Lee Brice

98.1 Cat Country and Waterfront Concerts present LEE BRICE on Saturday, October 9th at Bold Point Park in East Providence, RI.

Ten years after the release of his first album, music listeners likely think they have a good idea about who Lee Brice is, based on his eight #1 singles and his seven CMA Award nominations.

He is, one might argue, a sensitive country roughneck, the guy who embraces the power of long-lasting relationships in “Love Like Crazy,” “A Woman Like You” and “I Don’t Dance.” He’s the guy who makes his audiences cry every time he memorializes people who sacrificed their lives on our behalf in “I Drive Your Truck.”

But with his 2020 album Hey World, people are likely hearing Brice differently. Singing next to smoky vocalist Carly Pearce on the #1 single “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” the power and range in his voice comes in loud and clear. In the follow-up #1, “One Of Them Girls,” he attacks the subject matter with bite and swagger. It’s still sensitive, but it’s imbued with an undeniable playfulness and a commanding drive.

Throughout Hey World, listeners experience a fully-formed version of Lee Brice, through the twangy power-pop of “Good Ol’ Boys,” the old-school R&B behind “Don’t Need No Reason,” the bluesy sexual tone of “Do Not Disturb,” the new wave tech flavor of “Soul,” the dark and dangerous “Sons And Daughters” and the honky-tonk middle finger in “If You.”

Those textures have always been there in one form or another – his celebratory #1 “Drinking Class” and the alt-rock undercurrent in the chart-topping “Hard To Love” bear that out – but Hey World is the deepest, widest and most complete exploration to date of Brice’s unbound creative spirit.

“There’s so much more to me, and most people who’ve been to my show, they see that,” he says. “They come out and kick the footlights out – you know, we have that side. That’s partly who I am. I’m just rowdy, fun, tough, let’s go, let’s hit it – you know what I mean? But you don’t hear it in the singles much.”

That’s changed in recent years. “Rumor,” which ascended to #1 in 2019, is a stew of blues and gospel. “I Hope You’re Happy Now” applied a big-sounding train groove to a regret-filled storyline, and “One Of Them Girls,” which topped the chart in September 2020, embraced a propulsive backbeat. Those songs helped Brice in his determination to widen perceptions of his art beyond the sensitive country balladeer.

UPDATED COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

We are requiring all attendees of this event to have received a negative COVID-19 test within 72-hours prior to entering the venue OR be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In attending the event, you certify and attest that you and all individuals in your party attending the event will abide by the following regulations:

Gates open at 5 pm. Show starts at 6:30 pm