He wears a Stetson and has the country voice of an angel (or should that be cowboy?), but last night when Brad Paisley took to the stage at London's premier venue, the 02, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Especially when Rolling Stones hero Ronnie Wood stunned fans as he joined Brad on stage for the encore.
But, let's start at the beginning. He kicked off with Mud On The Tires and Welcome To The Future and the audience seemed in awe already. Highlights included Brad treating his Brit audience to the much-loved Waiting On A Woman and Camouflage. For the latter, Brad took to the centre of the arena to turn his music acoustic. The crowd went wild and as he walked back through to the front, there wasn't a lack of hands reaching out to touch the star. It was truly thrilling to witness. And thus began an exciting delve into Brad's ninth album, This is Country Music.
Through an instrumental part, a western animation lit up the big screens - showing Brad's crew had been hard at work at many things, not just staging. And then came the moment with Ronnie. The Stones legend filled up the stage with his presence for the encore - and proceeded to join Brad for a bit of the blues. Cue Let The Good Times Roll.
Finally, once the sheer madness and exhilaration of Ronnie's arrival had calmed (slightly), Brad ended the night with his classic Alcohol. Here he was joined by support act Darius Rucker. "That blew me away" whispered the girl next to us. She wasn't wrong - whoever thought country music could blow your mind? In this case, it well and truly did.
Full setlist:
Mud On The Tires Welcome To The Future Ticks She's Everything Celebrity Long Sermon Working On a Tan This Is Country Music I'm Still A Guy Waitin' On A Woman When I Get Where I'm Going Camouflage The Cigar Song Whiskey Lullaby I'm Gonna Miss Her Eastwood Online American Saturday Night Then Water Old Alabama Let The Good Times Roll (With Ronnie Wood) Alcohol (With Ronnie Wood and Darius Rucker)
