Brice Long: Backstage Pass, March 14

The West Kentucky Community & Technical College Backstage Pass program celebrates its grand finale of the season at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 14, at the Clemens Fine Arts Center.

Steamy singer/songwriter Brice Long headlines the show — he's signed by Reba McEntire. Singer/songwriters Arlos Smith and Brian White also join in, with Bawn in the Mash's Nathan Blake Lynn opening with a solo set!

"This will be one of our best shows ever," says Gail Robinson-Butler, director, Clemens Fine Arts Center. "Backstage Pass features acoustic musicians in a casual coffeehouse setting on the WKCTC stage. We've had a wonderful program this year, and having exceptional musicians like Brice, Arlos and Brian — and Nathan Lynn opening — this is just a great way to end our season."

Brice Long, 37, grew up on a 60-acre farm just down the road from Cadiz, Ky., graduated from Christian County High School and spent many an hour cutting tobacco and putting up hay. He considered a career in the rodeo — and still competes from time to time — but his love of music led him to Nashville.

"Growing up, music was always around," Brice says. "When we were out in the field cutting tobacco or hay, there'd be a truck with a door open and the radio playing Conway Twitty, Gary Stewart, Charlie Rich or some other artist. I loved it. I was never turned on by heavy metal or rock. I was drawn to country because we were country people."

Brice comes from a musical family that often performed together informally, and always with relatives during holiday gatherings. He also sang in church and, when high school rolled around, began traveling back and forth to Nashville to perform at open mic and songwriters' nights.

"I'd meet great musicians and singers, and I realized that's what I wanted to do," Brice says. "I performed every chance I got. When I was just 18 or 19, I started opening for people like Eddie Rabbitt and Freddie Fender. Seeing them do shows of 4,000 to 5,000 people lit a fire in me. You can't replace the feeling of being up on stage and hearing the audience applaud. Once you get up there, you get addicted to it."

Brice can certainly feed that musical addiction now that he's paid to create and write. He'd landed an internship with Reba McEntire's Starstruck Entertainment publishing company during his last semester at Middle Tennessee State University. One thing led to another, which led to someone high up in the company hearing his songs. He now holds a staff position, writing songs for McEntire's team to shop around to other performers.

Randy Houser recently recorded Brice's Anything Goes, which is getting great airplay now. It's co-written with John Tequila Makes Your Clothes Fall Off Williams. And Brice co-wrote Gary Allan's 2004 No. 1 single, Nothing On But the Radio.

Randy Travis, John Michael Montgomery, Josh Turner, Darryl Worley, Tracy Byrd, Chris Young, Steve Holy and Porter Wagoner have all recorded Brice's songs.

Anything Goes remains Brice's favorite. "Today, there's not a lot of lyrically driven country songs," he says. "But this one is true to life. It has a great melody and great lyrics, and Randy Houser sings it as well as anyone who's recorded my songs."

The inspiration for Anything Goes is, of course, heartbreak, a country music staple. But Brice's days of broken hearts are over. He's been happily married for the past five years — his wife, too, is in the music industry.

Along with others recording his songs — he'd love to write something for George Strait, by the way — Brice, himself, has a silky, smooth, Chris Isaak-esque voice. Which is more thrilling — singing his own songs or listening to other country greats performing them?

"It's equally rewarding," he says. "I love to play guitar and sing my own songs, but it's a pat on the back when artists like Randy Travis and Josh Turner do my songs. I'm just humbled that people like my music. It's been a real blessing. The Lord's taking care of me to use my talent."

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