By Dominic Rapposelli
Sports Editor
Washington College announced that country music singer Lee Brice is this year’s spring concert artist. Brice will take the stage on the campus green on April 5, after the festivities of Admitted Students Day. This announcement comes on the heels of last year’s successful Jake Owen concert.
Like last spring, students, faculty, and staff are allowed entry free of charge, with tickets opening in a few weeks, according to an email from President Mike Sosoulski.
Many people are wondering: Who is Lee Brice? Luckily, he has a few songs that are good to know for the concert.
According to Billboard, Brice has charted 22 songs, eight of them landing number one spots on the United States Country Airplay chart. His longest stretch at the top spot was also his most recent foray to the top with 2020’s “One of Them Girls”, which enjoyed three consecutive weeks at the peak from September into October of the same year.
Brice jumped onto the scene in 2010, with his debut studio album “Love Like Crazy.” The title track spent 56 weeks on U.S. Country Airplay, the longest stint of his career.
His second album proved to be his breakout piece with 2012 “Hard 2 Love.” The song holds up as Brice’s most successful LP. Songs such as “Woman Like You,” “Hard to Love,” and “I Drive Your Truck” are considered some of Brice’s best work, helping him stand out lyrically in an era overshadowed by the bro-country phenomenon.
According to Taste of Country, “Brice is at his best when he pushes a man’s emotions to the limits of comfort in words he’d use to open up…The real winners on ‘Hard 2 Love’ are those that trade in brushes of imagery for melody. In most cases these are ballads, like the tear-jerking, surefire single ‘I Drive Your Truck.’”
Recently, Brice has continued to enjoy commercial success. 2018’s “Rumor” and 2020’s “Memory I Don’t Mess With” were his most recent solo songs to soar to number one. He also joined Carly Pearce for 2020’s number one hit “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” which won the Academy of Country Music Song of the Year and Musical Event of the Year awards in 2021.
Brice is also known for his more up-tempo songs such as 2013’s “Parking Lot Party,” 2014’s “Drinking Class,” and 2020’s “A Little More Love”, which he was featured on alongside Jared Nieman.
His most recent single, “Cry,” was released on Jan. 31, 2025.
Brice brings a brand of country music which has had mainstream success and will introduce songs some might be familiar with to Chestertown, Md. The country artist totals an extensive catalogue of five studio albums and several features which have also gained popularity. These songs should help get you started on your listening and making playlists for anyone planning on attending the event.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: Popular country music artist Lee Brice is performing at the Admitted Students Day concert.