The musical event of the evening in Saginaw was held at the Dow Event Center as Lee Brice and friends stopped in for a party.
Singer-songwriter Lee Brice is on the road right now for his 2016 Life Off My Years tour that made a stop in Saginaw, Michigan on Thursday night. For this part of the tour, he has invited friends Dylan Scott along with Maddie & Tae to join him at the party.
The party started with Dylan being welcomed to the stage by a group of screaming girls as he opened with “My Town,” a Michael Stanley Band cover. Pacing the stage back and forth while singing, Dylan tried to make contact with all his fans in front by leaning over and singing to them personally.
With a deep baritone voice and attractive, good looks, many of the women in the crowd appeared to melt as they all felt that he was singing to each and every one of them individually.
Continuing with material from his self-titled EP, Dylan kept the crowd pumped up with songs “Lay It On Me,” “Ball Cap” along with his first song on the radio, “Makin’ This Boy Go Crazy.”
Growing up listening to country music, he showed off his taste for traditional country with “When You Say Nothing At All” by his childhood idol, Keith Whitley.
Before the next song, Dylan asked the ladies in the crowd how many changed their outfits numerous times before coming to the show. He said, “We are all crazy, and it is okay, cause we live in a crazy world.” He talked about having the dream of having a song played on the Top 40, and it just came true with his current single, “Crazy Over Me.”
Dylan’s show came to an end with him singing his follow-up single that is getting ready to release to radio soon, “My Girl.”
Next up were Maddie & Tae. They opened with “Right Here, Right Now.”
Maddie & Tae is made up of singing-songwriting guitarists, Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye. These two young ladies met through a vocal coach in Texas and have performed together since. Their current album, Start Here by Dot Records, was written by Madison and Taylor and has connected with younger audiences.
Standing at center stage playing acoustic guitars, the girls performed songs from their current album as the crowd sang along. Thanking the crowd for participating, they love to hear when the crowd sings back to them, as they did with “Shut Up And Fish.” The song is upbeat with a playful tune and talks about how some boyfriends are so clueless and only have one thing on their mind.
As they begin the song “Fly,” Maddie thanks the crowd once again for the love and allowing them to do what they do and be able to live out their dreams.
With the recent passing of legendary country artist Merle Haggard, Maddie paid tribute by wearing a souvenir t-shirt of his and performed his song “Silver Wings.”
Talking to the crowd, they made a note always to know your self-worth and not be a mean, hateful person, because you could get a song written about yourself as did “Sierra,” the bully.
Before they ended their set, Maddie & Tae wanted to turn the event center into a dance party with help from the crowd by singing hip hop song, “Umbrella” by Rihanna.
Maddie & Tae finished their show with their first No. 1 hit, “A Girl In A Country Song.” Singing about their rebuttal to the stereotypical “bro-country” song about females, they gained momentum as most of the women present sang along in unison to support the stand of equality.
Finally, it was time for the headliner, Lee Brice. Lee came to the stage with his guitar strapped over his shoulder as he opened with “Hard To Love,” from his sophomore album of the same name.
Lee, a singer-songwriter and talented guitarist, showcased his musical ability throughout his performance as he and his band continuously shared the spotlight with mini solos.
During the show, he stopped one time to walk back to a cooler on stage that resembled a guitar amp and opened it to reveal it full of beer. He grabbed a few cans out of the cooler and asked the crowd who is thirsty before handing a few out to the crowd. He held up a t-shirt with the word BEER on the front of it before throwing it out into the crowd. He popped open a can in the mic for everyone to here and said that this is his favorite sound. He takes a drink and throws it out into the crowd as they erupt wildly and proceed with the song, “Beer.”
Thanking the crowd for being there, he shared a new song, “That Don’t Sound Like You,” from his current album, I Don’t Dance.
Giving praise to Dylan Scott and Maddie & Tae for joining him on this tour, he wanted to introduce someone special who was in the area on this evening. He then called “his brother from another mother” Jerrod Niemann to the stage. Together Lee and Jerrod sang “Happy For The Rest Of Your Life” as Lee played guitar on stage singing while Jerrod took over the catwalk singing and shaking hands with everyone in the front rows.
Lee exited the stage and let Jerrod sing his hit song, “I Can Drink To That All Night,” with the help of Lee’s band in the background.
As Jerrod exited, Lee returned to sing his first number one song “A Woman Like You.” The crowd was so impressive with their singing; Lee stepped back away from his microphone so that he could enjoy the crowd singing back to him.
As a songwriter, Lee has been successful writing hit songs for other artists as well as for himself. In 2007, Garth Brooks called him and asked to record “More Than A Memory.” Although Lee planned to keep the song and record it himself, he let Garth have the song. Growing up a huge Garth fan, it was an honor that he wanted the song. Later that year, the song became the first single to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart . The song also launched Lee’s career as he also signed with Curb Records the same year.
Lee wrote a song, “Crazy Girl,” about an ex-girlfriend from college that later was recorded by the Eli Young Band. In 2011, the song was Billboard’s Year End Top Country Song Of 2011.
Lee raised his glass and proclaimed that he belonged to the “Drinking Class.” With the crowd’s approval, they joined in and assisted in singing with Lee.
Lee then left the stage to allow his band to show off as it centered around a drum solo. With the lights flickering to the beat of the drums, Lee returned to the stage with a banjo player starting the country rap song, “Good Man.”
After singing a number written by Eric Church that has become the title of his tour, “Life Off My Years,” Lee removed his guitar and signed it before handing it to a young fan at the front of the stage.
Lee ended this part of the show by praising all those in uniform that includes the military, fire, and law enforcement. To show respect to those mentioned, he asked for the stage lights to be turned down while the crowd raised their cell phones in the air with their flashlights on as he sang “I Drive My Truck.”
After a quick break, Lee and his band returned for an encore with him singing his first top five hit, “Love Like Crazy.”
Next, his band jumped right into “Fat Bottom Girls” by Queen before being joined on stage by Dylan Scott, and Maddie & Tae, along with Jerrod Niemann for “Parking Lot Party.”
Once again after a short break, Lee returned to finish the evening by sitting at a piano for his favorite and most personal song written for his wife and their wedding, “I Don’t Dance.”
Lee Brice
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Maddie & Tae
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Dylan Scott
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Jerrod Niemann
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Dow Event Center
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Lee Brice Setlist: 1. Hard To Love; 2. Friends We Won’t Forget; 3. She Ain’t Right; 4. Beer; 5. That Don’t Sound Like That; 6. w/Jerrod Niemann – Happy For The Rest Of Your Life; 7. Jerrod Niemann – I Can Drink To That All Night; 8. A Woman Like You; 9. Crazy Girl; 10. More Than A Memory; 11. Good Man; 12. Life Off My Years; 13. I Drive Your Truck; 14. Encore – Love Like Your Crazy; 15. Encore – Fat Bottom Girls; 16. Encore – w/Dylan Scott, Maddie & Tae and Jerrod Niemann – Parking Lot Party; 17. Encore 2 – I Don’t Dance
Maddie & Tae Setlist: 1. Right Here, Right Now; 2. No Place Like You; 3. Your Side Of Town; 4. Shut Up And Fish; 5. After The Storm Blows Through; 6. Fly; 7. Silver Wings; 8. Downside Of Growing Up; 9. Sierra; 10. Umbrella; 11. A Girl In A Country Song
Dylan Scott Setlist: 1. This Is My Town; 2. Lay It On Me; 3. Ball Cap; 4. Makin’ This Boy Go Crazy; 5. When You Say Nothing At All; 6. Crazy Over Me; 7. My Girl