There’s been one constant in Lee Brice’s two-decade career as a musician: It’s all about the song.
Starting with the 2007 breakthrough “More Than a Memory”—the historic track Brice co-wrote and Garth Brooks recorded that became the first single to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart—and continuing through last month’s “Drinkin’ Buddies” collaboration with Hailey Whitters and Nate Smith, Brice has long been one of country’s most productive and successful songsmiths. Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and many others have recorded his songs, and his seven ACM awards prove he’s saved plenty of the good stuff for his own records as well.
Brice showcased his body of work in a different way with his Me & My Guitar tour this year, a series of shows that played out exactly as it sounds they would, strengthening his connection to his music and the audience.
“It was me and 20 guitars on stage, going through three stations, and I just got used to going through this story of my whole life over two-and-a-half hours. It was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done,” Brice tells the Weekly. “Now that I’m back with the band, I’m thinking about that part, kind of slowing it down for a moment and telling that true stuff that connects to the audience, rather than just the music coming at you. I still like to keep it a roller coaster ride, but I’ll kick the band off stage to do a few by myself.”
That’s the plan for his return to Las Vegas this week. Brice will perform for the first time at the Theater at Virgin Hotels, an exciting venue change-up for a massively popular artist who’s also performed during big Fremont Street Experience block parties and during Mandalay Beach’s scorching summer concert series.
“We’ve been doing Vegas a good bit the last few years for private shows. I just slip in and out,” he says. “But there hasn’t been a big public show for a while. Vegas is always ready to rock; you know you’re gonna have a good time.”
With that new single “Drinkin’ Buddies” charging the charts, Brice is setting his sights on finishing his sixth album for an early 2025 release, and he’s producing music from other artists—including one of his heroes, Edwin McCain—that will see daylight this year. He says he’s reached a point in his career where finding the perfect balance between touring and being at home in the studio—and more importantly, with his family—has become mandatory.
“Your mindset and heartset changes a bit,” Brice says when describing how being a dad has impacted his songwriting. “The creative process, and the road, it’s a lot of work, and it’s all tied up together. I’ve got a studio on my bus and that’s why, because I realized once I got home and I was off the road for a couple days, I couldn’t take those and go in the studio and work. I’m realizing, and [my family] is realizing, how much they miss me and I miss them and how important it is.”
Brice’s farm home has a studio as well, and when he’s working there—even when other producers and musicians stop by—the kids are a welcome distraction. They might even steal the show.
“They’re in and out all day, even if we have a big session going on,” he says. “It’s them first now, not that they weren’t before when they were babies, but I was really focused on music and now they’re little people. They’re different, they need certain things, and I had to make time for that.”
LEE BRICE With Payton Smith. May 17, 8 p.m., $49-$195. Theater at Virgin, axs.com.
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