Country singer Bryce Leatherwood, who took the top prize on season 22 of NBC’s “The Voice” last December, will perform his first concert in his hometown of Woodstock this Friday night since winning the reality competition.
The concert, which will be free, is set for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at Northside Hospital-Cherokee Amphitheater in downtown Woodstock.
Leatherwood grew up with a heavy dose of George Jones, Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty courtesy of his grandfather. He attended Georgia Southern University, where he formed a band.
On “The Voice,” he was on Blake Shelton’s team and stuck to country during his run, including covers of songs by Twitty (”Goodbye Time”), Brooks & Dunn (”Red Dirt Road”), Zac Brown Band (”Colder Weather”), Billy Currington (”Let Me Down Easy”), Travis Tritt (”I’m Gonna Be Somebody”), George Strait (”Amarillo By Morning”), Morgan Wallen (”Sand In My Boots”) and Justin Moore (”If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away”).
During the finale, he sang covers of songs by Keith Whitley (”Don’t Close Your Eyes”) and Tritt (”T-R-O-U-B-L-E”) and dueted with Shelton (”Hillbilly Bone”).
The coaches frequently praised his authenticity and smooth vocal style.
He was Shelton’s ninth winner in 22 competitions and the first singer who competed for a Wild Card spot and still ended up winning the entire competition. He was also the first Georgian to take the crown.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Leatherwood said he has moved to Nashville and has been writing songs with other songwriters. He also opened for legendary country star Dwight Yoakam for eight dates.
“I work every day,” he said. “If you’re going to get good at something, you have to work at it. It takes time. I come in with a good attitude, a humble attitude. I show up to learn from these amazing songwriters. I enjoy the camaraderie, the team aspect.”
Leatherwood has written 60 original songs since he left “The Voice” and hopes to eventually pick the best of them for an album and possibly send off a few of his originals to other artists.
He is aware that the music biz is brutally competitive and rising to Wallen-level heights is rare. So he doesn’t worry about that.
“I think if you look in the sideview mirror too much, you miss a lot in life,” Leatherwood said. “I focus on me. I don’t try to be anybody else. I try to be true to myself.”
“The Voice,” he said, helped him make connections and learn from pros like Shelton.
“I signed up for the show on a whim and ended up winning the whole thing” he said.
Shelton set a great example for Leatherwood: “Be who you are. Have a calm energy about you. Do what you do and have a good time doing it and you’ll live a fruitful life. That’s what I’m trying to do every day.”
He is thrilled to see country music doing so well on the Billboard Hot 100, where songs by Luke Combs, Jason Aldean and Wallen have been dominating the mainstream pop charts. “I see a swing back to telling good stories,” he said. “Folks like Jellyroll and Morgan give us meaningful, passionate stories.”
He’s also looking forward to celebrating his “Voice” victory in his hometown.
“It’s been awhile,” he said. “I can’t wait to see everybody again.” He plans to play up to 90 minutes and will intersperse covers and originals. A guaranteed crowd pleaser, he said, will be his version of “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.”
IF YOU GO
Bryce Leatherwood, 7:30 p.m. Friday, August 25, free concert, Northside Hospital-Cherokee Amphitheater, 01 Arnold Mill Rd, Woodstock, www.woodstockga.gov
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