On Friday, country superstar Brad Paisley graced Columbia with his musical talents and stunning good looks when he performed for the opening of the university’s brand new alumni center.
Presented by My Carolina Alumni Center, Paisley’s concert offered a much-needed morale boost for the Columbia community following the flooding. The concert, which was also advertised as an extra homecoming activity, gave students the chance to apply to win a wristband, which offered them free access to Paisley's show.
Located at 900 Senate St. in the Vista, the 60,000-square-foot alumni center was completed in August of 2015. With indoor and outdoor space, the 26-million-dollar project certainly got the opening it deserved with Paisley taking over the space Friday evening.
Columbia is just one of many universities fortunate enough to have landed a spot on Paisley's Country Nation College Tour.The tour kicked off on September 6 in Blacksburg, Virginia on the Virginia Tech University campus. Paisley will be touring various colleges for most of the fall season, including the University of Georgia, Baylor University and Florida State.
Eric Paslay, an upcoming country artist best known for his smash hits “Friday Night” and “Song About A Girl,” which got the crowd warmed up at 7:30 p.m. Paslay showed off his talents and excited the crowd when he played his most recent single, “High Class” — a track released in September of 2015 that is hopefully a sweet taste of Paslay’s next album, which is set to be released later this year.
After Paslay completed his set, the crowd was treated with an appearance by beloved mascot Cocky as well as the school’s cheerleading team. Cocky, with help from the cheerleaders, took over the stage and conducted some classic Gamecock football cheers to get the crowd ready for the headliner.
At 8:30 p.m., Paisley's appearance was met with excited screams of delight from students and alumni alike. He started off strong and got the crowd going with his summer hit, “Crushin It," and proved that, like the lyrics of the song say, he is without a doubt the “king of getting unwound.”
Anna Hanley, a sophomore fashion merchandising major, attended the free concert with a few of her Chi Omega sorority sisters. Hanley spoke animatedly of her experience following Paisley’s set.
“He was super cool," Hanley said. "I loved how he kept going from one song and the way he switched guitars between every song was awesome and kept it upbeat, but I think my favorite part was when he facetimed with (pre-recorded) Carrie Underwood for 'Remind Me.'"