After a slew of top ten singles and 2012 gold-selling album, ‘Hard 2 Love,’ country superstar Lee Brice is preparing to release his third studio album, titled ‘I Don’t Dance.’ The singer-songwriter produced or co-produced every song on the 16-song deluxe album which is set to hit stores on September 9th. Lee recently took time out of his busy touring schedule to speak with New England Country Music before his headlining show at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA.
Before discussing his new album, Lee took a minute to tell us about his most recent performance at the infamous Grand Ole Opry. Just last Wednesday, Lee joined Randy Houser and Jerrod Niemann on the iconic stage for a performance this trio of country singers and close friends will never forget. Lee described, “It was amazing. We came to town together, hung out, writing songs, drinking cheap beer, barely getting by and talking about and dreaming about being on the charts together; dreaming about playing places like the Opry together. And we found ourselves standing on the same stage, at the same time, there at the Opry and it took all of our breaths away. It was a really cool moment.”
Last year, Lee was given the opportunity to join Brad Paisley on his Beat This Summer tour and this year he is on Luke Bryan’s That’s My Kinda Night tour. To be a supporting act on two of today’s biggest country stars’ tours is a testament to his hard work and the success that he has had thus far in his career. He tells us, “It’s awesome to tour with friends. Luke has got everything in the world going on right now and he is the example of how everyone should run a tour. He’s a selfless person and makes everyone comfortable and he takes pride in taking care of everyone. That’s the biggest thing. He stays true to himself and that’s maybe the coolest part about it…He’s absolutely the same person he was before all the success.”
Regarding the new album, Lee says that “it’s a step up” from his first two albums and all that he’s learned since he first moved to Nashville. He says, “I’ve been learning. I’ve been learning ever since I got to Nashville. I’ve really learned, especially on these last two records, about producing an album and I’ve learned who I am as an artist. There’s just so much I have learned, so it’s really a step up. Hopefully the songs are just a little big bigger and the production is a little bit better.”
When it comes to his music, Lee likes to have his hand in every little bit of it. From writing, to recording to producing. On this album Lee wrote 10 of the 13 songs, played over 80% of the instruments across the 16 track deluxe album, and produced the album himself. “It’s a challenge. I love challenges. Also, I can make everything my own. Make it be even more me every second.” He tells us that, out of all of his songs, he is most proud of his current single, ‘I Don’t Dance.’ Lee says, “I produced it on my own, I wrote it on a personal thing…” He originally wrote the song for his bride as it was intended to be used for their first dance. After writing the single, he quickly realized that he had a hit. Lee describes himself as a ‘terrible’ dancer and his wife, Sara, as an ‘amazing’ dancer. And if there is one thing that intimidates that 6′ 3″ singer, it’s when his wife asks him to dance. But as the hit song goes, ‘I don’t dance, but here I am, spinning you around and around in circles. It ain’t my style, but I don’t care, I’d do anything with you anywhere…’ This is a song that resonates with a lot of people, it’s a song that is relatable. And that’s what every singer-songwriter hopes for. It’s a song destined for platinum certification and a song destined to have meaning for thousands of people.
At Gillette Stadium, this weekend you will hear Lee sing music from the new album including ‘I Don’t Dance,’ ‘Drinkin’ Class,’ and ‘Good Man.’ He describes ‘Good Man’ as the song that he currently enjoys performing the most as it is ‘challenging and a lot of fun to perform.’ But there is one song on the album that you probably will not hear and that is a song called ‘Panama City.’ This is the song that he is most excited for people to hear. He told us, “I first heard it ten years ago, and I wanted to record it then. Now that I had the opportunity to record what I wanted to, I had to record it. It’s just one of the best songs that I’ve ever heard and it’s actually live. Live recording, live vocals, everything was done at the same time, around the piano. Nothing was touched or edited. It’s just strictly what we did that day. That is what I am proud of.”
Outside of music, the Sumter, South Carolina native is an avid football fan, especially for his Clemson Tigers whom he actually played for on a football scholarship before sustaining an arm injury. That injury led him to further pursue his music career. He misses football and says that he can’t be more excited for the football season to start in a few weeks. Lee plans to attend a few games down in ‘Death Valley’ this season and he remains close to the Clemson family. He even recently golfed with the President of the University and the head football coach, Dabo Swinney. So his few stops on the current tour at Soldier Field, Heinz Field, Lincoln Financial Field, and of course, Gillette Stadium, could fulfill his dreams in more ways than one- ‘playing’ in a NFL stadium.
Speaking to Lee, it is apparent that he has such a competitive spirit. “Doing it everyday and getting better at it. Paying attention to what you’re doing, especially if it is going to be your craft. Always try to do the best and be my best at what I’m doing. To me, that never stops, just wanting to get better.” From being a division one athlete to sold out shows and stages across the country, Lee Brice won’t let anyone or anything stop him from being the best that he can possibly be.
Don’t miss out on your chance to see Lee this summer in New England! He will be playing at the South Shore Music Circus this Saturday, August 9th and then he will return to the That’s My Kinda Night Tour on Sunday, August 10th with Luke Bryan at Gillette Stadium.
You can pre-order his new album, ‘I Don’t Dance,’ now on iTunes and also on Walmart.com. For more updates on Lee Brice, make sure to check out his website and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
‘I Don’t Dance‘ track list:
1.) ‘I Don’t Dance’
2.) ‘No Better Than This’
3.) ‘Show You Off Tonight’
4.) ‘Always the Only One’
5.) ‘Good Man’
6.) ‘Drinkin’ Class’
7.) ‘That Don’t Sound Like You’
8.) ‘Girls in Bikinis’
9.) ‘Sirens’
10.) ‘Somebody’s Been Drinkin”
11.) ‘The Airport Song’
12.) ‘My Carolina’
13.) ‘Panama City’
Deluxe Edition includes:
14.) ‘More My Style’
15.) ‘Closer’
16.) ‘Whiskey Used To Burn’