Country music star Lee Brice celebrates real-life experiences

Honolulu is more than 4,000 miles from Lee Brice’s home in Nashville, but the 39-year-old contemporary country music hit-maker says that for him coming here is like coming home.

“I was just talking today about how much fun we have, every time we come there. It’s just insane. It’s always so much fun,” Brice said, calling last week from Nashville. He was preparing for a show that featured country music fiddle legend Charlie Daniels as a guest, and a concert tour that includes his one-nighter at The Republik on Tuesday, a second appearance in Honolulu for the musician.

“When I came there (in 2016) I didn’t know what to expect,” Brice said.

“When I looked out at the crowd — and this has never happened, even in the deep, redneck South — before the show ever started, there were ol’ boys out there taking their shirts off and whipping them above their head. They were ready to go! I will never forget that. It made me smile so big, and that is something I will never forget.”

WHEN BRICE plays The Republik on Tuesday, he’ll be bringing the music from his current album, “Lee Brice,” which took off big when it was released last November.

Brice co-wrote 10 of the album’s 15 songs. He says the more-or-less autobiographical “Songs in the Kitchen,” might be his favorite.

“It’s very honest and it’s cut very simply, and it’s as true about me as there ever was a song. If you want to know who I am and where I came from, there’s the song to go listen to.”

The current single off the album, “Rumor,” is another one that Brice co-wrote.

“The song came just from my small town,” Brice said.

Sumter, S.C., had a population of just under 25,000 when he was born, growing to around 39,000 by the time he graduated from high school.

“It’s like everybody knows everybody’s business, but then when I started really thinking about it, these days, I swear, every town is a ‘small town.’ With social media and all that stuff, I can connect with somebody right down the street just as fast as I can connect with somebody in Hawaii. So the song could be about a small town — ‘rumors getting around quick’ — but it’s really about the whole world these days.”

Brice turned the video for “Rumor” into a “date-night song” for his wife, Sara, who is seen with him in the video.

A third favorite on the new album is one he didn’t co-write. “Boy,” released several months before the album, expresses a father’s hopes and wishes for his young son.

Brice and his wife have two sons, 10-year-old Takoda and 5-year-old Ryker.

“When I heard (“Boy”) for the first time I lost my mind,” Brice said. “I just thought if I ever wanted to record a song that I didn’t write it would be that one.”

“Boy” was an audience favorite at Brice’s concerts before the album was released. The single peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and appeared briefly on the Hot 100 Singles chart at No. 94.

BRICE AND Sara welcomed their first daughter, Trulee, last year, and that gives him a topic for a future song.

“You think about your daughters a little differently than you do your sons. It’s not better or worse, its just that there’s a difference there,” he said.

”I guess I’m going to have to figure out a song for Trulee. Right now I’m enjoying the snugly little baby girl, and know at some point those days are gonna come when boys come into the picture and I’m going to have to figure out how to handle that.”

Looking into 2019, Brice plans to release his fifth album — for himself and for his children.

“Before I know it, it’ll be time to put out a new one. I’m about halfway done with making a new record, so I’m gonna focus on finishing up so I’ll be ready to go,” he said.

“My kids are getting to an age to where I’m really wanting to focus my time and energy into them as much as I can — so I’m trying to work out ways that I can make sure that that happen, and that’s a really big focus on my life.”