Taylor Swift, 36, Uses Her Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction to Reveal She Has Been Estranged From Brad Paisley Since 2007 — After He Filled Her Tour Bus With Live Crickets
Taylor Swift, 36, became the youngest artist inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Oct. 27 2026, Published 10:14 a.m. ET
Taylor Swift joked that she and Brad Paisley had been "estranged" since 2007 after the country star filled her tour bus with thousands of live crickets during a tour prank.
Swift revisited the story Monday, Oct. 26, while accepting her induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame at Nashville's Music City Center.
Paisley, who invited Swift to open his 2007 Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour when she was 17, inducted her at the ceremony.
"We've been estranged since 2007," Swift joked before explaining why she had supposedly held a grudge against her former tourmate.
"He took a tour prank too far, filled my entire tour bus with live crickets, thousands of them," she said, according to Rolling Stone. "For months I couldn't sleep. All night I considered buying a pet lizard to eradicate the problem."
Swift made clear the feud was never serious. After praising Paisley's introduction, she joked that they could "let bygones be bygones," according to coverage of the ceremony.
What Happened During The Tour?
Paisley filled Swift's tour bus with thousands of live crickets at the end of their 2007 tour.
Swift was still a teenager when Paisley brought her on the road in 2007, making the prank a memorable chapter from the early part of her career.
Paisley later joked during his induction speech that Swift had effectively gone to "Brad Paisley High School" while traveling with him as a young performer.
Nearly two decades later, the cricket story became part of a much bigger moment for Swift.
Paisley was the one presenting her with the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame honor, underscoring how the two musicians' professional connection has lasted since the beginning of her career.
Swift's induction came just two days after the 20th anniversary of her self-titled debut album, which was released Oct. 24, 2006. She was 16 at the time.
Swift Becomes Youngest Hall Of Fame Inductee
Swift said Paisley's moving introduction convinced her to end their jokingly described 19-year feud.
At 36, Swift became the youngest-ever inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. She entered the Hall in the Contemporary Songwriter/Artist category as part of its 2026 class.
During her acceptance speech, Swift reflected on how Nashville shaped her as a songwriter and credited the city's songwriting community with helping guide her during her formative years.
"Songwriters, although they possess a superhuman ability to understand and interpret the human condition and like insane levels of empathy, they are just people too," Swift said. She added that those writers "raised me and guided me through my formative years."
The honor was Swift's second major songwriting Hall of Fame induction of 2026. She was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York in June, becoming the youngest woman ever to receive that honor.
No Bad Blood Between Swift And Paisley
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There is little evidence of any real bad blood between Swift and Paisley. Paisley and his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, attended Swift and Travis Kelce's July 3 wedding in New York City.
In a July interview with The Associated Press, Paisley described the wedding as "one of the least pretentious weddings that I've ever seen or ever will see." He also said being invited felt like a personal thank-you from Swift.
Swift has also supported The Store, the Nashville nonprofit founded by Paisley and Williams-Paisley.
In January, the organization thanked Swift for a "generous gift" that helped it continue providing groceries to families experiencing food insecurity across Middle Tennessee.
The friendship was also reflected in Swift and Kelce's support for The Store ahead of their wedding, when the couple made a larger donation to the organization.
