints didn't inspire any change. The entertainer of the year award will again be open for online voting, and fans will be able to text in their votes via phone during the broadcast.

Additionally, the three awards for new artists -- top new female vocalist, top new male vocalist and top new vocal duo -- will also be open for online voting. And here's where you need to pay attention: For the new-artist categories, fan voting begins here Feb. 13, and continues through March 3. The winners in each category will be announced March 9, and then compete in a new category, top new artist. A list of artist nominations can be found after the jump.

- Todd Martens

Photo: Brad Paisley at the Grammy Awards. Credit: Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times

Brad Paisley might be one of contemporary country's master wordsmiths, but on his fifth album, he hardly says a word. With "Play," a largely instrumental collection, Paisley shows off his jaw-dropping musical chops. Despite the fret board fireworks, this is an honest love letter to the art of making music.

Paisley covers an impressively broad stylistic range that includes the ghost-surfers-in-the-sky vibe of "Turf's Up," the hard Texas blues of "Playing With Fire" and the sweet balladry of "Kim," a wordless love song for his wife. He might be out of his league vocally in his duet with B.B. King on one of the blues great's signature tunes; both still manage to "Let the Good Times Roll" anyway.

He also offers up salutes to guitar hero Les Paul and one of his own mentors, Buck Owens. The pairing with Owens might be the album's highlight, a posthumous duet that niftily quotes Buck's great country instrumental "Buckaroo," then retools his 1964 song "Hello Trouble" on its way to completing a latter-day recording its composer never finished.

Country radio will want to jump all over "Start a Band," a duet with Keith Urban channeling the joy of strumming in the company of like-minded buds, but only true guitar geeks will be able to sort out who's playing what on "Cluster Pluck." It's a six-stringed summit meeting among Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner.

--Randy Lewis

Brad Paisley
"Play"
Arista Nashville
Three and a half stars

Stagecoach 2009: Brad Paisley's class in Geek History

Brad Paisley’s wrong — he’s not cooler online.

In fact, the coolest thing about the singer, songwriter and guitarist is that he’s become one of country music’s biggest stars by fully embracing his inner nerd.

It wasn’t even all that inner during his headlining set at Stagecoach on Saturday night, the final stop — a belated hiccup, almost — on his Paisley Party Tour that formally ended in March.

His estimable string of hit singles encompasses a good percentage that reflect youthful awkwardness and the way that plays out for so many people in adulthood:  “I’m Just a Guy,” “Online” and “Letter to Me.” He writes and delivers them with such unforced wit and Everyman honesty, it’s understandable that he’s connected with a broad swath of country fans.

As it was stated so eloquently in the 1984 cinematic classic “Revenge of the Nerds,” when the head nerd went nose-to-nose with the top jock: “There are a lot more of us than there are of you.”

But what is still a bit surprising, in a good way, is that Paisley’s crafted hit after hit without sinking to lowest-common-denominator level of so much of what’s on country radio today. His lyrics are fresh, rife with brilliant twists (“I’m Gonna Miss Her [The Fishing Song]”), the occasional bawdy double-entendre (“Ticks”) and even profundity (“Whiskey Lullaby”). On top of that, he's one of the most dazzling guitarists ever to come down the pike, a worthy heir to the tradition of Chet Atkins, Jimmy Bryant, Albert Lee and Vince Gill.

Underwood takes entertainer of the year; Hough wins best new artist.

The 44th Academy of Country Music Awards swung political, personal, playful and patriotic on Sunday and ultimately opted for popular in bestowing its top honor on "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood, naming her entertainer of the year over veteran male performers George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban.

"I've had a lot of good moments in the past four years," the Oklahoma-born Underwood said at the climax of the three-hour event at the MGM Grand Arena, "but this one takes the cake."

The award was determined for the second year by popular vote during the show at CBS.com instead of being determined as it had been in past years by the performer who sold the most concert tickets during the previous 12 months, which would have given a fifth title to Chesney.

But the ACM, in striving to boost ratings and make the event more interactive for fans, opened the voting for entertainer and new artist to the public. That helped TV-friendly faces such as Underwood and former "Dancing With the Stars"-turned-country singer Julianne Hough, who took home the new artist trophy.

It was a big night as well for Internet-savvy teen phenom Taylor Swift, who sold more albums in 2008 than any other artist in any genre, passing 5 million. Her overwhelming success contributed to her sophomore album, "Fearless," which has topped 3 million since its release in November, being named album of the year.

Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music unveiled the nominations for its award show today. Leading the pack is Brad Paisley, who scored six nods, including entertainer of the year. The ACM Awards ceremony will be broadcast live for the East Coast on April 5 on CBS.

Paisley is also nominated for top male vocalist, and two of his nods stem from the single "Waitin' on a Woman," which was re-recorded for his 2007 album "5th Gear." He won twice at this year's Grammys -- best male country vocal performance for "Letter to Me" and best country instrumental performance for "Cluster Pluck."

In the entertainer of the year field, Paisley will vie for the trophy with last year's winner Kenny Chesney, as well as George Strait, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.

Underwood accomplished a rare feat by scoring an entertainer of the year nomination. If she wins, according to the ACM, she'll be only the seventh female to take the top honors. Not since the Dixie Chicks won in 2000 has a woman taken home entertainer of the year.

Underwood is also the first woman since 2000 to even get nominated for entertainer of the year, when, in addition to the Chicks, Faith Hill was nominated.

Elsewhere, former Trick Pony vocalist Heidi Newfield scored scored five nods. She'll compete for top female vocalist with Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Underwood and Lee Ann Womack. Newfield released her solo debut, "What Am I Waiting For," last August.

George Strait and Jamey Johnson received four nominations apiece. Johnson is nominated for the first time as an artist (he won in 2006 for writing Strait's "Give It Away"), and is up for top new male vocalist, as well as single record of the year and song of the year for his hit "In Color."

Chesney has won the top prize four years running. Last year, there was a mini-controversy  when Chesney took issue with the fact that the ACMs opened up voting on entertainer of the year to fans. After the awards he was quoted as saying, "They took it from what the award really represents into a sweepstakes to see who can push people's buttons the hardest on the Internet."

His complaints didn't inspire any change. The entertainer of the year award will again be open for online voting, and fans will be able to text in their votes via phone during the broadcast.

Additionally, the three awards for new artists -- top new female vocalist, top new male vocalist and top new vocal duo -- will also be open for online voting. And here's where you need to pay attention: For the new-artist categories, fan voting begins here Feb. 13, and continues through March 3. The winners in each category will be announced March 9, and then compete in a new category, top new artist. A list of artist nominations can be found after the jump.

- Todd Martens

Photo: Brad Paisley at the Grammy Awards. Credit: Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times

Brad Paisley might be one of contemporary country's master wordsmiths, but on his fifth album, he hardly says a word. With "Play," a largely instrumental collection, Paisley shows off his jaw-dropping musical chops. Despite the fret board fireworks, this is an honest love letter to the art of making music.

Paisley covers an impressively broad stylistic range that includes the ghost-surfers-in-the-sky vibe of "Turf's Up," the hard Texas blues of "Playing With Fire" and the sweet balladry of "Kim," a wordless love song for his wife. He might be out of his league vocally in his duet with B.B. King on one of the blues great's signature tunes; both still manage to "Let the Good Times Roll" anyway.

He also offers up salutes to guitar hero Les Paul and one of his own mentors, Buck Owens. The pairing with Owens might be the album's highlight, a posthumous duet that niftily quotes Buck's great country instrumental "Buckaroo," then retools his 1964 song "Hello Trouble" on its way to completing a latter-day recording its composer never finished.

Country radio will want to jump all over "Start a Band," a duet with Keith Urban channeling the joy of strumming in the company of like-minded buds, but only true guitar geeks will be able to sort out who's playing what on "Cluster Pluck." It's a six-stringed summit meeting among Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner.

--Randy Lewis

Brad Paisley
"Play"
Arista Nashville
Three and a half stars

ACM Awards: A big night for Carrie Underwood and Julianne Hough

Underwood takes entertainer of the year; Hough wins best new artist.

The 44th Academy of Country Music Awards swung political, personal, playful and patriotic on Sunday and ultimately opted for popular in bestowing its top honor on "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood, naming her entertainer of the year over veteran male performers George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban.

"I've had a lot of good moments in the past four years," the Oklahoma-born Underwood said at the climax of the three-hour event at the MGM Grand Arena, "but this one takes the cake."

The award was determined for the second year by popular vote during the show at CBS.com instead of being determined as it had been in past years by the performer who sold the most concert tickets during the previous 12 months, which would have given a fifth title to Chesney.

But the ACM, in striving to boost ratings and make the event more interactive for fans, opened the voting for entertainer and new artist to the public. That helped TV-friendly faces such as Underwood and former "Dancing With the Stars"-turned-country singer Julianne Hough, who took home the new artist trophy.

It was a big night as well for Internet-savvy teen phenom Taylor Swift, who sold more albums in 2008 than any other artist in any genre, passing 5 million. Her overwhelming success contributed to her sophomore album, "Fearless," which has topped 3 million since its release in November, being named album of the year.

Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music unveiled the nominations for its award show today. Leading the pack is Brad Paisley, who scored six nods, including entertainer of the year. The ACM Awards ceremony will be broadcast live for the East Coast on April 5 on CBS.

Paisley is also nominated for top male vocalist, and two of his nods stem from the single "Waitin' on a Woman," which was re-recorded for his 2007 album "5th Gear." He won twice at this year's Grammys -- best male country vocal performance for "Letter to Me" and best country instrumental performance for "Cluster Pluck."

In the entertainer of the year field, Paisley will vie for the trophy with last year's winner Kenny Chesney, as well as George Strait, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.

Underwood accomplished a rare feat by scoring an entertainer of the year nomination. If she wins, according to the ACM, she'll be only the seventh female to take the top honors. Not since the Dixie Chicks won in 2000 has a woman taken home entertainer of the year.

Underwood is also the first woman since 2000 to even get nominated for entertainer of the year, when, in addition to the Chicks, Faith Hill was nominated.

Elsewhere, former Trick Pony vocalist Heidi Newfield scored scored five nods. She'll compete for top female vocalist with Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Underwood and Lee Ann Womack. Newfield released her solo debut, "What Am I Waiting For," last August.

George Strait and Jamey Johnson received four nominations apiece. Johnson is nominated for the first time as an artist (he won in 2006 for writing Strait's "Give It Away"), and is up for top new male vocalist, as well as single record of the year and song of the year for his hit "In Color."

Chesney has won the top prize four years running. Last year, there was a mini-controversy  when Chesney took issue with the fact that the ACMs opened up voting on entertainer of the year to fans. After the awards he was quoted as saying, "They took it from what the award really represents into a sweepstakes to see who can push people's buttons the hardest on the Internet."

His complaints didn't inspire any change. The entertainer of the year award will again be open for online voting, and fans will be able to text in their votes via phone during the broadcast.

Additionally, the three awards for new artists -- top new female vocalist, top new male vocalist and top new vocal duo -- will also be open for online voting. And here's where you need to pay attention: For the new-artist categories, fan voting begins here Feb. 13, and continues through March 3. The winners in each category will be announced March 9, and then compete in a new category, top new artist. A list of artist nominations can be found after the jump.

- Todd Martens

Photo: Brad Paisley at the Grammy Awards. Credit: Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times

Brad Paisley might be one of contemporary country's master wordsmiths, but on his fifth album, he hardly says a word. With "Play," a largely instrumental collection, Paisley shows off his jaw-dropping musical chops. Despite the fret board fireworks, this is an honest love letter to the art of making music.

Paisley covers an impressively broad stylistic range that includes the ghost-surfers-in-the-sky vibe of "Turf's Up," the hard Texas blues of "Playing With Fire" and the sweet balladry of "Kim," a wordless love song for his wife. He might be out of his league vocally in his duet with B.B. King on one of the blues great's signature tunes; both still manage to "Let the Good Times Roll" anyway.

He also offers up salutes to guitar hero Les Paul and one of his own mentors, Buck Owens. The pairing with Owens might be the album's highlight, a posthumous duet that niftily quotes Buck's great country instrumental "Buckaroo," then retools his 1964 song "Hello Trouble" on its way to completing a latter-day recording its composer never finished.

Country radio will want to jump all over "Start a Band," a duet with Keith Urban channeling the joy of strumming in the company of like-minded buds, but only true guitar geeks will be able to sort out who's playing what on "Cluster Pluck." It's a six-stringed summit meeting among Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner.

--Randy Lewis

Brad Paisley
"Play"
Arista Nashville
Three and a half stars

More music awards! Brad Paisley leads ACM nominations

Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music unveiled the nominations for its award show today. Leading the pack is Brad Paisley, who scored six nods, including entertainer of the year. The ACM Awards ceremony will be broadcast live for the East Coast on April 5 on CBS.

Paisley is also nominated for top male vocalist, and two of his nods stem from the single "Waitin' on a Woman," which was re-recorded for his 2007 album "5th Gear." He won twice at this year's Grammys -- best male country vocal performance for "Letter to Me" and best country instrumental performance for "Cluster Pluck."

In the entertainer of the year field, Paisley will vie for the trophy with last year's winner Kenny Chesney, as well as George Strait, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.

Underwood accomplished a rare feat by scoring an entertainer of the year nomination. If she wins, according to the ACM, she'll be only the seventh female to take the top honors. Not since the Dixie Chicks won in 2000 has a woman taken home entertainer of the year.

Underwood is also the first woman since 2000 to even get nominated for entertainer of the year, when, in addition to the Chicks, Faith Hill was nominated.

Elsewhere, former Trick Pony vocalist Heidi Newfield scored scored five nods. She'll compete for top female vocalist with Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Underwood and Lee Ann Womack. Newfield released her solo debut, "What Am I Waiting For," last August.

George Strait and Jamey Johnson received four nominations apiece. Johnson is nominated for the first time as an artist (he won in 2006 for writing Strait's "Give It Away"), and is up for top new male vocalist, as well as single record of the year and song of the year for his hit "In Color."

Chesney has won the top prize four years running. Last year, there was a mini-controversy  when Chesney took issue with the fact that the ACMs opened up voting on entertainer of the year to fans. After the awards he was quoted as saying, "They took it from what the award really represents into a sweepstakes to see who can push people's buttons the hardest on the Internet."

His complaints didn't inspire any change. The entertainer of the year award will again be open for online voting, and fans will be able to text in their votes via phone during the broadcast.

Additionally, the three awards for new artists -- top new female vocalist, top new male vocalist and top new vocal duo -- will also be open for online voting. And here's where you need to pay attention: For the new-artist categories, fan voting begins here Feb. 13, and continues through March 3. The winners in each category will be announced March 9, and then compete in a new category, top new artist. A list of artist nominations can be found after the jump.

- Todd Martens

Photo: Brad Paisley at the Grammy Awards. Credit: Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times

Brad Paisley might be one of contemporary country's master wordsmiths, but on his fifth album, he hardly says a word. With "Play," a largely instrumental collection, Paisley shows off his jaw-dropping musical chops. Despite the fret board fireworks, this is an honest love letter to the art of making music.

Paisley covers an impressively broad stylistic range that includes the ghost-surfers-in-the-sky vibe of "Turf's Up," the hard Texas blues of "Playing With Fire" and the sweet balladry of "Kim," a wordless love song for his wife. He might be out of his league vocally in his duet with B.B. King on one of the blues great's signature tunes; both still manage to "Let the Good Times Roll" anyway.

He also offers up salutes to guitar hero Les Paul and one of his own mentors, Buck Owens. The pairing with Owens might be the album's highlight, a posthumous duet that niftily quotes Buck's great country instrumental "Buckaroo," then retools his 1964 song "Hello Trouble" on its way to completing a latter-day recording its composer never finished.

Country radio will want to jump all over "Start a Band," a duet with Keith Urban channeling the joy of strumming in the company of like-minded buds, but only true guitar geeks will be able to sort out who's playing what on "Cluster Pluck." It's a six-stringed summit meeting among Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner.

--Randy Lewis

Brad Paisley
"Play"
Arista Nashville
Three and a half stars

Album review: Brad Paisley's 'Play'

Brad Paisley might be one of contemporary country's master wordsmiths, but on his fifth album, he hardly says a word. With "Play," a largely instrumental collection, Paisley shows off his jaw-dropping musical chops. Despite the fret board fireworks, this is an honest love letter to the art of making music.

Paisley covers an impressively broad stylistic range that includes the ghost-surfers-in-the-sky vibe of "Turf's Up," the hard Texas blues of "Playing With Fire" and the sweet balladry of "Kim," a wordless love song for his wife. He might be out of his league vocally in his duet with B.B. King on one of the blues great's signature tunes; both still manage to "Let the Good Times Roll" anyway.

He also offers up salutes to guitar hero Les Paul and one of his own mentors, Buck Owens. The pairing with Owens might be the album's highlight, a posthumous duet that niftily quotes Buck's great country instrumental "Buckaroo," then retools his 1964 song "Hello Trouble" on its way to completing a latter-day recording its composer never finished.

Country radio will want to jump all over "Start a Band," a duet with Keith Urban channeling the joy of strumming in the company of like-minded buds, but only true guitar geeks will be able to sort out who's playing what on "Cluster Pluck." It's a six-stringed summit meeting among Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner.

--Randy Lewis

Brad Paisley
"Play"
Arista Nashville
Three and a half stars