Brad Paisley knows he owes one to Alan Jackson for helping him along on his journey to stardom. It’s why he’s so happy to do it for country music’s new crop, too.
In May, Paisley — who’s been a genre staple for the better part of a quarter of a century now — will set out on a new tour, the 2025 Truck Still Works World Tour. He’s armed himself with some quality opening acts who will more or less take turns in the opening slot each night.
Relative newcomers (to Paisley’s resume, anyway) Walker Hayes, Alexandra Kay, Avery Anna, Dylan Scott and Mae Estes have signed on for the run, and Paisley is leaning into his role as a guru. He knows how to entertain an audience, and he knows how to treat his openers and crew. He learned from the best: Jackson.
“I remember that first tour, it was Alan Jackson for me in the beginning,” Paisley says in a new interview with Country Now, recalling how he was once an opening act himself. “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,” he remembers, “And we always try to make sure everybody … I want them to say, ‘No one ever treated us that well again.'”
It’s anybody’s guess what that will look like, but no previous opening acts have ever had a bad thing to say about Brad Paisley. He’s a man of his word, so he’ll make sure this group is well taken care of.
It’s what Jackson would do.
Paisley’s new tour is named after his song “Truck Still Works.”
- The 2025 Truck Still Works World Tour begins May 21 in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
- He shared 20 new dates for May, June, July and August.
- Tickets for most shows are on sale now at Paisley’s website.
He plans to bring his opening acts onstage to sing the 2004 Alison Krauss duet “Whiskey Lullaby” with him. “So you’ll get to hear three different variations of that at some point,” he explains.
The 25 Best Country Songs of the Last 25 Years (2000-2024)
The best country songs of the last 25 years were felt and heard. Commercial impact was a factor, but emotional impact is what separates these songs from others released in the 2000s.
Technically the century began in 2001, but we reached back to 2000 to summarize this list of top songs. Alan Jackson is the only artist with two songs, but you’ll find 11 Entertainer of the Year winners scattered across a playlist the required several stunning exclusions.
Curious as to why your favorite song missed the cut? Well, there are only 25 spots for the best of 25,000 country song releases. Hard decisions needed to be made!
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
