- 2 days ago
Lee Brice joins Katie Neal inside our Nashville studios to talk about his new albums, ‘Sunriser,’ and ‘Sunriser (All-Nighter), totaling up 32 tracks after a 3 and half year creative process. The “Killed The Man” singer takes us through the writing process, working with Vince Gill, performing for Garth Brooks, and much more during this week’s ‘Superstar Power Hour.’
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00:00The one and only Lee Bryce back to keep us company. How are you buddy? I'm good. I'm good. Good.
00:06Yeah. We were just talking about how you just wrapped up your big old dove hunt. I know it's a
00:10big thing. Everybody every year. Everybody talks about Lee Bryce's dove hunt. It was awesome. It was a little different
00:16this year. Great. Great. Like hot as far as you know people coming out. It's always such a social event
00:22to see all my old friends and but we got in the field and it was like I don't know
00:27if I can sit in this sun very much.
00:30Longer. Oh I'm seeing spots. Like people started dropping like flies. I looked the next day and it was 109
00:37degrees when we were in the field. Because there's not you can't like move a dove hunt right like the
00:40doves are only around for a period of time. I mean it's like if the weather comes in you might
00:44have a good hunt. I mean it's all kind of factors but like once everybody's there you just go. I
00:48mean you always know it's going to be hot in the early dove hunt season but hot is one thing
00:53but 109 is like you shouldn't be outside. Oh my god. Are you going to do any other fun hunts
00:58before the end of the year?
00:59Yeah. I'm going to go do some good deer hunting up north and maybe go do an elk hunt. Where
01:06do you go deer hunting up north? Goose and duck and rabbits and squirrels. You just bring us back something
01:12for that wall out there.
01:13I got an idea for the wall like just another little it'd be more like a scene.
01:18Oh I want I want again I want the most elaborate the weirdest texture I mean I don't know people
01:23know this but like I've people have seen now what it's grown to but you started all of it and
01:28I always say this I'm like Lee set the tone when he brought us that deer with the bullets and
01:31the tank top.
01:33I always call it on the Bryce Brothers special.
01:36All right well let's talk about this new album Sunriser and Sunriser All Nighter coming out on October 2nd. This
01:43is 32 songs?
01:4532 songs.
01:46Tell me about this album.
01:47I mean it was such a process and like even like I mean it's been a three and a half
01:55year process you know and it started out with
01:59with with with X amount of songs and they're all kind of like we're getting them done and had like
02:05other album titles like I was like oh this this record is going to be called you me and my
02:09guitar.
02:09I was out on the road doing a tour like that and it kind of like me and like you
02:15out in the audience and my guitar we've been doing this all these years got a song on there called
02:20that it's really special but then kind of got in all that and then got on the road.
02:25We thought we were like gonna be done and have the record out like in June and then I got
02:30on the road with a couple of good buddies and we just happened to like get on this magic tear
02:37and we wrote eight songs and I cut seven of them.
02:44I was like well I gotta put them on this record and so then while I was recording those songs
02:52I wrote a few more and so long story short it went from like 17 songs that was just gonna
02:59come out and it was gonna be called you know you me my guitar and then when we wrote all
03:07those songs we were up all night and every we'd be on the bus and we would like see the
03:11sun coming up and so this tireless idea came to go right this
03:14song called sunriser and then that just started to overcome like what this whole record might encompass and then when
03:22it became okay we got 32 songs we might need to make it like a double kind of an album
03:28sort of how you want to call it and so a part of the sunriser thing is
03:34is every everybody can see a sunset right anybody can get off work and see a sunset and I mean
03:39sunsets are beautiful
03:41but like to see a sunrise you're gonna have to like you have to put effort into it okay working
03:47for it whether
03:48you whether it's like you're one of the people who get up early and go make America go
03:53go around and you're going to work and you're and you're seeing that sunrise every single morning are you going
04:00hunting or this or that or
04:01the other side of it you either work your butt off to stay up all night long you know or
04:07I go have too
04:08much fun and stay up all night long and you're the the all-nighter and so you still see the
04:13sunrise though
04:14but you got to put the effort in oh yeah it's not easy to get off work and drive home
04:18and so there's a
04:19pretty sunset coming home so it was a cool concept and uh and that we were able to kind of
04:25like sort of put
04:26it into a double album kind of a thing and and uh it's just it's songs about you know like
04:32me I'm
04:32always just talking about this the place I'm at in my life and uh with my family with the music
04:38and all
04:38of it and there's a lot of different songs in there you know me I'm a little diverse no I
04:43know there's so
04:44many great songs on here and I think sunriser is just like I love the vision that you had that
04:48like
04:48went with us like you said like you got to work for a sunrise I think that's so great what
04:51songs of these
04:5332 that you know haven't dropped yet are you like most excited or most nervous to see a reaction to
04:58any of them in particular a couple I mean I there's a uh uh there's a beautiful beautiful song that
05:06I
05:06really am just like over the moon about and have been and I've been writing it for like 10 years
05:11uh and it's called while we didn't last um and it's one that I'm like well if people don't like
05:16it
05:16then I guess I'm just an idiot you know like I don't know but 10 years that is you know
05:21I started it
05:21and wrote the chorus and then like I had this melody but I the lyrics for the verses just weren't
05:26just weren't there and then I tried to write it like a couple of different times the verses because
05:33the course was just done the very first day I'll just kind of just splat it out and so I
05:37just was
05:38patient and then one day we fell upon same melody I just got it out that first day but put
05:45the right
05:45lyrics to it and that's the special one um the devil's at it again I mean it is so wild
05:53it's like
05:54way beyond it's like so wild like genre doesn't really matter I mean it's like Charlie Daniels if he was
06:02like like young and getting started out in this day and time so he's gonna you know he was gonna
06:08push
06:08the limits of how far you could push music and rock and like yeah I think that was the one
06:13that I was
06:14like the vocal was a little bit different for you that I was like the devil's always yeah no I
06:19know
06:21you are one of the most unbelievable vocalists in this genre and it was fun to see you like play
06:26with
06:26your range on this well it's fun it's just it's really it's fun to do that kind of stuff and
06:30and it's
06:31fun to be able to not just be in the box that I'm normally in and go do some stuff
06:36that like I've learned
06:37over the years too I get out and singing live and like I'll go sing a song let's just say
06:43hard to
06:43love right and it's kind of like an easygoing song hard to love hard to love but like when I
06:50get live
06:50sometimes I'll get you know what and I'll just go for some stuff that's and I'll just nail these other
06:56notes these other pieces of me that aren't on the records they don't yeah you know because I've grown
07:01in the songs over the years and so I wanted to try to get some of that stuff in on
07:07the recordings
07:07instead of just learning about them later and figure them out later live and so pushing the
07:13range and stuff like that and I've always loved like not just screaming like louder or like or
07:19like but and not singing higher but a lot of it is um just the dynamic and even just singing
07:25lower I
07:25grew up singing like bass like trying to be like my daddy in church you know and so like that
07:30song has
07:30got octaves you know yeah like low low low and high and then the middle guy and it's like just
07:37fun
07:38stuff to do in the studio as a producer too I love that and then let's talk about getting to
07:42work with
07:43Vince Gill oh man on this record I love that man so much everybody does why wouldn't you I mean
07:48he's
07:49obviously it's you know I mean I guess I was you know 12 you know 10 and 12 and I
07:55was listening
07:55to these songs and this man and that was where I got a lot truthfully like other than like gospel
08:04music and some of those songs that they just mean so much and that's because they're supposed to
08:09they're supposed to give you a message like Vince Gill was like like a secular music version of like
08:18spiritual music to me and he moved me when he sang and he played and he and he didn't ever
08:24overplay
08:25you know and so then fast forward all the years later you know this song heroes comes across my
08:32plate and you know it was so funny because I I've spent a little time with Vince you know over
08:39the
08:39years and some different venues a different couple things we sang together and had a few talks but
08:45never like spin up like we never went and played golf with them all day or nothing like that but
08:49but I was able to pick up the phone and call him and go I was like Vince I got
08:53this song and
08:54this was curious of your like any interest in like maybe ever maybe singing or playing along with me
09:00and being a part of it and he said yeah he said I'd love to I said okay well I'll
09:05man that's awesome
09:06I'll send you the song you know and you you know you can hear it and tell me if you
09:10you know actually
09:11want to do it or not he's like no I want to do it I said well well you haven't
09:15heard the song yet
09:16he says I don't I don't need to he says I I respect your music so much and more than
09:23that I respect who
09:24you are and what I can what I've seen of you all these years and known of you he said
09:28so you just
09:29bring the song in and we'll just do it you just tell me what you want me to do that's
09:33and I was
09:34like I still can't believe that you just like yeah sure I'll do it I don't care what the song
09:37is
09:37like he had this faith and whatever it is about what me and songs or whatever it is and I
09:46was just
09:46I was blown away and then the day with him in the studio it's incredible obviously you were in his
09:51studio he's got all these crazy guitars and and he's telling you story after story after story and
09:58he's so laid back and and then he starts to sing and he's like is that okay Lee I'm like
10:03I think you're
10:04good buddy I think you know what you're doing you've been doing this a long time and uh he's
10:08playing guitar he's like this is my favorite guitar I'm like really because there's 700 well I wonder
10:13where you guys were when I seen those videos I was like there are so many guitars his little home
10:19studio unreal and it would make any music store in this town which there are like insane instruments
10:27and things like that all over this town in these stores they none of them could even come close to
10:33what he has in his personal collection it's wild I can't even imagine the first thing he said was
10:38he said yeah I kind of have a problem oh my god he's just such an angel like every time
10:44I've been
10:44in a couple different things where like Vince will speak and every time Vince gets up to speak I end
10:47up
10:47like crying about something like he'll still tell us something like some story that's so touching and
10:52you're just so moved he's just you know in his brain he can't remember he remembers and he just
10:57he goes back to these moments and he keeps life like at a slow pace somehow I don't know how
11:04that
11:04happens because my life is at a very fast pace and I'm like how do I get to that you
11:09know maybe
11:09maybe it's wisdom yeah and something we're all just trying to live like Vince Gilliam at this point but
11:15I think it's so cool because two things like you get to like have this moment with one of your
11:19heroes
11:20on this song that's about don't meet your heroes but then the turn of the phrase in this song and
11:25the
11:25twist is that like they say don't meet your heroes but you haven't met mine and your heroes are you
11:30know everyday Americans yeah well and it's like really even it even comes to like my grandpa it's
11:36truly like what it ends up being the kind of like twist at the end of the song um but
11:41to have one of my
11:42musical heroes sing the song that is referring to say my grandpa it's almost like he helped me along
11:51with it instead of being in fact I wanted him to say a whole second verse or like sing it
11:57you know
11:58like lead you know he's like you know Lee this song is like so personally he's like I don't I
12:04don't I
12:05just need to be in the background I I this is your song and something very special to you and
12:10he said
12:11let's just keep it so you know he's so humble yeah and uh it worked out like it's beautiful
12:17it's one of my it's so special to me to be able to it's kind of like one of those
12:22things in your
12:22life you're like okay what what's a you know bucket list thing well I got to sing and play
12:27with Vince which is pretty amazing another song I want to talk to you about is me and whiskey oh
12:32yeah
12:32talk about the story behind this song well I got with a couple of old friends of mine and we
12:38written in a long long long long time and we just got together one day and we wrote just flew
12:43out
12:43two songs and and then we flew out the in fact these are the same two guys who ended up
12:48coming on
12:49the bus the next weekend we wrote like seven more was it so uh Nate Kenyon and Matt Alderman and
12:56um
12:57known them for I mean I've known Matt for 20 years or more and we've written a bunch of songs
13:02together
13:03and I've written with Nate okay but I've never we all three never written together until that day
13:11and uh Nate came in and was like kind of skipping through some of this first verse stuff and it
13:17was
13:17like I was like those are like nursery rhymes it's like that I remember you know like pieces of them
13:24yeah but flipped around I was like okay this is cool we gotta go like so we just just I
13:29said well
13:30you can't forget Humpty Dumpty you know and you can't forget this you know and so it was fun to
13:37be
13:37able to do that and um I really think that's gonna be you know when I'm writing songs sometimes I'll
13:44go
13:44if I have an idea I'm like okay I know who their qualities of a songwriter their best qualities like
13:50yeah this is their bag you know and I'll call them you know for a certain song but
13:54I think me and Nate and Matt might you know right now we have a good track record so we'll
13:59keep it
13:59going yeah that's amazing I also wanted to talk to you about you are coming back to play Stars and
14:04Strings with us in South Florida and we've got such a fun lineup on this it's Kane Brown Brandon Lake
14:09and Brantley Gilbert which is just have you got to spend any time with any of those guys in
14:15particular I mean uh you know obviously Brantley we have been friends for a long time we just did
14:21in fact I just we were out west and we were crossing paths he was playing on a Friday night
14:26at a big
14:26festival and I happened to get there early because I had like a day and a half off I played
14:32on Sunday
14:33so I just went up on Friday and just watched his show hung out with him I went back out
14:37he's like
14:37you don't get up and see me I said man I'm going to the front of the house and watching
14:41your show
14:41just let me be a fan just let me be a fan and uh but he's always been he's from
14:45you know Georgia
14:47I'm from South Carolina and we just we're very similar hearts you know and and him as a songwriter
14:55I've always just so loved his that we remind he reminds me of my heart when I was a kid
15:02I think
15:02we both grew up knowing that there was something that we wanted to like move people with music you
15:07know and I think you know and Brantley's so smart and we've done a lot of things together so he's
15:13been my we're good we're great friends and we have a lot of mutual great friends Brian Davis and a
15:17bunch
15:17more people so um and then Brandon Lake I don't I don't know Brandon but I know I've heard his
15:23music
15:23so much and what he does is so cool and like and and just his faith and all kind of
15:30things that just
15:31come out of him uh you know is special for me to see and you know and for the whole
15:37world to see so
15:37I think it's going to be that's that sounds like a heck of a lineup I feel like there's going
15:40to be
15:40like a Lee Bryce Brandon Lake moment that comes from this like the two of you singing together and
15:45talking about your faith I think could be very very special how is the family doing how are all the
15:50kiddos everybody's so busy Dakota is uh 18 years old 18 years old crazy to think about he's a senior
15:57in high school he's busting heads in football you know he's gonna play track and then you know and
16:02I'm I'm like yeah but son can you when you bring your dishes down from your room can you not
16:08just
16:08leave them in the sink for your mom son I'm gonna need you to step up a little bit uh
16:13Rikers 12 but
16:15he's starting to sprout he's gonna probably be like six inches taller than his older brother
16:19oh my gosh his hands are as big as mine you know I bought him a size 11 cleat the
16:24other day for
16:24football his first year your giant children yeah and then truly um you know she is we had a little
16:32camp out two nights ago got a little tent I got a little caught we went in the backyard we
16:36left the
16:37top off because there was no rain and we just like literally like slept in the tent with the little
16:41puppy looked up at the stars I play guitar on a school night you know and then just we woke
16:46up with
16:474 30 you know sun started coming up we woke up together and like walked in and got dressed and
16:52went to school and it was just really that's special we do I try to take her on dates like
16:57as much as you're so good about that you know we'll go we'll go like to our little special dates
17:01and
17:01and uh she's just so wonderful all around like she can kind of do anything that she puts her mind
17:07to
17:07yeah did you say you got a puppy yeah what did you guys get my wife you know her and
17:13dogs you know
17:13we've got a lot of dogs but she's she wanted to get one like this not at the farm she
17:18wanted like
17:18this little she had like what wiener dogs or whatever you call them dash hound when she was
17:24young uh-huh she's like I want to get one I said well I mean whatever you want you get
17:30go get one you
17:30know I mean but just so you know this is your dog in the house like if it you're going
17:35to go through
17:35the whole like party training and I was like I'm not I'm gonna be that's just so she's no no
17:41no
17:42so but the this pup these this braid of dog is not like the breed of dog that I know
17:48like my breeds
17:49of dogs are like they're your best friend and like when you go hey hey come here you know they
17:54come
17:54to you they're so excited to come to you this dog's like I'm going over there I'm like okay sir
17:59is this dog a cat I know I'm like it's it's zero I'd look at you like you crazy I
18:04ain't come over
18:04there oh my god you know I'm like okay it's a whole different personality of dog but he is sweet
18:11oh that's so fun though and I'm sure the kids are loving it it's all good yeah and you know
18:15the kids
18:15you know it's kind of truly it was supposed to be truly's little dog but it's Sarah's dog like she
18:21runs around I have to tell you I Sarah posted that video where she asked you like a couple weeks
18:26ago
18:26what would you do if you were more creative and more talented and I laughed so hard at that video
18:34you're like are we getting a divorce like this is what is happening right now that was oh my god
18:40I
18:40got the biggest kick out of that which is so funny our next question is brought to us by Bob's
18:46Discount
18:46Furniture because we're on this big giant Bob's couch but you know you've gotten to do so many
18:51incredible things in your career what to you was like an oh my moment I can't believe this is happening
18:57to me I mean uh the first thing that comes to mind I've been you know on stage you know
19:05which didn't
19:06happen a lot whenever Garth was coming up he didn't really he never had like a guest really if he
19:12would
19:12have like one like Steve Warner or like like over all those years he just didn't he didn't have opening
19:17acts he like I mean he had just a very few and I've been I've been on a couple of
19:23um like a couple
19:24of stages with him and it was like in his show like his show show um and those were always
19:32like
19:32big wow moments for me um and but he got like inducted to like the the Library of Congress yes
19:41yeah and
19:42he asked three people to come up and and like pay tribute and sing and uh it was like Kebmo
19:51and
19:52Stapleton and me and Garth is like over on the side with all these politicians like this place
19:58is just full of Washington people and and I'm up there going you know like fly to Washington to go
20:05sing here because Garth wanted me to be here to sing a song that I wrote for him and also
20:12one of his
20:13songs and cover one of his songs and it was just that was a moment that just stands out to
20:17me it's like
20:17wow I mean kind of like the top of the line like you know I really was following after his
20:23footsteps
20:24you know and a lot of his music and being different and creative and so special pushing the boundaries
20:31and yeah that was a cool night that's amazing thank you for sharing that while we've got you on the
20:35show we're playing you know a bunch of new music from the album but we're also playing some of my
20:39favorite throwbacks from the Libra's catalog and I saw you post recently that I don't dance came out
20:4312 years ago which is so crazy will you tell the story behind that song I mean yeah I uh
20:50actually I had it was one I've only had a few of these one of them girls was one of
20:54them uh I can
20:56name a couple others but I don't dance was one of them where I you know when you start co
21:00-writing
21:01all the time and you're writing all the time like with you know it's kind of part of your job
21:06you don't get quite as many of those whenever you were a kid writing songs all the way up until
21:11I
21:11was 20 years old I never wrote a song with anybody else just but I would just get these moments
21:15of
21:16like I feel like I need to write a song right now and like no matter what I was doing
21:20I would
21:22just go write my parents were like but yeah but we're leaving for church right now I'm like I'm
21:27sorry I can't no God's talking to me right now your school I'm like sorry I so those moments don't
21:33come quite as often whenever you're just writing all the time you know kind of as your job but they
21:38still do every now and then and this happened it was like 10 o'clock at night I was at
21:43home and I
21:44was like I need to go write a song right now and and at the moment I didn't even know
21:50what it was
21:51but I just knew and so I called Rob and I called Dallas and said hey let's I need to
21:58write a song
21:59let's go right I went to Dallas's house actually on his back porch and and uh and we I just
22:06we just
22:06fell into this thing and I started thinking about I've always wanted to write a song for my wife like
22:11on our wedding day and surprise her and uh that's kind of what happened I said well that's what's
22:18happening tonight and so we wrote this chorus and uh um the next day wrote the verses in the morning
22:29and it was perfect it was like one of those songs it just was easy and it was like perfect
22:34like it's
22:35sometimes it's hard when those songs sound so simple so most times those are the hardest ones to
22:39write when they come out feeling so simple and easy but that one wasn't hard it was just like the
22:45first
22:46things that came out of my mouth you know and so we we had to like and then it was
22:50perfect of course
22:51I ruined it a little bit I I was so excited about it that I like went and I was
22:58on stage one night
22:59like I think it was at the the bowl out in LA and I was like I just want to
23:04try this new song on y'all
23:05and I kicked the band and I played I don't dance for them and they like freaked out and then
23:11I get a call
23:12like a text or a call from Sarah she's like what did you do I'm like uh oh what do
23:18you mean what did
23:18I what did I do she's like you played our song because we weren't we weren't married we were engaged
23:25oh no and you played it for somebody and I played it and then it all and it all got
23:30back she's like
23:30no it's everybody's wedding song I go no no no okay yeah I get it and so I never played
23:37it again
23:38until our wedding like our wedding day so that was kind of funny which is something only like
23:44the wife of a singer songwriter could ever go through but I was so excited and proud for hearing
23:49about you baby that's so funny another one we're gonna play is drinking class oh man will you tell
23:55the story about that one yeah man that one uh you know the first thing that comes to mind other
23:59than
23:59the fact that when I heard I was like oh my god this song is like exactly what you're looking
24:03for you
24:03you know you forever people try to like go write another like this or that like yeah like and one
24:09of them is like friends in low places you know you want that and when I heard the demo of
24:16drinking
24:16class I was like this can be like that thing you know but and then and so it ends it
24:23ended up being
24:23you know a number one song a big song for us we play every night is that song for us
24:29but making the
24:31record is what comes to my mind because as a producer sometimes things just fall out easy in
24:36the studio and sometimes like this one it almost beat me to death trying to like figure out how to
24:42make it and a lot of times it's because I know a song is so good that I don't I
24:46don't want to let
24:47it down and so I'm like just think something's not quite right yet so just hold on let me and
24:53so
24:53fine then one night it just hit me you know and so I just changed a bunch of stuff and
24:59started
24:59dropping chains and like just the work you know like the sounds I have I have looked up sounds of
25:06chains drop on the floor and like anvils hitting and like this this wow for the working class because
25:13that's what the song is really about and uh and it changed everything on that record I mean I had
25:19dubstep I had all kind of stuff going on trying to figure out how this record was supposed to come
25:25out and so just the production of it that when you say that that's the first thing that comes to
25:28mind
25:29when I finally got it right though like you talk about the songs that were so easy and there's ones
25:33that are really difficult and there's ones that take 10 years and they're just all a little bit
25:37different and then parking lot party I know this story but I don't know that everyone knows this
25:41story in 2026 so I want you to tell it yeah it was that was a great I'd actually written
25:46us I was
25:47on music row writing you know I'd already written that day um you know in the morning and got done
25:52and I was actually headed home it was like you know whatever 3 34 o'clock we were done writing
25:58my first song and I was driving through the little back alleys of music road getting about to get out
26:04of there and when I was driving through I saw Rhett um Rhett Aiken sitting um on the back of
26:12a tailgate
26:13and the parking lot of one of the other publishing houses I pulled and said hey what you doing I
26:18said
26:18man I just finished he goes well come on write one now I said well man I I was about
26:22to head home
26:23but I mean I okay I can't he's like I was like he's like what do you need you know
26:27like I said man I
26:28need a I need a song like actually we walked in first and there and then there was Thomas Rhett
26:34and they're his son and uh Luke Laird and and they had just they were meeting for an afternoon right
26:42and they had just I walked in and they're like what do you need I said honestly I need a
26:46song that's
26:46like just a straight up like like tailgating like you're at a concert parking like a parking lot
26:54party like a party you know you know like it just just that quick like you know you know Thomas
27:01went like you know parking lot party and we're parking lot party I was like and then we just had
27:09fun it was almost like we weren't trying to write a song yeah and then next thing you know the
27:14song was
27:14done you know like in 45 minutes and then I'm in the studio recording it and then it's out on
27:21the
27:21radio like it was just one of those fun things that like you just don't you don't it was not
27:27expected
27:27I was I was done right like you could have passed Rhett and not seen him yeah I could have
27:31took one other
27:31turn and gone the other way and not never saw you know Rhett sitting in the parking lot and and
27:37then you
27:37know getting in the room with them and they're you know Luke I guess it's cool like sitting in the
27:43back like making little sounds and stuff yeah but we were just playing some guitars and singing that
27:47day it was really fun that's so much fun thank you for coming in and sharing these stories and talking
27:51to us about Sunriser I love this album the production your vocals like everything just sounds
27:55so great and I know this was a labor of love and it took three and a half years for
27:59you and I'm so
28:00excited that now it's out and everybody gets to hear it uh well I sure appreciate you appreciating
28:05that and always having me and making it so easy I mean I love that we're um here I don't
28:12know how
28:12many cameras are on us but it's the hottest part of the summer and we're sitting here by a fire
28:18but
28:18it actually feels good because you have enough air conditioning we try to make it a lovely experience
28:23thank you for coming to see us yes ma'am
28:30you