Lee Brice talks to Guilty Eats about his partnership with Casey’s, food, and being back on tour

Is there anything better than country music, pizza, and a cold drink? For some the answer might be yes. After chatting with country singer Lee Brice, I admit that the answer might just be no. And that combination is made even better when there is a deal involved.

As the world shifts from pandemic quarantine to a new sense of normal, things like concerts are starting to happen again. And one singer who has already started to get back out there is Lee Brice, whose latest single ‘One of Them Girls’ is not only up for a Billboard Music Award for Top Country Song of the Year, but it was also named song of the year by the Nashville Independent Music Publishers.

Considering Brice is already having a pretty good year already, it actually makes sense that he is partnering with Casey’s for an epic summer that includes a meal deal with the singer’s name on it, a chance to win a small-town concert, and so much more. And we were lucky enough to be able to speak to the singer about all of this, including what it feels like to be back on stage, why he decided to partner with Casey’s, and of course what his favorite guilty eat is.

In their own effort to make this summer great, Casey’s is giving rewards members opportunities to get free food, deals on things like the Lee Brice Combo, and of course the biggest prize of all a chance to have a Brice come to your hometown for a concert! “Now through September 7, Casey’s rewards members who purchase qualifying food, drinks and fuel will be automatically entered into the “Summer of Freedom” sweepstakes.”

We talk to Lee Brice about his work, his partnership with Casey’s and of course, food

One of the best parts about doing foodie interviews of any kind is learning more about what people enjoy eating and what brings back memories. And even when we talk about our favorite guilty eats, it is amazing how people react.

With Lee Brice, our chat was as much about his concert tour and partnership with Casey’s as it was about food, which is always a sign of an interview well done (at least in our hungry hearts). In fact, my favorite moment was actually asking the singer about his favorite guilty eat and hearing him talk about his grandmother’s mac and cheese before saying there was simply no guilt involved in that dish and choosing something else “guilty.”

But of course, we didn’t start with food in this interview, we started with what it felt like to be going back out on tour and performing for actual audiences in person. And according to Brice,

"there’s nothing like it, you know, having that energy coming back to you. It filled this void that we’ve had for a year now, we’ve been able to play for cameras and virtually, that kind of thing but that’s a whole different story, than to be there and see the faces. So yeah, we’re excited. It was even emotional the very first time we got back up there, because it was like just soaking it in as much as we could."

Digging a bit deeper into what it is like to be back on stage, we asked the singer exactly what it is that he enjoys about getting out there again.

"It’s being able to see their faces, their stories and faces. There’s these stories in moments, people starting to dance or people turn around and give each other a kiss or certain people just looking at you with a look in their eye, you know they’re telling you a story somewhere in their mind and I mean there’s a million things you can say, but being able to see those faces and feel that energy – this is what it’s been all about since the beginning."

Next we wanted to know more about his partnership with Casey’s and why he decided to join forces with them for the summer.

"Well, I mean they had a great idea, and first of all it’s Casey’s, who wouldn’t want to partner with Casey’s. They brought it to us, and I was like yeah I love them. Then when I got to meet them, they were just such great people and down to earth. Their whole thought process where they were trying to go and maybe do this summer, it just felt right. It felt good, that idea of the summer of freedom, getting back out there, getting back in the dirt for concerts, getting back out there to just socialize and to be together. It all just made sense. And they put together a cool sweepstakes and you go to Casey’s and you sign up for the rewards and once you do that you’re eligible. And you go shop in Casey’s like we would always do anyway. But this time when you shop you get a chance to win prizes, and not just little prizes, but a grand prize of myself being able to surprise whoever wins it. I go to their hometown with my band and my crew and we do a full on show and it’s free for the town, and I think this just sounded really fun to me so it just all worked out."

Considering part of this partnership includes a food special actually named after the country singer, we couldn’t resist asking what he thought about this and the Lee Brice Combo.

"I thought that was the coolest thing. They were talking about doing the contest and doing all this stuff and then they said, we’re also gonna do some like food specials and it was like what are you talking about. They’re like yeah we’re gonna do like a Lee Brice combo, we’re gonna do a parking lot party meal deal. So I got me a chicken BBQ chicken sandwich, and because I’m from South Carolina so barbecues like sort of in my background. Then they got this parking lot party meal deal and it’s got a couple of single topping pizzas and two, two liter drinks, you know you can’t just get one, you got to get two. So, I mean, it’s really cool. It was fun. That was a really fun part for me to be able to say I can walk into a Casey’s and see my name up on the menu there."

Once we got onto the topic of food, this is where we really did that deep dive to learn more about those guilty eats and what it is that Brice enjoys indulging with.

"My favorite guilty. Well, I guess because I don’t feel guilty after I eat my grandmother’s macaroni and cheese I can’t call that a guilty eat. It’s probably the best food on the planet. So I would say guilty eat, Oh man, like just going to get maybe some straight up, pizza. Just maybe going into Casey’s and just taking the whole rack, and just sliding it over into my big box and taking the box just with me and then asking everybody else what they want."

And speaking of pizza, you can’t talk about a pizza deal or pizza being a guilty eat without finding out what someone’s favorite topping is!

"I am a meat guy but I also love like jalapenos I love mushrooms and, I kind of like to pile it all on. It’s like when I go to a restaurant, it’s hard for me to order like one meal. I just want to order like, the left side of the menu and I want little pieces of all of it, so that’s kind of how I like my pizza."

After that, what more is there to say except to let you know a little more about the Lee Brice Combo or the Casey’s ‘Parking Lot Party’ Pizza Deal. For the Lee Brice Combo, you get a medium drink and Casey’s new BBQ chicken sandwich for just $5. With the Parking Lot Party Pizza Deal you get, “two single topping pizzas, one order of new, made-from-scratch cheesy breadsticks and two, two-liter bottles of Casey’s soda for just $24.99.” And if you are ordering this feast online, just use the code LEEBRICE to get your deal!

We are pretty excited by these deals from Casey’s and the fact that they have partnered with Lee Brice to make summer magic happen. And of course, it was an absolute blast getting to chat with the country singer about this partnership and going back out to perform in front of live audiences again.