Lee Brice brought his beer drinking opportunity tour to Kingston

I’ve only really considered myself a “Country Music” fan for about that last 15-16 years and even at that I’m often drawn more to the Canadian indie scene. That said Lee Brice has long been an artist on my bucket list that I’ve been wanting to see and this past week I got the best of both worlds as Lee Brice along with two rising stars on the Canadian Indie scene, Josh Ross and Tenille Arts, paid a visit to Eastern Ontario, first with a stop at Canadian Tire Centre followed by a stop at Kingston’s Leon’s Centre.

Josh Ross kicked off the night with a short set that was well received by those who showed up early. The crowd especially loved it when he jumped into a cover of Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. For a young artist Ross’ stage presence already shows plenty of promise and I’m certain that he gained a few new fans on Thursday night in Kingston.

Saskatchewan’s Tenille Arts first came onto our radar back in 2015 during the Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist showcase. 2015 was a huge year for the Emerging Artist showcase which also featured James Barker Band, Eric Ethridge (who joined Tenille and Lee in Edmonton earlier in the tour), Leanne Pearson and more in the top 8. Although Arts ultimately lost to James Barker Band her career has seen its fair share of success in the last 8 years. She’s been nominated for a JUNO Award and an ACM Award, won 4 CCMA awards and 2 Western Canadian awards. She’s appeared on the ABC TV series The Bachelor 3 times and her single “Somebody Like That” has made history becoming the first ever song written, produced and performed by all women to top the Country charts. All of that in less than a decade and all before the age of 30. She’s toured with Lady A as part of their What A Song Can Do tour, was slated to join Dierks Bentley for the Canadian dates of his Beer’s On Me tour but unfortunately it was cancelled due to COVID. Now she’s joined Lee Brice and is giving Canadian audiences another chance to get to know her. For those that didn’t come early enough for her incredible opening set, Lee would give them a chance to experience her talent as he brought her back to perform Carly Pearce’s half of “I Hope You’re Happy Now” later in the show. One thing is certain…this girl is going places and it’s fun to be along for the ride.

By the time Lee Brice Leon’s Centre was packed to the rafters and there was a certain energy in the room. If you’ve ever been to country show in Kingston you’d know that even though Kingston may be home to rock bands like the Tragically Hip, The Glorious Sons and Kasador it’s also home to some of the most rabid country fans in Canada. Lee wasted no time to fire up the energy in the building kicking off the night with “Soul” before leading right into “Parking Lot Party”. The rest of the night was a hit parade of Lee Brice’s biggest hits including some of the more sentimental ones that tug at the heartstrings like “Love Like Crazy”, “Boy” the Garth Brooks classic, that Lee Brice co-wrote, “More than a Memory” and, of course, a moving performance of “Drive Your Truck” where all stage lights were turned off and the arena was lit up only by cell phone camera lights.

The biggest fear I have going into my first show with a bucket list artist is that I might walk out disappointed. Unfortunately I’ve had it happen more than once and it’s not fun. While Lee Brice wasn’t the best show I’ve seen, or even the best show I’ve seen in recent history I did enjoy it. Lee brought the parking lot party inside and it was a lot of fun. He had the crowd singing along and having fun and what more can you ask for on a Thursday night? I have a lot of respect for an artist, and their team, when they give an opportunity to new Canadian artists so kudos to them for giving Josh, Eric and Tenille a shot. I hope that other artists can follow that lead going forward.

Both Lee, Josh and Tenille will now be spending some time in the US with Josh going straight out on tour with Chase Rice before he returns to Canada for a North American tour with Nickelback for the summer.

For more info on any of the artists visit them at their respective websites below:

Josh Ross: www.joshrossmusic.com
Eric Ethridge:  www.ericethridge.com
Tenille Arts: www.tenillearts.com
Lee Brice: www.leebrice.com

More Photos from Kingston and Edmonton