Brad Paisley recently released his eighth studio album, his chart-topping Wheelhouse collection, which includes not only his current smash, “Beat This Summer,” but also his incredible 21st number-one hit, “Southern Comfort Zone.” And now, as Brad’s playing to packed houses on his new Beat This Summer Tour, he’s also joined by two other hot stars with their own growing collection of big hits, Chris Young and Lee Brice. Asked how he feels about being a more established, longtime hitmaker and seeing new generations of artists like Chris and Lee coming into their own, Brad offers a characteristically tongue-in-cheek perspective. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

• But wait! Brad really can watch Nashville! The ABC series features his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and now Brad will be making a guest appearance as himself, performing with show characters Rayna (Connie Britton) and Deacon (Charles Esten) in Nashville‘s opening-season finale, airing May 22nd. Catch the show next Wednesday at 10pm, ET, on ABC.
• And congrats to the entire cast and crew of Nashville, who got word last week that the show will be coming back for a second season! Very cool!
• If you missed seeing Brad on TV on Wednesday, check out his performance of “Beat This Summer” on ABC’s The View, here, and his visit to CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman for the Wheelhouse album track “Runaway Train.”  Look for it at the 39-minute mark in the May 15th episode, online here.
• In the June issue of Good Housekeeping (on stands now), Brad talks about a few of the reasons that his marriage to Kimberly Williams-Paisley works so well. You can also check it out online on this page of GoodHousekeeping.com.
• Online today is the latest installment of Paisley: On the Record, a six-week webisode series taking a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Brad’s new album, Wheelhouse. Visit Country Now, online here, to see the fourth installment of the series, as well as previous episodes. Last week’s installment talked about the Wheelhouse track “Officially Alive” and the special story behind a guitar used on the song — a guitar that was given to Brad by a terminally ill fan who wanted the instrument to live on in a great way. See the story , and learn more in this feature from earlier this week on Central Pennsylvania’s FOX 43.
• Be sure to come see Brad on his just-launched Beat This Summer Tour! The tour’s opening weekend visited Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis, playing to more than 62,000 fans! Look for a show near you on BradPaisley.com!

  Brad Paisley says that he’s very happy with where he is in his career. (:22)
“Yeah, it’s why I can’t watch Nashville, ‘cause the theme of an aging singer fighting to stay relevant with her record company as (laughs)…it just…that just…that hits just too close to home to me. You know? Nah, I’m not bothered by it, actually, though. I really am – I’m happy with where I’m at.”