Brad Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter from Glen Dale, West Virginia. Brad Paisley has stated that his love of country music stems from his maternal grandfather, who gave Paisley his first guitar at age 8 and taught him how to play. At age 12, Paisley wrote his first song, and by 13 he was the opening act for country singers. Paisley graduated from John Marshall High School in Glen Dale and enrolled at Belmont University (from 1993 to 1995).