When it came time to book his opening acts for his Virtual Reality Tour, Brad Paisley took a chance on one of country music’s hottest newcomers, Scotty McCreery. McCreery, who was fresh off his ‘American Idol’ win when he accepted the kind offer, says the experience thus far has been nothing short of amazing.

“Brad is a great guy,” McCreery tells Taste of Country. “He treats his opening acts well and treats the people who work for him well. I haven’t been on any other tours, but I’ve heard horror stories about the headliners not talking to their opening acts and don’t want anything to do with them … they just brush off all their workers and it’s all about them. But Brad, he’s the total opposite.”

Because the ‘Waitin’ on a Woman’ hitmaker welcomed him with open arms, McCreery, 18, has made himself a sponge. The ‘Water Tower Town’ singer is learning how to be a country star by watching everything from the way Paisley performs, right down to how he treats everyone involved with the tour.

“Brad will walk around and eat dinner with anybody,” McCreery says with a smile. “Sometimes, he’ll ask me to come eat dinner or lunch with him. He’s just an all-around good guy. You can talk to him about anything.”

He adds, “That’s how I want to be. I don’t want anybody to feel intimidated before they come talk to me. I want to be open with anybody, kind of like Brad. He’s a good teacher for me. If I’m in school, he’s a great professor.”

Like with most tours — especially those that Paisley is involved with — the road run comes with its share of pranks, and McCreery says both parties have already tested the waters. “There’s been a little bit going on already,” he admits, laughing. “He [Paisley] has those big video boards behind him, so he’ll throw a shot up there with my head on a naked guy’s body or something like that. He’s funny with that. I’ve got him once or twice with little things. We’ll see if I get him again anytime soon!”

McCreery still has the whole summer to come up with a clever way to trick Paisley, as the Virtual Reality Tour continues through early fall. Click here for a full list of dates where the tour will be stopping.

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