‘I’m a little hard to pin down’: country star Brad Paisley becomes unlikely Ukraine advocate

The three-time Grammy winner appeared at the White House to perform his new, pro-Ukraine song - which has a cameo from Zelenskiy

Wearing white cowboy hat, black suit and black tie, country singer and guitar virtuoso Brad Paisley strode on stage in the East Room of the White House before a bipartisan audience.

It was a Saturday night and, fittingly, he began the 40-minute set playing his hit song American Saturday Night - but with an amended lyric. I had to change the second line because it mentioned Russia, and I don't do that any more," he explained.

When Paisley delivered its substitute - There's a Ukrainian flag hanging up behind the bar" - no one applauded louder than Joe Biden in the front row.

It was a moment that illustrated Paisley's engagement with Ukraine's fight for survival and, before a gathering of governors from blue and red states, his efforts to bridge political divides. The 50-year-old from West Virginia, a three-time Grammy winner, describes himself as hard to categorise but optimistic that America can move beyond what has been called a cold civil war.