web1_mcmanus.jpg

Their view: Mueller’s investigation is over, but Congress should keep investigating

web1_Simon-Co.-2019.jpg

Family Service Association sets Spring Fling for April 4

WILKES-BARRE &#8212;Before he grew up to record such number-one hits as &#8220;A Woman Like You,&#8221; &#8220;Hard To Love,&#8221; &#8220;I Drive Your Truck,&#8221; &#8220;I Don&#8217;t Dance&#8221; and &#8220;Drinking Class,&#8221; country singer Lee Brice was a kid who sang around the piano with his family, which included his mom and her musical sisters.In advance of his return to Wilkes-Barre for a concert that begins at 8 p.m. Friday, March 29, at the F.M. Kirby Center, the singer/songwriter, whose fourth studio album, the self-titled &#8220;Lee Brice,&#8221; contains the hit singles &#8220;Boy&#8221; and &#8220;Rumor,&#8221; took some time to recall those warm memories as he answered a few questions for the Times Leader.Here&#8217;s what he had to say:TL: I&#8217;ve read that you grew up hearing your mother and a whole lot of aunts singing together. Did they sing just for their own enjoyment, or were they professionals?LB: They sang in church but they made a trip to Nashville at one point and recorded an album. Their harmonies are incredible. They were a big inspiration to me.TL: Did you sing along with them, as a kid?LB: We did. We mostly sang around the piano during family gatherings. Those were some of my favorite musical memories growing up.TL: I watched the video for the song &#8220;Boy&#8221; and think it&#8217;s sweet the way it depicts your family. Do your children remind you of yourself as you were growing up?LB: Absolutely. Takoda (age 10) and Ryker (age 4) are different individuals but really do have my characteristics. I see myself in them for sure.TL: How autobiographical are the lyrics to &#8220;Boy?&#8221; Did you, for example, total two cars?LB: &#8220;Boy&#8221; was written by Nicolle Galyon and Jon Nite, but when I heard the it I knew I wanted to make it my own.I was playing it on the road, and we hadn&#8217;t quite put it out on the radio yet, but I knew we were going to. But as I sang it every night, people would hold up pictures of their boys, and all I could think about was, so many people that I meet every day have such tragic things happen to their young children, and all I would ever think about are my two healthy &#8212; completely healthy &#8212; boys, and all the other stuff in life that you can easily get angry or frustrated or complain about. The moment you think about the fact that you have healthy boys, healthy children, and there are so many people who go through so much stuff, it just kind of overwhelms me with joy. I would break down onstage.The song is great, but that song reminded me of my daddy. And now, as a daddy (the singer and his wife have two sons plus a daughter, Trulee Nanette, who will be 2 in June), I realize how hard he was trying to teach me things that he wanted me to learn for me, not for him. He wanted me to learn these things so that I could be ahead in life, so that I could be ahead in life in joy, and so I could be ahead in life at not having to work so hard and learn all these lessons the hard way.So now I&#8217;m trying to teach my kids, and they aren&#8217;t listening to me. They don&#8217;t know that I&#8217;m trying to help &#8212; (that) it&#8217;s all about them. So the connection between my daddy and myself, and now myself and my sons, that is what makes &#8220;Boy,&#8221; the song, so special.TL: The song and video for &#8220;I Don&#8217;t Dance&#8221; (which shows Lee dancing with wife Sara) are also really beautiful. How often do you and your wife get the opportunity to dance together nowadays?LB: It&#8217;s important to us to make time to spend together &#8211; and sometimes that does indeed involve dancing. These days life can take over but it&#8217;s important to make time for the things you value and we are thoughtful about planning time for our family and each other.TL: When you come to perform at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, which songs do you expect will definitely be on the play list?LB: Every show is a little different so I can&#8217;t tell you for sure what the set list will be but I can tell you that we give our all to show the crowd a great time. We look forward to seeing everyone!<style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_lee.brice_.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Country singer Lee Brice is a Grammy nominee, a CMA nominee and a double ACM award winner, and he&#8217;s taken five radio singles to number one, including &#8220;A Woman Like You,&#8221; &#8220;Hard To Love,&#8221; &#8220;I Drive Your Truck,&#8221; &#8220;I Don&#8217;t Dance,&#8221; and &#8220;Drinking Class.&#8221; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_lee.brice_.jpeg</photo0><caption0>Country singer Lee Brice is a Grammy nominee, a CMA nominee and a double ACM award winner, and he&#8217;s taken five radio singles to number one, including &#8220;A Woman Like You,&#8221; &#8220;Hard To Love,&#8221; &#8220;I Drive Your Truck,&#8221; &#8220;I Don&#8217;t Dance,&#8221; and &#8220;Drinking Class.&#8221; </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Mary Therese Biebelmbiebel@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>IF YOU GO Who: Country singer Lee Brice, in concertWhen: 8 p.m. Friday, March 29. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.Where: F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, 71 Public Square, Wilkes-BarreTickets: 570-826-1100</factboxMeta></div>

Country singer Lee Brice coming to Kirby Center