Lee Brice made the most of the time he spent at home during the pandemic, completing his home studio and continuing to work with his fellow Nashville songwriters on new material.
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Still, the "I Drive Your Truck" singer's over the moon about being booked out for the rest of the year with shows that he and ticket holders can confidently expect to happen as scheduled.
"We've already played a couple of shows here recently, and it was just like nothing else," Brice told Wide Open Country in April. "Getting out there and feeling that energy back from the crowd was overwhelming, in a good way. We've been singing to a camera for a year, and there's no smiling faces or dancing people or clapping hands coming back from that camera. It's kind of difficult to do, you know."
Though he's stayed busy since March 2020 with both digital and in-person co-writes, Brice sees summer festival season as his first chance in over 14 months to run into Miranda Lambert and other old friends.
"I haven't seen a lot of people," Brice adds. "Even during the ACMs, there were only a few of us artists there because they had to separate them and do them on different days and pre-record some stuff so that they could put it all together because they just couldn't have everybody there together."
Voters for socially-distanced awards shows have been kind to Brice and Carly Pearce's hit duet "I Hope You're Happy Now."
"I just was flattered that she asked me to be a part of the song," Brice says. "I heard the song, and I was in immediately. No second thoughts about that. You know, I didn't know what the song was going to do. I just loved it. But to watch it grow and watch it do what it did, it obviously made you feel lucky that you were part of it. And to see her kind of flourish in it and get a No. 1 out of it and then to see her hold up hardware at the ACMs and win her first awards and the smile on her face... It really was one of my favorite parts of all of that."
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Brice is also back into the promotional swing of things. He's the spokesperson for the Casey's convenience stores' Summer of Freedom sweepstakes, with a hometown concert by the "Drinking Class" singer as the grand prize.
"I'm excited to team up with Casey's to bring one lucky fan and their local community a free concert," said Brice in a press release. "Summer is the best time for family, friends, delicious pizza, cold drinks and most of all, live music. I cannot wait to bring a 'Parking Lot Party' to someone's hometown."
Lee Brice Tour Dates (Via Brice's website)
June 5- Brickie Bowl- Hobart, In. (Hometown Country Jam with Dylan Schneider and Julia Cole)
June 11- Ozarks Amphitheater- Camdenton, Mo. (with Lainey Wilson)
June 12- Chesterfield Amphitheater- Chesterfield, Mo. (with Lainey Wilson)
June 17- McGrath Amphitheatre- Cedar Rapids, Iowa(with Kameron Marlowe)
June 18- Orpheum Theatre- Sioux City, Iowa (with Kameron Marlowe)
June 19- Bismarck Civic Center- Bismarck, ND
July 2- Big Country Bash- Saint Charles, Iowa
July 17- Blame My Roots Festival- Belmont, Ohio (with Neal McCoy and Miranda Lambert)
July 23- Keg's Canalside- Jordan N.Y.
July 29- Canyon Country Fair- Caldwell, Idaho
July 30- Country Fan Fest- Tooele, Utah (with Brantley Gilbert and Old Dominion)
July 31- T.J.'s Corral- Minden, Nv.
Aug. 1- Mandalay Bay Beach- Las Vegas, Nv. (with Kameron Marlowe)
Aug. 3- Ryman Auditorium- Nashville, Tn.
Aug. 5- The Freeman Stage at Bayside- Selbyville, De.
Aug. 6- Meadow Event Park- Richmond, Va.
Aug. 7- Dr. Pepper Park- Roanoke, Va.
Aug. 14- Flannagan's- Colombus, Ohio (with Ashley McBryde)
Aug. 19- Barefoot Country Fest- Wildwood, N.J.
Aug. 20- South Shore Music Circus- Cohasset, Ma.
Aug. 21- Cape Cod Melody Tent- Hyannis, Ma.
Aug. 27- Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom- Hampton Beach, N.H.
Aug. 28- Long Island Community Hospital Amphitheater at Bald Hill- Farmingville, N.Y. (with Old Dominion)
Aug. 29- Northlands- Swanzey, N.H.
Sept. 3- Features Fest XIV- West Salem, Wi
Sept. 4- The Mill- Terre Haute, In.
Sept. 17- Weidner Field- Colorado Springs, Co. (with Chris Young)
Sept. 18- Stiefel Theatre For The Performing Arts- Salina, Ks.
Sept. 23- Washington State Fair- Puyallup, Wa.
Oct. 1- Honeywell, Center, Wabash, In.
Oct. 2- Blue Gate Performing Arts Center- Shipsewana, In.
Oct. 15- The Showplace Theatre at Riverwind Casino- Norman, Ok.
Nov. 12- Tortuga Music Festival- Fort Lauderdale, Fl. (with Tim McGraw and Luke Bryan)
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