Jewel Opening For Brad Paisley

Seems Country Music star Brad Paisley is as good at attracting great opening acts as he is cranking out Country Music hits.

Pop turned Country Music star Jewel says she’ll be opening for Brad Paisley for a concert tour this summer, set to kick off June 11 in Albuquerque, N.M., according to Billboard.

Jewel is set to release her first Country album, "Perfectly Clear," on June 3. The album’s first single, "Strong Woman," peaked at No. 13 on the Hot Country Songs chart, but Jewel notes that Paisley invited her to tour with him "before my song went Top 20, which is really nice of him." Jewel told the trade publication with her track record, she didn't necessarily have to submit to 45-minute opening sets, but says, "I really look at this as a building kind of thing. I want to show that I'm serious about this [country] thing, and I'm willing to pay my dues. "I think my fans are going to like Brad because he's a songwriter and a musician; my fans like the real deal. And I think his fans are going to like me. I think it's a great fit, audience-wise.... I'm expecting it to be a lot of fun."

Jewel says she's been a country music fan and has written country songs since she was a child, growing up on a ranch near Homer, Alaska, with a father who was "a cowboy listening to very traditional country music." She says of her previous, pop-oriented albums that producers often “took the twang out of my song arrangements or melodic structures," and adds that she is looking forward to having a chance to put those elements back into her music. "I have a lot of songs I thought would've been great on country radio, especially as country radio has opened up as a format and pop has narrowed," explains Jewel. Jewel is slated to join Paisley for 36 dates, with the tour concluding Oct. 18 in Selma, Texas.