Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley recall 2007 prank at Songwriters Hall of Fame

Taylor Swift used her Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction on Monday night to joke about a prank Brad Paisley played on her nearly two decades ago, when he filled her tour bus with thousands of crickets.

The 2007 stunt was the punchline of a warm evening at the Music City Center in Nashville on 26 October, where Swift was honoured alongside Lyle Lovett, Shawn Camp, Lee Thomas Miller, Bruce Channel and the late J.I. Allison, who died in 2022. 

Paisley introduced Swift, calling her “the voice of a generation”. 

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He reminded the room that he was one of the first major artists to take her on tour after her debut album, quipping that she “went to Brad Paisley High School” when she toured with him at 17.

Swift took the teasing in her stride. 

Recalling the cricket prank, she said: “For months I couldn’t sleep. Just chirp, chirp, chirp.” 

The gag also gave her a playful way to describe the pair as “estranged” for the 19 years since, a joke that fans and entertainment outlets picked up on quickly.

The tone then turned more reflective. 

Swift, who signed her first publishing deal in Nashville at 14, said she was “incredibly honoured” to join what she called a “sacred club”. 

She spoke about her songwriting roots, saying her mother drove her from high school to a Music Row publishing house, where she worked with co-writer Liz Rose. 

She later met producer Nathan Chapman, who produced her 2006 self-titled debut album. 

Swift also credited the fundamentals she learned writing songs in Nashville with helping her move between genres, and said songwriting was always her passion even if it could not be her career.

Lainey Wilson performed a bluegrass version of Love Story, with fiddle and upright bass, as part of the tributes. George Strait received the Career Maker Award.

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