Video Premiere: Eric Paslay Shares His Stagecoach Glory With Some Special (Little) Guests

When most music fans think of Indio, California, their minds go immediately to the town’s biggest boasting point: The celebrity-studded music festivals that it hosts annually. However, what many don’t realize about Indio is that a considerable percentage of the city’s year-round residents reside in poverty — a side of the community that receives far less press than Coachella or Stagecoach.

Nashville’s Eric Paslay decided to call a little attention to this matter in a heartwarming fashion: During his performance of hit single “High Class” at this year’s Stagecoach country musical festival, the singer hosted a troupe of 20 youngsters from the Indio Boys & Girls Club onstage to dance and strut their stuff for the hordes of fans in attendance.

(photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

In this exclusive video, fans can go behind the scenes of the event, plus see highlights of what was undoubtedly an unforgettable experience for these talented children — as well as Paslay himself.

Paslay, who’s prepping up for an album release (his sophomore release, Dressed in Black, will be out this summer) and a tour with Toby Keith starting in July, took a few minutes out of his schedule to chat with Yahoo Music about the fun-filled event and his interest in the organization, which provides a range of opportunities for community kids in need.

YAHOO MUSIC: Where did you come up with the idea of partnering up with the Boys And Girls Club for Stagecoach?

ERIC PASLAY: I grew up with juvenile diabetes, and I got to be a part of some cool camps and hangs. I always tried to make sure to give kids a shot at doing something cool.

The festival was a pretty big audience for a bunch of first-time performers!

There were like, I don’t know, 60 to 70 thousand people out in the crowd — that’s huge for Luke Bryan [laughs]! And me and my band — we’ve never had 20 kids up onstage. They rocked it. It was fun.

Did you get to go to the Club facilities and socialize with the kids beforehand?

We got to walk around the club in Indio and see all the activities they had for them. [They have a] flight simulator – if kids want to be a pilot – just cool things that let them know they can be anything.

What’s really great about your collaboration is that it raised awareness about the community.

It is an impoverished area, but it’s cool to know that the Boys & Girls Club — if you’re a kid on the street and you want to come in and eat, you’re always welcome, which is awesome.

I imagine all the kids at the Club would have liked to perform, but only 20 got the honor. Did you get any insight on how they were selected? Did they have tryouts?

I honestly don’t know that answer. I know they rehearsed quite a bit, because they were rocking it. I’m sure they all wanted to be there and do it, but one of the ladies I talked to, it sounded like the kids on good behavior and not getting in trouble too much got to be a part of it.

There was a good age range up there too. Everything from teenagers to young'uns….

One little chicken was just leading the whole crowd in front. She was rockin’. She was amazing.

Did you ask the kids if they liked country music?

I didn’t really ask them, “Are y'all country fans?” because I didn’t want them to say, “No, and who are you?” [Laughs] I think they’re hopefully fans of “High Class” now.

I imagine it must have been somewhat challenging to share the stage with so many people — little or not.

I just didn’t move around as much as I usually do. I’m usually spinning around a little more. I was like, “Heck, this is their show. They’re rocking this, I’ll just sing the soundtrack and dance with them a little bit.” It was all great. I was just making sure they had enough room up there and I wasn’t stepping on them when I was rockin’ around.

And you never actually rehearsed with them beforehand, correct?

It was totally impromptu. That was our rehearsal. We had never done it live together — when they threw their hats, I had no clue they were going to do that. I was just like “Whoa! That’s a big gust of wind!” [Laughs] “What the heck just happened? We gotta get them new hats!”

The overall result was certainly charming.

It went off perfectly and was a lot of fun. I was just thinking back to when I was their age, if I got to do something like that, it would have just been mind-blowing. Hopefully it gives them confidence when it comes to getting in front of the classroom, reading a project, or whatever — that they won’t be afraid because they’ve been in front of tens of thousands of people already!

I’m wondering how many of them now have the “performance bug” and want to follow in your footsteps!

The conversations I had with them were about encouraging them to do what they felt they were put here on Earth to do, and don’t worry about being famous. That should be a side effect of doing something you love. I love making music and I love playing it every night, and I love writing it, and I’m grateful that I get paid to do it now. And that people think I’m cooler, and I’m on TV once in a while [laughs]. I have a saying: The richest person in the world still wants more, and the person with the biggest house is still adding on. So do what you love and hopefully you’ll be able to take care of your family. You don’t have to have everything in the world to be happy.

In your official video for “High Class,” you show off quite a bit of fancy footwork yourself. Where did you learn your smooth moves?

I have no clue [laughs]. Growing up in Texas, I learned how to two-step, so at least I know how to do that. Keep a little rhythm and move your feet a little bit. I always say I’m the living room dancer. At parties I like to start shakin’ it for everyone… I’m sure musical theater, growing up, probably didn’t hurt either. As a kid someone pushed me out onstage. And that’s what we got to do for these kids in Indio — just let them be comfortable being vulnerable, because I think the coolest things happen when you’re not afraid of what people are going to think of you.