Brad Paisley will embark on his This Truck Still Works Tour in May, joined by Walker Hayes, along with three relative newcomers: Alexandra Kay, Avery Anna and Mae Estes. Paisley could easily have his pick of artists to join him on the road. Instead, Paisley is passing the proverbial torch along, the way one artist -- Alan Jackson -- did for him, when he was just starting out.
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"I remember that first tour, it was Alan Jackson for me in the beginning," Paisley tells Country Now. "I was new, and I only did a few songs, and it was way early in the set. And it's a challenge, first of all, because half the people aren't in their seat yet, but it's part of the process."
The Grand Ole Opry member knows that for the three rising stars, they still have a lot to learn, which is why Paisley is glad he gets to give them experience by being on the road with him.
"We always try to make sure everybody ... I want them to say, 'No one ever treated us that well again,'" he says.
Brad Paisley's This Truck Still Works Tour
Paisley has a Top 40 hit with "Truck Still Works," from a forthcoming new album. He will likely perform some of his new songs, along with some that fans might not have heard from him in a long, long time.
"I think it's whatever fits the mood," Paisley hints. "It's a summer tour. A lot of it is outside. There are certain things that are just perfect for that. I might dust off a couple album cuts that need to be replayed. There's songs that I haven't done in a long time that I think it'd be fun to do."
Paisley will perform one of his classic hits, "Whiskey Lullaby," joined by one of his opening acts each night.
"Some cities, all of them, the litmus test is always, 'Hey, would you sing 'Whiskey Lullaby?'" Paisley reveals. "And so usually they do. So you'll get to hear three different variations of that at some point. But I think they're all really talented and it's going to be fun."
