As protests continue around the country, two upstate NY friends have a simple message of unity: “Relax and have a beer!” Benjamin Smith and Marcus Ellis hung out in Smith’s Pittsford driveway last week with a bunch of beers, encouraging people to come by. Their story spread across the internet, and apparently the whole situation inspired none other than Nationwide Insurance spokesman Brad Paisley.

As Dan Gross reported for Rochester’s WROC-8, Paisley was moved by Smith and Ellis and decided to send them a whole lot more beer. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars’ worth, apparently! In fact, he reportedly cleared out the entirety of AJ’s Beer Warehouse. And then Paisley hung out, via Zoom, with the whole group, meeting the kids and such. Paisley — who, as you might recall, sang a song called “Accidental Racist” — told them he’s listening and has always had “big ears.” The whole thing is positioned as a warm depiction of how everyone can come together etc., etc.

While it’s certainly a nice gesture, I could think of… some other charities Paisley could choose these days. And given that Paisley’s current single is called “No I In Beer” you might find there’s a remarkable bit of … synergy to the whole thing. You can watch the news clip below, and check out Paisley’s new song, which he’d probably like you to do since he was playing it during the news clip about racial harmony.