Jewel’s Haggard Past Meets Paisley Present

March 6, 2008 -- Brad Paisley announced his 2008 tour, Hershey’s Presents The Paisley Party with special guests Jewel, Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough last night during his performance at the Music City JAM in Nashville. Kick-off date for the current 42-date tour is scheduled for June 11 in Albuquerque, NM. Check www.bradpaisley.com for tour dates. Photo (l-r): Jewel, Paisley, Hough, Wicks

Aug. 19, 2008 — When Brad Paisley invited Jewel to take the No. 2 slot on his Paisley Party Tour, she knew it was a great opportunity for her to show off her country roots to a select audience. What she didn’t know was that it would also be a chance to link one of the genre’s greatest singer-songwriters with one of its current top talents.

But that’s just what happened when Brad asked Jewel a few weeks ago if she wouldn’t mind working up a duet on a song made famous by a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

"I’ve been a huge Merle Haggard fan since I was a kid," Jewel says. "He was a god in our household, so when he asked me to sing ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ and ‘Silver Wings’ for his album of number ones years ago I was, of course, thrilled. When I got out on tour, Brad told me he saw Merle and I sing ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ back in 1999 at the CMAs and asked if I would like to sing it with him during his set. Of course, I was excited and said yes."

Concert guest moments have an off-the-cuff feel to them, and even though the pairing of Brad and Jewel has become a part of the tour’s routine, they’ve maintained that impromptu vibe by not overdoing it.

"We never really practiced," Jewel notes. "We just ran it through once quickly before he went on, and we have pretty much just been trying to perfect it every night when we sing it."

The GAC-sponsored tour, which also features Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough, chugs through the Midwest this coming weekend. The Paisley Party checks in at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul on Friday and takes a spin in Chicago on Saturday.