Merlo joins Lee Brice for Festival show
SANDPOINT — Madeline Merlo will open for Lee Brice at his Aug. 1 Festival show.
When Curb Records recording artist, Lee Brice, isn't selling out arenas, writing and recording songs, or building new brands like American Born whiskey, you'll find the family man with his wife, Sara, two young boys, and a daughter. Meanwhile, with over 3.7 billion on-demand streams, and over 4 billion spins on Pandora, Brice continues to enjoy massive success at country radio, digital streaming services, and on the road.
He has reached the No. 1 spot at Country Radio with Platinum-selling “Memory I Don’t Mess With,” which consecutively follows three prior No. 1s: ASCAP’s 2021 Country Song of the Year and 3x Platinum track “One of Them Girls,” “I Hope You’re Happy Now” with Carly Pearce, and the 4x Platinum hit “Rumor,” which was nominated in the category Single of The Year at the 55th Annual ACM Awards. One of the most-played country artists of all time on Pandora, he was the second country artist behind Keith Urban to receive the Pandora Billionaire plaque. Brice is also a Grammy nominee, a CMA and ACM award winner, and he's taken nine radio singles to No. 1: "A Woman Like You," "Hard to Love," "I Drive Your Truck," "I Don’t Dance," "Drinking Class," “Rumor," “I Hope You’re Happy Now," “One of Them Girls,” and “Memory I Don’t Mess With.”
Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, and others have recorded his songs, and he's performed on numerous TV shows, including NBC's Today, ABC's The Bachelor, NBC's The Voice and FOX's Miss USA 2018. Brice performed as part of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honoring Garth Brooks, aired on PBS in March of 2020. At the 54th Annual CMA Awards, Brice took home the prize for Musical Event of the Year for his song with Carly Pearce, "I Hope You're Happy Now." At the 56th ACM Awards, “I Hope You’re Happy Now” won Single of the Year and Music Event of the Year, and Brice and Carly Pearce performed the song live.
Brice’s latest album, "Hey World," was recently certified Platinum and features several multi-platinum-selling hits. In 2024, Brice is kicking off the year with a special acoustic tour, Me & My Guitar Tour, and is releasing a collaboration track with Australian group King & Country, "Checking In," which will be featured in their upcoming biographical film, "Unsung Hero."
Raised in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, near Vancouver, Canada, Madeline Merlo spent her childhood riding horses with a natural playground of the ocean, woods, mountains, waterfalls, and glaciers as a backdrop. The setting contributed to her musical influences of Motown, soul, rhythm and blues as well as country music’s strong female voices, listening to artists like Etta James and Aretha Franklin as well as Shania Twain, Dolly, Martina McBride, and Faith Hill.
A lyric-driven artist, Merlo zeroed in on building her own immediately recognizable sound. Blending fresh and cool melodies with catchy, relatable lyrics balanced out with traditional instruments like the steel, dobro, and banjo, her sound pays homage to where she grew up while delicately layering iridescent beats with her classic roots.
After being discovered on YouTube and signing her first record deal at the age of 18, radio success, tour dates, and awards quickly followed, being honored with the Canadian Country Music Association’s Rising Star Award in 2015.
In 2020, Merlo won the season two premiere episode of the NBC songwriting reality series Songland, penning the upbeat and infectious “Champagne Night” for Lady A. The song was a three-week No. 1 that opened doors in Nashville, led to a record deal with BBR Music Group, and won Merlo (along with her “Champagne Night” co-writers) the 2021 Canadian Country Music Association Award for Songwriter of the Year.
Following the win, Merlo released her vibrant four-track EP Slide in September 2022. The EP kicks off with the title track, “Slide,” which started out as a song for Sam Hunt. “Zach called me and said, ‘Me and Sam are writing this song, but it feels more feminine. Give it a listen and see if you want to jump on the track,’” recalled Merlo. “Of course, I said yes. I’d miss my funeral for that.”
More recently, following the release of her debut 4-track EP Slide, Merlo released the resonant track “Same Car” via BBR Music Group accompanied by an official music video. Produced by Zach Crowell and infused with melodious chords, the song — entirely co-written by Merlo with powerhouse No. 1 hit songwriters — delivers the all-too-familiar story of a steamy, budding romance that ends in intense heartbreak. Slide became the perfect segue into her release of “Same Car,” with the singer building her narrative and brand-sharing stories from the female perspective.
Tickets for Lee Brice with Madeline Merlo are available at www.festivalatsandpoint.com.
The Festival at Sandpoint hosts an annual summer performance featuring a variety of genres, including rock, country, folk, indie, and more. The Festival at Sandpoint’s 41st annual concert series takes place July 25-Aug. 4 at War Memorial Field.
The Aug. 1 concert is a standard show, meaning the area in front of the stage is standing-room only. Tickets are general admission and are $69.95 before fees and taxes. Gates open at 6 p.m. and music starts at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for the show are online now at festivalatsandpoint.com.
Merlo