Brad Paisley Talks Donkey Rescue and Free Groceries on ‘Ellen’
The clever country singer has been spending his down time giving back.
Brad Paisley appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today (October 6), chatting with his host about everything from the last concert he played this spring to running a “donkey rescue” at his farm.
Appearing on the show via video call, the hit maker first weighed in on what it was like to watch the world shut down due to COVID-19. He had a unique view, Paisley explains, because he was in Canada and got to play one last show — even after all U.S. concerts were cancelled.
“I felt like we got one past the goalie,” Paisley said, sneaking a clever hockey reference in for good measure. “It was really, really crazy to play one more show knowing that everything else was shut down. I was able really soak it in with that audience, and I think we all knew, ‘OK this is it for a long time.'”
The “No I In Beer” singer goes to explain how he spent his summer off — which included adopting donkeys and getting back to nature on his Nashville farm — and also talks about how his latest music video came together with over 200 fans and friends around the world. Then Ellen plays a hilarious clip of Paisley’s dad trying to sing the all-in-this-together anthem, raising doubts about where the award winning vocalist’s talent comes from.
But Paisley and Ellen also took time to highlight some serious good Brad’s been doing through the pandemic, explaining the mission behind his 100-percent free grocery store in Nashville. It’s called The Store and it opened just a few months before coronavirus arrived in the U.S., and since then has helped countless families in need.
“Essentially, the idea is, if you your family is on hard times and you need food, one of the least dignified parts of that process is just accepting a hand out and having no choice,” Brad Paisley said. “So this is a grocery story that we built from the ground up in Nashville, where you can come in if you qualify — let’s say if you lost your job or just don’t have enough money, or you’re elderly and don’t need to be out in these times. You can pick out the food you want, there’s dignity in choice, and it’s free. No one pays for anything, and the idea is eventually they get back on their feet.”
