Singer, songwriter, and highly accomplished country artist Lee Brice is a South Carolina-born and Nashville native who has been writing and releasing country hits since the early 2000’s. Brice began his career as a songwriter, creating creative lyrics for artists like Jason Aldean and Garth Brooks. In 2007, he released his first single “She Ain’t Right” and the rest was country music history.
Lee Brice is responsible for many of the popular country songs you know and love like “I Don’t Dance”, “Hard to Love”, and “A Woman Like You.” His songs “I Drive Your Truck” and “Crazy Girl” won CMA Song of the Year in 2014 and 2012 with many other nominations driving his career. He recently reached #1 on Country Radio with “Memory I Don’t Mess With,” which consecutively followed three prior No. 1 releases. Lee’s incredible talent has earned him many spots as a GRAMMY nominee, a CMA and ACM award winner, and had nine radio singles reach No. 1 on the charts.
As of 2025, Lee is in the midst of his acoustic US Tour: You, Me, & My Guitar. The tour began in Pennsylvania in January and will continue until the end of March, ending in Illinois. On January 31, Lee released his newest single “Cry” that highlights the need for men to show their emotions just like anyone else. We had the pleasure of speaking to Lee Brice where we got to talk about what he’s looking forward to on tour, his dream collaborations, and his perfect day in Nashville.
Tell me about the new song “Cry” and the story behind it.
I was hanging out with one of my great friends, Dallas Davidson, about a year ago. He said, ‘Man, I have this song I’m gonna play for my buddy Teddy Swims.’ I was like, ‘Oh, cool, let me hear what you got.’ He said he loves the song. I asked if Teddy was going to cut the song or not. I said, ‘Well, you tell him, if you don’t cut it, I will.’ He called me that afternoon and said, ‘Buddy, go cut the song,’ so I did. I just love it. I love the feel of it. We kind of cut it like a 50’s do-wop almost. He’s just a great songwriter.
Every time I see you, I forget that every song you have is a hit. I know every song so well. I’m so glad to talk to you because I’ve been saying this for like 15 years that Lee Brice only records hits.
Thank you so much. Keep it going.
Are there any cities on your You, Me, & My Guitar Tour that you’re looking forward to visiting?
Well, I mean, all of them. This tour is so special. If you see me live in concert with my band, that’s one thing. This is a completely different take. It’s a true journey. I take you through my whole music life from when I was a baby up until right now. You know, how it shaped me and the things that, how songs came about. I’ve got all these stories and a timeline and it just really turned out so special.
Last year was the first year we did the tour and people would leave the show crying and laughing. I would have conversations with people in the crowd, just because it’s so intimate. Any city that’s got people who really want to come and really watch a show and be a part of the show, that’s what I’m looking forward to. They’re just really dialing and tuning in. That’s the most fun for me when I can really communicate with you via songs or just talking and connect with you. I’m excited about it.
Has a place ever inspired a song?
Oh, yeah. A lot of places have. Rosemary Beach. One of my best friends, Kyle Jacobs, he’s gone now, but we used to go down to Rosemary Beach and we had magical times down there with our other buddies. We would just really write special songs because it’s just a beautiful place. When I go to the mountains or I go to the beach, it really does inspire songs. It inspires something inside you, even a season, like fall. There’s just nostalgia in the air and it just makes you think back and makes you miss football. You smell the fresh cut grass and school’s going back. Sometimes it’s places, but sometimes it’s even a season or just a moment in time.
I know you and Kyle were very close. Do you do anything special to keep his memory alive?
I don’t have to. He touched so many people in such positive ways. He’s all over Nashville still. He’s all over the world. He’s everywhere he ever went. He made a lasting impression. On top of that, we worked so many songs together that I’m always thinking about him because he was a part of so much music in my life. It’s like he’s still here when it comes to that. There are songs that are definitely reminders because we had special times writing songs together.
I love “Soul.” It’s one of my favorites right now. What’s the story behind that song?
This is another outside song. It was this really kind of weird, odd demo. I thought I would just listen to it and move on to the next song. For some reason the next day, I was like, ‘What am I singing? What am I humming in my head?’ It clicked that it was the weird song I heard the other day. I listened to it again and found there’s this thing about the song that sticks in your head that makes you feel good. I imagined in my head and my ears what it would be if I was to record it. It really could be cool. We went in and purposely cut it like we did so that it would feel great. It’s one of our favorites because it’s just so unique and it just feels so good. I’m glad that I didn’t skip over that one.
You’ve written so many hits. What’s the secret?
Every now and then one comes along that you know for sure it’s special. Sometimes the song could be great, but it doesn’t have that ‘it’ factor. Some of them really do, for whatever reason, have that ‘it’ and it’s pretty apparent that it’s going to be a big smash song. You can be wrong depending on what’s going on in the world and how music’s going and how it’s heard and all that stuff. Music has changed so much. There’s always a feeling about it if you really got something. Sometimes it just ends up being close to your heart, especially to the people that are hearing it. It doesn’t have to be the number one song to be a hit, a success.
Do you have any dream collaborators you’d like to write with or sing with?
There’s a lot. I’m a big fan of John Mayer. He’s such a cool lyricist and a great guitar player and he’s got a special ear for music. He’s one of the people that I’ve always noticed. Bruno Mars. He’s got so much soul and just seems like a happy kind of a guy. Those are a few from the top of my head that would be really cool to get in a room with and create some music.
What are your must pack travel items while on the road?
Well, I’ve got to have my sleeping pillows. I have like, three. I have to have one in my arms. I’ve got a whole backpack just to put pillows in and hang them off the edges. Nothing about flying scares me. I do like to just go straight to sleep and catch up on some rest. I don’t necessarily like having to sit there and not being able to move. I just take my pillows, pull my hat down, lean against the window, and I’m gone.
It’s so funny because sometimes I’ll have the hat completely over my eyes, sunglasses on, pillow in my arms and somebody will tap me. So, I come up, get my hat off, raise my head and say ‘yes ma’am’ or ‘yes sir’ and they’re just like, ‘Where are you from?’ They have a two second conversation with me and then I go back to sleep. I don’t bother people. I put my hat back on, headphones in, then tap tap tap tap. I’m like, ‘What is going on here?’ Laughing
What is your craziest travel story?
We went and did a little show for charity to raise money in Maui last year when they had all the fires out there. My wife and I went, and we had a few extra days. Everybody said, ‘Hey, you got to see the sunrise from the highest point in Maui.’ It’s legitimately the top of this mountain. In the morning, the sun comes up through the clouds and it’s just this insane, beautiful, magical thing. I started doing the math for how far it was from where we were staying. It was like three hours to get there. We have to be there by like 5:30 so that means we have to leave at 2:30 in the morning.
We get in the car, I drive all the way there. I’m in my flip flops and like bathing suit shorts. I get to the top of this mountain. I did not think about the fact that it’s like 10,000 ft in the air. It was like 40 degrees and the wind was blasting across the top of the thing. I’m literally standing there shivering. I had to get back in the car for a minute and try to wait the sunrise out. It takes a long time to watch the sun actually come through the clouds. I am freezing my buns off to the point where we leave.
It was probably five hours later and I was still cold. It was one of those chills that gets in your bones, it stays there no matter how warm you get. I was sitting by the pool later in the sunshine and I was still cold. I’m not a cold kind of person, but that was kind of a cool adventure. It was a magic, magic place. It was definitely a lot of work to do to see one little sunrise, but it was worth it.
Pro tip: when you go to the top of Haleakalā, bring a jacket.
What are your bucket list travel locations?
I want to go see some places in Europe. We actually had a whole tour booked all through Europe and Germany and then Covid hit right before we were about to leave. Obviously, we haven’t booked it again yet. I’d love to go and visit Rome and places like that. Some stuff out of the Bible is really on my bucket list to go see all that history. I want to go see New Zealand. I’ve been to Australia and spent a lot of time there, and I’ve been to a lot of places, but never New Zealand and not really in Europe other than Scotland. I went over there one time for about a week. I’d love to see the Colosseum and that whole area. I’m excited about doing that one day.
What’s your perfect day in Nashville? Where do you go to eat? What do you do?
On my farm, just doing stuff and being in my studio that I built with my own two hands, enjoying what I love so much. That farm is hopefully going to be a forever home for us. That’s my kind of perfect day, and cooking something for myself. I’ve got an outdoor kitchen in the back of the studio and I just enjoy being out there all the time. I really insist that if you’re coming out to my farm, my city, we aren’t going downtown, we aren’t doing that stuff. I’ve had enough Nashville downtown experience to last me a lifetime, so I’m good with that.
What do you cook?
Man, I love cooking wild game. Anything that I can put on a grill or smoke or sear, all that kind of stuff. Elk and deer and rabbit and dove.
I know you’re an avid hunter. Do you hunt on your property, or do you have any favorite spots?
I have a set up. We duck hunt, deer hunt, dove hunt. I have a really big dove hunt every year. But I love going to Illinois for whitetails. I go out to Colorado for elk. I love fishing of all kinds. Fly fishing in the streams and deep sea fishing out in the ocean or overnight. Tuna fishing. I just love to be outside; being connected to the air and the sun and the water and the land. That’s why I love that stuff. When you go get your own game and bring it home, it’s so much more satisfying when you’re having a meal and that’s what you’re eating.
What’s inspiring you right now?
We just got through the big break and new music coming out coupled with this tour that I’m starting that I’ve been wanting to do my whole life. I’ve been doing this a long time. Sometimes you can get tired and things can get old to you. This tour really rejuvenated me and my gut about the whole industry and all the working so hard at this dream. It just put a fire into me and I’m so excited about it. I truly can’t wait to see y’all. I want to get to the shows and get this tour going. It’s really inspiring me right now.