Brad Paisley will perform to over 300,000 fans live and in person this Sunday night for July 4th, as he performs a free concert to celebrate the holidays. Before the show, Paisley joined NBC Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist for an episode aired on July 4, in which he discussed his return to the stage and his post-pandemic musical projects.
“I think when you take something off for a year and a half, you could basically go in there, they could do a local community theater production of Yankee Doodle Dandy and they’d have 300,000 people there, ”Paisley joked of artists and fans’ enthusiasm for live entertainment, after such a long hiatus from in-person shows.
“It’s so amazing to have the miracle of getting the virus under control somehow in this country. We can kind of get back together,” recalls the singer.
It has been a difficult and painful year and a half all over the world, and the country music community has been far from immune from this time of mourning. Not only have many been financially affected by COVID-19, but several legendary artists have lost their lives due to the disease, Paisley points out, including Charley Pride, John Prine and Joe Diffie. Meanwhile, the industry has lost other icons – Charlie Daniels and Kenny Rogers, for example – and fans have been unable to round them up and mourn them due to social distancing protocols.
Country music has been affected. It has been affected difficult“Paisley points out.” … It’s hard to deal properly and grieve. “
Now, with the pandemic restrictions lifted and artists returning to the stage, Paisley says his latest song, “City of Music,” is a celebration of what makes Nashville such an amazing place to live and work.
“I wrote this with Lee Miller and Ross Copperman on Zoom. We were never in the same room while writing,” Paisley reveals. “The nightlife that goes through this wall, and the crazy and amazing mecca that [Nashville] is, that destination for pilgrims. I really wanted to celebrate him, and I wanted him to feel musically what it feels like. “
After taking a year off due to the pandemic, this year’s Nashville July 4 show will have the largest fireworks show in the event’s 37-year history.
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