Brad Paisley celebrated Independence Day in Nashville on Lower Broadway for a Fourth Of July celebration dubbed Let Freedom Sing!.
The record-breaking event drew over 350,000 fans to the downtown area, according to Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. The event marked the city’s first major event since the global health crisis cancelled most, if not all, live entertainment for over a year.
Paisley gave an electrifying 90-minute performance, and even invited some friends to join him, including guitarist Joe Bonamassa and country superstar Kelsea Ballerini. Bonamassa joined Paisley for a mid-set collaboration of “Old Alabama” and a fiery rendition of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride and Joy.”
“Welcome to the stage one of the greatest guitars in the entire world, a Nashville resident himself, Joe Bonamassa,” Paisley said as he welcomed the iconic guitarist to the stage. Watch their collaborative performance in the below video at the 31:50 mark.
“This is the first time we’ve ever played together,” Paisley added. “We’ve never practiced or anything, it’s unbelievable. … I’m so thrilled to finally get schooled by you.”
While Ballerini joined the singer for a performance of her original song, “Hole In The Bottle,” which included a stunning guitar solo, even Ballerini was impressed.
“Y’all ready to go nuts? Please welcome the amazing future of country music, Kelsea Ballerini,” Paisley said, welcoming Ballerini to the stage to perform her chart-topping hit single. Later adding, “Kelsea Ballerini everybody, she’s unbelievable.”
Ballerini gushed over Paisley’s “Hole In The Bottle” guitar solo via her Instagram stories.
“Thank you SO much for letting me come jam, Brad Paisley, what a showwww,” Ballerini also shared in her Instagram stories.
Watch Ballerini and Paisley’s performance of “Hole In The Bottle” below.
Additionally, the country hitmaker also shared that he is so happy to see Nashville returning to normal after all that the city has been through over the course of the last year, but he knows that they are celebrating as the city will get through the mess better than ever.
“What an amazing sight to see this street full of people — to see Nashville coming back,” Paisley said during the concert. “This town was hit harder than anywhere. Tornados, floods, a [global health crisis] to a bomb, we have weathered. We are here to celebrate the fact we are going to get through this better than ever.”
Paisley wrapped up his 22-song set with an explosive encore of “Alcohol,” alongside guitarist Bonamassa.
“July 4, 2021, I’m never gonna forget where I was,” Paisley concluded the star-studded celebration before a grand finale fireworks display. “I had been holding out hope in my mind that this would happen and here we are. I can’t believe it. Thank you for this memory.”
