Brad Paisley to release new effort on Election Day

Come Election Day, November 4, West Virginia may be the pivotal state as reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, two-time ACM Top Male Vocalist, and West Virginia native Brad Paisley releases his new album, Play. Currently on the road with his Paisley Party Tour, the man who won his first GRAMMY Award earlier this year for Best Country Instrumental Performance is running on a platform of “more music, less talk” with Play, which promises to increase axes across the board, alongside some of the guitar world’s great heroes.

A 15-track collection, with 11 written or co-written by Paisley, Play delivers an all-out guitar celebration with only four vocal tracks which feature Paisley singing and picking with guitar titans B.B. King, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, and the late Buck Owens.

The legendary King gets joyfully bluesy with Brad, as B.B. and B.P. “Let the Good Times Roll,” while Urban and Paisley dish out the playful “Start a Band.”

“More Than Just This Song,” written by Paisley and Wariner, is a touching tribute to those first guitar heroes who gave them their start on the six-string. Paisley also salutes a friend and hero, the late Buck Owens, joining Buck on “Come on In,” an Owens-penned-and-recorded track that had remained previously unfinished.

Among other selections are the gently jazzy swing of “Les Is More,” a salute to the great Les Paul; the lilting beauty of “Kim” and the toe-tapping energy of “Huckleberry Jam,” named for Paisley’s wife and son, respectively; and the continuation of a Paisley album tradition, with the inclusion of a gospel classic, this time a beautifully rendered acoustic performance of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

Fans will also enjoy the return of friend, collaborator, and elder statesman “Little” Jimmy Dickens, who plays “Grandpa Paisley” in the comic “Pre-Cluster Cluster Pluck Prequel (Prelude),” which sets the stage for the all-star guitar jam, “Cluster Pluck,” featuring guests James Burton, Vince Gill, John Jorgensen, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert, and Steve Wariner.

Throughout his career, Paisley has earned well-deserved acclaim not only for his skills as a singer and songwriter, but also as a virtuoso guitarist – featured on past covers of Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar, among others.

Swept into the public eye with the success of his 1999 debut album, Paisley has tallied sales of more than ten million albums, demonstrating his consistent popularity with the electorate. He has steadfastly continued to lead, engage, and entertain the nation with a proven track record of eleven #1 singles, addressing such important issues as domestic life (“I’m Gonna Miss Her” [The Fishin’ Song]), foreign policy (“The World”), and woodland safety (“Ticks”). During his tenure, he has also endorsed or introduced a number of important Bills, including Bill Shatner and Bill Anderson.