Bryce Vine Keeps Climbing

On Saturday, June 4^th 2022 American rapper and singer Bryce Vine will play Petco Park’s behind the scoreboard venue in support of headliners Dirty Heads. Any stadium gig is a big deal for performers, as the door cracks open to playing the big field on another trip in the not too distant future.

It is not easy to describe Bryce’s style. It’s a mash up of bass heavy rap, combined with a pop flavor, hip-hip choruses and a tinge of punk rock. He’s an engaging performer who delivers an energetic show to a crowd which begins dancing quickly and never really stops.

Bryce has been out playing a headlining tour of college campuses and supporting appearances at festivals where the stages and audiences are smaller. There may be as many as 6,000 people in the San Diego audience next weekend.

His travel schedule is grueling. It’s play a show, get up at 5 a.m. and move to the next venue. People romanticize the life of a traveling musician, but the reality is never quite equal to the fantasy. Travel is stressful. Travel with a deadline to be at the next venue, equipment in place and performance ready adds a whole extra level of concern. There’s no napping when it’s show time. You have to be there and fully energized to engage the audience. Still, after two years off, Bryce is happy to be back in the mix.

Bryce has his own vibe which he brings to whatever audience attends the show. He sees himself first as an entertainer. His shows are intended to engage and involve the crowd. The intention is to lift the crowd and deliver them the energy of the records he’s released. Bryce has a playful mix of rapping and singing backed by his own band of touring musicians. That’s an upgrade from the many touring acts who are just rapping over a pre-recorded track or backed by DJ.

Bryce’s style is fluid. He recently released a punk song The American Dream. His newest song samples Why Can’t We Be Friends, by War. Bryce is not pushing to release an album. He’s dropping one song at a time as a way to maintain continuous engagement with his audience. It’s one drop on social media and there are instantly 200,000 people who have access to the song.

The band backing Bryce helps bring a more rounded feel to the sound, differentiating Bryce from those word spitting rappers who are more about rhythm than melody. Because this music has a more melodic base, it broadens the audience. Also, Bryce frequently collaborates with others. He has worked with YG, Cheat Codes, Loud Luxury, Parmalee and Blanco Brown among others. His song Miss You A Little featuring Lovely The Band is illustrative of this style:

The Petco Park behind the scoreboard show lineup on June 4^th will be Dirty Heads with support by Bryce Vine, Artikal Sound System, Spray Allen, Joey Valence and Brae. Tickets are $60 GA or $260 VIP plus fees.

Bryce is from Westlake, CA , once a family suburb built upon two lakes, one real and one built by the area’s developer. It’s a place where the schools are good, the neighborhoods are safe and where you can ride a pontoon boat at sunset. It’s just close enough to Los Angeles to be practical to commute there for work, and just far enough away that it has its own ecosystem.

While living in Westlake, Bryce found his calling. His career was inspired by Stephen Lynch, an actor and comedian who created a career by writing and performing funny inappropriate songs. Watching Lynch on television inspired Bryce to get his first guitar and learn to play.

From that unlikely start began the path to a music career. Bryce began to get gigs in college shows of 100 fans in 2016. He had a surprise hit with Sour Patch Kids, which took a concept he developed quickly and which riffed on that nostalgia for childhood. Then, Bryce released the song Drew Barrymore which gained traction. The attention paid him soon multiplied.

Bryce is well advised. He has a tour manger, a day to day manager and someone whose job it is to watch the money. For anyone wants to succeed long term in the music industry, it is critical to understand the business aspects of touring. At some point you must learn the difference between fast money and long term stability. It’s the “OK Boomer” advice. Save some of that money. You may need it for the rest of your life.

Meanwhile, Bryce is a work in progress with his social media approach. He is just now building his Tik Tok presence while continuing to support his outreach on other platforms. Social media is now the currency of fame. It’s where careers are created and maintained.

It’s fun to talk with artists who have balance in their lives, and don’t take themselves too seriously. Bryce and I had fun. Our conversation is below in both video and audio podcast formats:

Music never follows a straight path. Trends come and go. The only constant is talent. Those who break through usually have the ability and the drive to create a path through the clutter and into the headspace of their audiences. Sometimes that’s a tortured artistic path, sometimes that’s just the connection between an audience and a sound which resonates. Bryce Vine is on the cusp of breaking through to a wide audience. He’s modifying the typical rapper experience and broadening the potential audience.

Bryce’s show is upbeat which builds affinity when those who happen upon him for the first time experience his show. When you take that approach, then build onto it by both touring your own show, and playing to audiences driven by others, whether as a supporting act or a festival player, there are even more opportunities to get in front of those who might never have happened upon you. This path is the old fashioned grind and it has worked consistently. Take that path and supplement it with approachable music videos and an engaging stage presence the doors to the world will swing open. Watch those doors carefully and you’ll be in the front row as Bryce Vine emerges.