Stats
Biography
It's safe to say that music is in Eric Paslay's blood. His grandfather and great uncles had played in a band together called Arnold Schiller & The Moonlight Serenaders in the very same city that Paslay grew up in, Temple, Texas, United States. Taking after them, Paslay started playing the guitar and writing songs when he was 15 years old, moving from his native Texas to Nashville, Tennessee a couple of years afterwards to attend college and to get a music career up and running. After studying everything he could concerning the music industry, he managed to secure an internship with Cal4 Entertainment, which was followed by a publishing deal with the same company, and then a full record deal with EMI Records Nashville in 2011. At around the same time, Paslay's profile was raised dramatically by the release of a song that he wrote called “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” as a single for fellow country singer Jake Owen.
The single was an enormous success, peaking at number one on the country charts. This feat was replicated by Paslay's collaborations with both Love and Theft (“Angel Eyes”) and the Eli Young Band (“Even If It Breaks Your Heart”), and without a solo hit to his name, Paslay was suddenly one of the brightest new hopes in Nashville. Come 2013, the solo hits came coming. “Friday Night” was his first bona-fide hit, hurtling into the top ten of the country singles chart and even charting in the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100. His self-titled debut album followed in February 2014 and ever since then, Paslay has remained one of the most sure bets in modern country music. He's since collaborated with the likes of Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum, and looks set to follow in their footsteps out of Nashville and straight into the spotlight. Highly recommended.
Live reviews
Eric Thomas Paslay embodies what it means to be a true American through and through. Coming from Waco, Texas and making it in the country music scene by signing with EMI Nashville, the singer and songwriter has gained a large following. His fans are extremely loyal to him and always come in with a lot of love and cheer even before he takes the stage.
With the crowd murmuring with anticipation and the lights start to dim down, the band takes the stage first. They pick up their instruments and start playing the first notes of the first song. Then, armed with his guitar, Eric walks from the side of the stage to the front and center to where his microphone awaits him. Even before he finished his first song, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause, to which he replied with a big thank you. For the entire rest of the show everyone was singing along to all of the songs, even to the point where you may or may not have been able to actually hear Eric singing. Every so often when the band had to re-tune their instruments between songs, Eric would talk to the crowd, sometimes just to introduce the song, other times to give a little background on the song.
Country music seems to be ingrained into the DNA of Texans as so many incredible musicians of the genre come out of the state. There is a deep connective history between the southern states of the USA and country music and Eric Paslay seems to really understand this. Although he only has three years worth of experience on the circuit, he performs with a sincerity and professionalism that some take decades to develop.
He is a master of his craft and he clearly cares about his accompanying live band, introducing them throughout the show and allowing them chance to showcase their own prowess. There is great feelings of shared good times up on stage and this translates out to the crowd as Paslay chats to them in his laid back manner. He is constantly thankful of his opportunity to play live and understands through their support and the ticket sales that he continues to do what he loves for a career. He repays the audience with large, invested performances of fan favourites including 'Song About a Girl' and the stomping 'Friday Night'.