Following his release of “Off Road” back in February, Brad Paisley has dropped his second single of the year priming fans for his return to touring in June.
The three-time Grammy-winning artist, 14-time Academy of Country Music award-winner, and two-time American Music Award-winner dropped his new single “City of Music” today. Paisley teased the release to fans via social media earlier this week with an acoustic clip of what we now know to be part of the chorus, and while it was wonderful, it was a bit misleading. The clip made it seem as though the song might be in a similar vein to his ballads like Then. As it turns out, it is more in line with anthems like American Friday Night
The song celebrates Nashville, Tennessee as “The City of Music” through the eyes of a pair of hopeful artists who make their way to Nashville to shoot their shot. First listeners are introduced to the “karaoke queen of Tyler, Texas” who has a day job selling cowboy boots. Then there’s the “second-string quarterback junior transfer learning to play guitar.” The pair meet at her workplace and end up on a date turned songwriting session, starting a partnership that may last “forever, maybe a week or two.”
Co-written by Paisley, Lee Thomas Miller, and Ross Copperman, the lyrics with the insider knowledge they have of Nashville dropping bits and pieces of the stories they’ve seen and lessons they’ve learned. The chorus reminds those who want to succeed in the “City of Music” to simply “Tell the truth, play some chords / Pay your dues and praise the Lord.” They even suggest, “Tell the bouncer that you’re with the band in the City of Music.”
If you have not had the chance to check out the song yet, you can find it here.
Also, if you have heard “City of Music” and “Off Road” but those two songs are not enough to tide over your Brad Paisley fill for the year, don’t worry. Paisley has teased that he has been in the studio a lot recently, so this will likely not be the last new music fans hear from him this year.
