A little over 17 years ago, Brad Paisley was detained outside of Nashville International Airport after landing on his jet at 3:15 a.m.
If his previous criminal record isn’t ringing a bell for you, it’s probably because the charges were on account of “excessive noodling.” A crime so fitting that Paisley admitted he was, in fact, guilty for his heavy guitar shredding.
Taking a trip down memory lane in honor of April Fools’ Day, this wild prank was all thanks to fellow touring mate and “Who Will Save Your Soul” singer, Jewel. The two hit the road together in 2008 for over 36 stops on the Paisley Party tour during Jewel’s promotion of her seventh studio album, branching from pop/rock to country, Perfectly Clear.
Touring is a lot like living with college roommates, where artists are constantly together, traveling and performing side by side, which naturally leads to some inevitable tomfoolery– and this situation was no different. The two had an ongoing prank war, filled with harmless, silly antics both on and off the stage.
The last night of the tour, Jewel orchestrated the ultimate finisher to their playful feud, which she detailed in a vlog filmed at the San Antonio show. “This whole show’s gonna finish, Brad’s gonna shake my hand and say ‘thanks for being a good sport,’ and I’m gonna go “Mhm, you really got me brad…really bad and then he’s gonna get on his private plane like a rockstar and fly up to Nashville…and there will be cops to greet him.”
Sure enough, on that fateful October 18, 2009, night, Paisley’s jet landed on the air strip at 3:15 a.m., and promptly, a police officer stepped on board the plane and arrested Paisley. Not only did the two cops put him into handcuffs, but they let him know they had warrants for him in both Texas and Tennessee– at which Paisley smiled and nodded along like a good (yet very confused) sport.
Paisley exclaimed,“I’ve never done anything wrong in my life,” yet calmly cooperated with the whole act, allowing them to pop him in the back of their vehicle. Finally, the one officer revealed, “We have a Miss Jewel Murray that has filed 42 charges against you in the state of Texas and Tennessee for excessive noodling.”
Paisley chuckled at the encounter, telling the fake news crew after, “This is absolutely as good as it gets, this is the best I’ve ever been had.” If there’s one “allegation” you could make about the straight-laced country star, it’s his outstanding guitar skills. So despite the early-morning panic of being greeted by law enforcement, the “charges” ended up feeling more like a compliment.
He also hilariously added, “Might be my first time in handcuffs, again uh, no comment.” This antic might have also been the inspiration behind the pranksters‘ 2025 on-stage arrest, where he got the help from the Bridgeport Conneticut police to surround him mid-performance. Of course, he was let off the hook thanks to some bribery with free guitar picks for each officer.