Friday’s Lee Brice concert was bigger than a “parking lot party,” with non-stop screaming, hand waving, a little dancing in the aisles and an encore.
The line was out the door an hour before the show started, and the excitement was easy to see.
“My roommate’s from this area and I’m a big fan of Lee Brice. I love all kinds of country music,” said Jenna Erwin, a Columbus resident, while waiting for the concert to start.
The concert opened up with the Adam Craig Band. The band was a successful opener, surprising the audience when it announced that it was the only band in the Top 20 on The Highway’s Hot 45 Countdown without a record deal, with its song “Little Bit More of You.”
“I liked the opening act,” said Teressa Valentine, the director for the Cancer Center in Marietta. “I’ve never heard of them before, but I thought that they were really good.”
Craig was filming and taking pictures of the crowd during some of his performance, which made the audience join in the fun by posing for the camera.
After a short break, Brice took the stage and made sure everyone was having a good time “no matter what” and fist bumping an attendee’s beer can while on stage.
The audience’s reaction seemed to be positive, with many saying they felt that Brice did a great job making the experience one to remember.
“I thought the show was great,” Valentine said. “I thought Lee Brice was great [and] he did a great job engaging with the crowd.”
For some, this concert may have been a foray into a new genre. Others in attendance, such as Kelly Cundiff, have a real passion for country music.
“I’ve been a country… [fan] for a long time, so I was really excited that Lee Brice was coming to Ohio,” said Cundiff, a sophomore studying nursing. “I wanted to come because I’m a big country fan.”
Brice may have many fans, but others have been around since before the fame.
“Working with Lee Brice is pretty crazy from where I started with him, because we were just a little band doing little bars for 200 people and it’s turned into this,” said Scott Sheppard, who has been Brice’s driver for three years. “It’s really fun. Lee is awesome, he’s nice and he’s a blast to work for.”
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