Brad Paisley is known for being one of country music’s most accomplished guitar players, articulate and thoughtful songwriters, and funniest singers. He also has one of the genre’s biggest hearts. He’ll combine those things on stage at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville on April 13 to benefit his and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s free grocery store called The Store.
Called “Groceries with Dignity, Comedy Without,” Paisley said the night is just like it sounds.
“It’s such an amazing event in terms of the fact that comedy for charity is my favorite way to raise money for anything,” Paisley said. “Most charity events are too long. Most of them are asking a lot of the people that attend. You’re asking for money. You’re asking for time. You usually feed them a badly catered meal. There’s an auction that takes too long. None of that is a part of this. This is literally what we call it: groceries with dignity, comedy without.”
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Groceries with Dignity, Comedy Without
The Store is a nonprofit organization that offers a free, referral-based grocery store to Nashville families with food insecurity. The Paisley’s announced their first location in 2018 and it opened in 2020. Last fall, they revealed plans for their second Store. The new location will be on the campus of TriStar Centennial Medical Center, part of HCA Healthcare, in Nashville.
“We’ll have our obstacles,” Paisley said of opening the second location. “But I feel great that we can get this thing going pretty quick. It was just such a good thing to be able to bring to this town that we love, that is home. We really thought this would take off. And it’s been great to see that it did.”
Paisley describes Groceries with Dignity, Comedy Without as “a roast and comedy night that just so happens that we raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to feed people here.”
The singer annually invites his funniest friends to participate. In past years, comedians, including Nate Bargatze and Kevin Nealon, showed up.
“Everybody’s done this,” Paisley said. “You never know who is going to be there. I host it and tell jokes and sing funny songs. Then I bring up various people who do the same thing, and every year somebody really just slays. It’s always funny. I can’t wait.”
Brad Paisley explains ‘Raining Inside’
Groceries with Dignity, Comedy Without, is the latest development in what is shaping up to be a very busy year for Paisley. On Friday, he and Dawes confronted the mental health crisis in their new song “Raining Inside.” Paisley and the band’s lead singer, Taylor Goldsmith, co-wrote “Raining Inside” with Lee Thomas Miller.
“The song also exists from a standpoint of you can’t really put your finger on what it is that is wrong with you,” Paisley said. “You don’t know what got you in this funk, and I think it’s an epidemic right now. It’s not only the dull sort of normal situations that people are getting depressed about, but there are extremes like (a Nashville publisher who committed suicide) who was here when we wrote this, or Twitch on Ellen.”
Lyrics include: Now I don’t even need a reason| No one’s sick and no one died| No one’s left and no one’s leaving| But it’s raining inside| The bottom’s falling out| It’s raining inside
“It’s an emotional song for me,” Paisley said. “The theme can be taken a lot of ways. I have people who have been through situations in their life that this is where they’re at.”
In addition, Brad Paisley—with direct tour support from Walker Hayes—will start his Truck Still Works World Tour in May.
“I think you can look forward to be attempting to remember how to do this,” Paisley laughed. “It’s going to be fun to really harness the idea of giving people an escape right now. I’m so excited to do this with Walker Hayes. I don’t know him well, but he’s great. I love Walker’s writing. There’s something about it. There’s his thing, and I’ think it is going to lend itself so well. He’s a family guy. He’s a great hang. We’re going to have a blast.”
If You Go:
What: Groceries with Dignity, Comedy without
Date: April 13, 2025
Time: Doors open at 5:15 p.m., and the show starts at 6 p.m.
Venue: Zanies Comedy Club (2025 8th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37204)
Ticket Price: $250 (General Admission) here
(Photo by Shutterstock)
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