Lee Brice at the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center in Shipshewana, IN

Shipshewana, IN (March 7, 2024) – With a packed house in front of him and a sea of guitars surrounding him, Lee Brice performs an intimate acoustic set while telling his story.   

Brice makes a stop in Shipshewana on Thursday evening as part of his 18 city, Me And My Guitar Tour.  This tour is a solo acoustic show with Brice on stage by himself telling stories and singing those songs that shaped him to who he is today.  Joining Lee on this part of his journey is none other than younger brother, Lewis Brice.   

Lewis opens the show with a few songs of his own from his self titled EP and his 2023 debut album, Product Of.  Each of the songs in his set are personal to him as they reflect on him and his family.  Two songs, “Right Love” and his most popular single to date, “It’s You (I’ve Been Looking For)” are about his wife.   

“Thanks For The Heartbreaks” is next, and as Lewis claims, “sometimes if you don’t have the heartbreaks, you never move on and learn things.” 

Lewis thanks the crowd for coming early to the show and catching his solo acoustic performance.  Although missing his band this evening, he is having fun and enjoying this run while spending time with his older brother.  He also announces to the crowd that he is going to be father, as he and his wife are expecting a new baby in May.  Because of all the good happening in his life right now, Lewis is feeling “Blessed.” 

Exiting off the stage, the crowd gives him a standing ovation as they approve his opening performance.  Though an experienced singer/songwriter himself, Lewis Brice is a rising up and coming artist that is finally catching the breaks and making a proper name for himself other than just being Lee’s younger brother.   

Lewis Brice setlist:

1. Right Love.   2. Thanks For The Heartbreaks     3. Messin’ With My Mind.   4. It’s You (I’ve Been Looking For).    5. Blessed.    6. Together   

With the lights inside the Blue Gate PAC still dark, a music video “You, Me, And My Guitar” begins to play on the video screen at the back of the stage.  The crowd begins to get restless and cheer as a silhouette of Lee begins to appear on stage playing an electric guitar to the song.  As the song ends, you can hear him singing out loud away from the microphone.  

Brice sits on a stool at center stage surrounded by many of his guitars.  He happily welcomes the crowd to this unique show of his and proceeds to tell them that this evening is special as that it is an evening of storytelling with songs.  He continues by adding that this journey he is taking us on is his story from the beginning.  Brice starts off by introducing the crowd to his very first acoustic guitar and how it has made the journey with him and has many stories of it’s own, including being run over once by Lee’s Ford Ranger pickup truck.  He claims that this guitar is the one that he learned how to play guitar on and proudly shows off the Willie Nelson autograph on it.           

After working on learning chords and runs, he eventually was able to play songs like The Eagles’ “Hotel California.”  From that time on, since 2007, Brice has become a multi-platinum selling artist with five studio albums, two EP’s and eight #1 singles on the Curb Records label.   

Growing up in Sumpter, SC., Lee and his brother Lewis grew up with strong family working values and love for Jesus Christ.  He learned how to play piano from his aunt and sing, in church.  Tonight, he sits at the piano and sings “Oh How I Love Jesus” and later in the show, “I Don’t Dance.”   

With his love of music and songwriting growing stronger, hearing the song “Old Violin” by Johnny Paycheck is the song that brought Lee to Nashville and try his luck at music.   

Always wanting to be heard and have someone take one of your songs to the top of the charts and make you a star, is a dream of every songwriter.  That happened early in his career twice with Garth Brooks “More Than A Memory,” and with Eli Young Band “Crazy Girl.”  After Garth took his song to #1, he awarded Brice with the guitar that he recorded the song with and told him to “play the hell out it.”   

The crowd raises to their feet and sings along to “Drinking Class” before Brice asks his guitar tech to bring out his guitar.  Introducing his tech as Simon, Lee refers to him as a guitar jukebox stating that he can play anything from anyone at anytime.  Simon begins to play guitar licks from multiple rock artist that include “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent, “Panama” by Eddie Van Halen and “Rocky Mountain High” by Joe Walsh.  While concluding the rock jam with “Beverly Hills” by Weezer, Lee and Simon take it right to a “Parking Lot Party.”   

After getting the crowd all pumped up and dancing, Brice asks for an old school intermission for 20 minutes while he calls home to his wife and kids.     

Returning to the stage, Brice starts out telling the story of meeting his wife on the beach and how he won her over by playing and singing “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton to her.  Soon after, they were wed and later had their sons and Lee had a new song, “Boy.” 

After a few years, the Brice family welcomed a daughter.  Six years later and feeling a bit slighted, she asked her father where her song was.  Lee tells that he and his daughter spent the day writing a song “This Little Guitar,” and that evening gone down to the barn and recorded it.  With Lee sitting stage left, he turns and watches clips of a video playing on the screen behind him of his daughter singing the song and the two being together.  As the crowd roars with their approval at the end, Brice wipes away at his eyes and admits that he can only watch segments of that video while he is on stage trying to perform without getting a lump in his throat. 

Keeping it up with the family, he talks about how nice it is to be doing this run of shows and having his brother Lewis out on the road with him.  He calls his brother back out to the stage so they can share a duet of the title track “Product Of” off Lewis’ recent debut album.  The song reflects the lives the two lived coming from hard working blue collared parents and the small watertown town they grew up in.   

Next up, Lee performs a few of his top hit songs, “Rumor,” “One Of Them Girls” and “Hard To Love” before a new song he has been working on.  With the uncertainty in the world today, it has many feeling unrest  and scared.  “When The Kingdom Comes” helps Lee get through the hard times.    

Being happy in life right now, it all centers around his wife and children, and his love for Jesus Christ.  Family – Faith – and his music.  He thanks the max capacity crowd for coming to the show, telling them that they are part of his music, because “without the people, there is no music.”  He ends his show the same way he began, coming back full circle with a live performance of “You, Me, And My Guitar.”   

The crowd once again applauds on another fine show by Lee Brice.  Though not a full band experience this time, the acoustic show always becomes more intimate and gives a new reflection on songs that may have been heard a different way before.  Thank you Lee for mixing it up and providing another entertaining evening to your fans.   

Lee Brice setlist:  

1.Hotel California (The Eagles)     2. Picture Of Me      3. Oh How I Love Jesus     4. Soul.    5. Old Violin (Johnny Paycheck)     6. More Than A Memory (Garth Brooks)    7. Crazy Girl (Eli Young Band).    8. Drinking Class.    9. Rock Riffs.    10. Parking Lot Party.    11. Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton)     12. I Don’t Dance     13. Boy     14. This Little Guitar.    15. Product Of (Lewis Brice).    16. Rumor.    17. One Of Them Girls.    18. Hard To Love.    19. When The Kingdom Comes.    20. You, Me, And My Guitar   

Lee Brice

Lewis Brice 

Blue Gate Performing Arts Center