Brad Paisley Talks About Freemasonry

Country music signer-songwriter Brad Paisley is a member of Hiram Lodge 7 in Franklin, Tennessee. He's also a Scottish Rite Mason and a Shriner. In this video, he speaks about Masonry and the importance of tolerance. This clip was actually posted online over a year ago, but I forgot to hit the send button on it back then. Someone over on Reddit reminded me about it today, so here it is.

He's also done promotional work for the Shrine and DeMolay.

Brother Paisley was duly constituted a 32° Scottish Rite Mason in the Southern Jurisdiction on October 28, 2006 at the House of the Temple in Washington D.C. According to an article in the Northern Light Magazine, he was in the Washington-Baltimore area as part of a concert tour. Both Brad and his keyboardist Kendall Marcy joined the Scottish Rite that day:

Joining Brad for this ceremony was his father Doug Paisley, 32°, who works with Brad on his tours as man- ager and bus driver. Sovereign Grand Commander Seale, with help from Inspectors General Hoyt Samples, 33°, of Tennessee, C.B. Hall, 33°, of West Virginia, and Hans Wilhelmsen, 33°, of Maryland, presided over the event. In addition to Paisley and Marcy joining the Scottish Rite, country music legend “Little Jimmie” Dickens was honored. He is known for his work on the TV show Hee Haw and on stage at the Grand Ole Opry.

Unfortunately for the proliferation of Internet errors, there are dozens of web links mis-numbering Paisley's Mother lodge as #4 and even #107. Hiram Lodge 7 is noteworthy on its own, even without the worldwide fame of Brother Brad. Originally built in 1823, it was the tallest building west of the Allegheny Mountains. Their building is the only known meeting site between a sitting President and representatives of a Native American Nation, when President Andrew Jackson met with a delegation from the Chickasaw Indians to sign a treaty in 1826. It's listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

If anyone knows just when Brad Paisley became a Master Mason there, I'll be happy to update this post.