With the lights of Times Square shimmering down the street, PlayStation Theater is a great venue for New York country music fans to catch their favorite artists. Last night was no exception, rising star Morgan Evans took the stage to warm up the crowd before headliner, Lee Brice.

Evans tells the story in his live set of how he decided to skip finding an American band to back him, but instead to record all of the music solo on stage with the use of a peddle loop.  He played covers of Ed Sheeran and his main influence growing up, Keith Urban as well as new songs including “Life Changes” and “Day Drunk”.  “I do love New York,” he says adoringly, “I always feel like I’m in a movie when I’m here.” His first single released in the states, “Kiss Somebody”, has not hit radio airwaves yet, but you could have fooled the crowd, they knew every word to the uptempo love song.  New York City fans may have had the opportunity of seeing Evans earlier this summer when he played the Grand Ole Opry’s Circle in the City in Bryant Park.

 

Right at 9:15 on the dot, Lee Brice took the stage and filled his set with plenty of his incredible hits throughout the years as well as new songs off his forthcoming self-titled album due out November 3rd.  A true performer, Brice packed the 90-minute set, alternating between new and old and uptempo hits and ballads.  His passion for his music is evident during his live set, always interacting with his loyal fans who sang along the entire night.  Concert-goers heard “That Don’t Sound Like You”, “Hard to Love” and his first number one single “Woman Like You” as well as his latest single “Boy”.

“We feel and we are so blessed to be here again, and even more blessed that you guys are here because you make all of our dreams come true,” Brice says mid-concert. “I can’t stress that enough.”

 

A highlight of the night was Brice’s obvious adoration for our police men and women, our firefighters and our military.  He thanked them for their service before singing his touching hit “I Drive Your Truck”.  The stage went dark as the twinkle lights of cell phones popped up for the duration of the song.

Brice closed his set with more smash hits including “Parking Lot Party” and the song he wrote for his wife “I Don’t Dance” as well as a cover of Lynrd Skynrd’s “Simple Man”. Before leaving the stage, he autographed and handed off his guitar to a deserving fan who held the American Flag high the entire night, Brice proves there is a reason he can come back to New York City time and time again.  His fans love him and his music and look forward to many more shows from the megastar.  Pre-order his self-titled album on iTunes.