Brad Paisley has just received another career accolade. The Grand Ole Opry member was inducted into the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s prestigious Star Trail of Fame on Saturday, March 18. The honor came ahead of his performance in front of a sold-out crowd of 74,577 people, as part of his performance at RodeoHouston, where he performed for the 15th time.
Paisley is the tenth artist inducted into the Star Trail of Fame, joining an elite list of artists that includes Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Selena and more.
“RodeoHouston has invested in this show, in a way that I’ve never seen,” Paisley says. “I can’t even tell you what it means. The names up there are absolutely staggering. And that’s what’s crazy, you see Selena, Elvis, Roy Rogers …and then some guy that nobody knows.”
“We are so grateful for Brad’s continuous support of the show and his overall impact on our community,” adds Chris Boleman, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president and CEO. “We are thrilled that Brad Paisley will now be a permanent part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo with a place on the Star Trail of Fame.”
Paisley joined an impressive list of artists performing at this year’s RodeoHouston, including Cody Johnson, Walker Hayes, the Zac Brown Band, Lauren Daigle, Luke Combs, New Kids on the Block, Kenny Chesney, Ashley McBryde and more. The event concluded with a Luke Bryan performance on Sunday, March 19.
After spending his entire career on Arista Records, Paisley announced earlier this year that he had made the move to Universal Music Group. The decision came in large part because of label’s chairman and CEO, Mike Dungan, as well as the label’s president, Cindy Mabe.
“There were two people that should get the credit that you even know my name – Mike Dungan and Cindy Mabe,” Paisley shares. “I ran into Mike at the fishing department at Walmart after having met with several labels and he talked me into signing my first deal with Arista. They assigned this woman named Cindy Mabe to me –– we graduated the same day at Belmont. I got to work with her on my first few albums and now I get to work with her at UMG,
“Cindy’s a genius and terrific human being,” he continues. “She heard what I was up to with the new music, and she pointed me further into the direction I was headed. I’ve never had this kind of enthusiasm and empowerment. She said, ‘Make music that matters.’ It’s an amazing thing to work with Mike and Cindy again. It’s great to know they believe in this music as much as I do.”
The West Virginia native just released “Same Here” from his forthcoming new project, featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“‘Same Here’ with President Zelenskyy is one of the pieces of this album that represents so much a part of my journey from West Virginia to now,” Paisley shares. “One of the prevailing themes on this album is freedom. That’s something I truly believe in, and think is our most precious gift as Americans. The song is grounded in observing life in the United States, then to people from other countries who speak different languages and to one across the ocean that’s at war. We start to realize how similar we all are.”
Proceeds from “Same Here” will go to UNITED24, for their Rebuild Ukraine program, created by President Zelenskyy as the main venue for collecting charitable donations to rebuild and restore homes damaged by the current war. Paisley was recently named an ambassador for UNITED24.
Find music and tour dates at BradPaisley.com.