See Brad Paisley Sing ‘Dead Flowers’ With the Rolling Stones in Nashville
The Rolling Stones brought their Zip Code Tour to Nashville last night, playing a 20-song set that, in a nod to Music City, showcased some of their more country-leaning fare. “Faraway Eyes,” “Wild Horses” and “Dead Flowers” provided a triple shot of twang, with Mick Jagger, at one point, cheekily donning a cowboy hat, while guitarist Ronnie Wood drew weeping notes from a pedal-steel guitar. For “Dead Flowers,” the band welcomed the night’s opening act Brad Paisley to sit in.
This wasn’t the first time that the “Crushin’ It” singer traded verses with Jagger on the Sticky Fingers gem. During the Stones’ 2013 50 & Counting Tour stop in Philadelphia, Paisley appeared as a special guest. Clearly, Jagger was impressed, tapping the country star to open the band’s 2015 Nashville show. For his part, Paisley rose to the occasion, enlisting a pair of heavyweight specials guests: Carrie Underwood for their duet “Remind Me” and the Eagles’ Joe Walsh for his own “Life’s Been Good,” which segued into “Alcohol.” (Watch Underwood’s appearance below.)
Welcoming Paisley, who wore a Rolling Stones tongue logo T-shirt, back to the stage for “Dead Flowers,” Jagger quipped, “Nice shirt, Brad.” In turn, Paisley tried to help the immortal frontman, who sprinted about the stage on one of Nashville’s soupiest nights, perfect his “Hi, y’all.” (Jagger later posted a photo of him and Paisley at soundcheck from earlier in the day, along with a shot of himself posing in front of Nashville’s Parthenon replica — again in a cowboy hat.)
Paisley himself got a bit of help from Keith Richards. When the song’s first chorus came in, he tried sharing a microphone with the still irascible guitarist, who shooed him away to a mic stand set up at the front of the stage. Richards seemed to sing more harmony vocals than on past tours last night, lending his raspy growl to “Faraway Eyes,” “Wild Horses” and “Dead Flowers,” before taking his own turn in the spotlight with back-to-back rockers “Before They Make Me Run” and “Happy.”
The Rolling Stones perform in Pittsburgh this Saturday, while Paisley is set to appear at the Windy City Lake Shake in Chicago that same night.