Lee Brice is doing his best to avoid any sort of criticism directed towards his upcoming release, “Country Nowadays.” The country artist recently announced that he’ll be releasing the now viral song on February 19 after debuting the patriotic anthem during the Turning Point USA All-American Halftime Show.  In case you missed it, Brice penned a song with Matt Alderman and Nate Kenyon that did it’s best to capture the political tension that can be felt by both sides of the aisle in normal, everyday life. Brice’s song, which is set to release officially later this week, states that being country in the United States is becoming harder and harder. Here’s how the chorus puts it: “It ain’t easy being country in this country nowadays The direction of fingers point when it all goes up in flames Saying I’m some right wing devil because I was downside red letter raised It ain’t easy being country in this country nowadays” That sentiment is probably relatable to many… but that’s not why the song has gotten a lot of traction online since the country star debuted it during TPUSA’s Halftime Show. It’s these verses in particular that have spawned memes, backlash, and Lee Brice to disable comments on his X account. The country star was evidently right in saying it’s hard to be country nowadays, because a generous swath of people have relentlessly come after him online because of the lines of the song below: “I just want to catch my fish drive my truck drink my beer And not wake up to all this stuff I don’t want to hear Like the same kind of gun I hunt with just killed another man Only thing mine ever shot was a deer from my dear Stand I just want to cut my grass, feed my dog, wear my boots Not turn the TV on, sit and watch the evening news Be told if I tell my own daughter That little boys ain’t little girls I’ll be up a creek in hot water In this cancel-your-a** world” If you have been online in the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably seen many of the jokes (and short-form parodies) that have popped up. Even the host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, touched on those lyrics… pleading for Brice to still feed his dog, no matter the circumstances. And one of the more popular jabs I’ve seen is this video, which replaces almost every line in the song with “fish.” Regardless of how you feel about Brice or politics… you’ve got to admit this is pretty funny: In fact, it was so comical that even Lee Brice apparently got a kick out of it. I’m just assuming that because, just yesterday, the country star posted a self-deprecating video of him getting his set list ready for a concert… or should I say “set-fish.” The joke is simple: Lee Brice basically turned every song of his into a fish-themed track. Check it out: Here’s our setfish – I mean “setlist” for tonight pic.twitter.com/V5dfmJQk45 — Lee Brice (@leebrice) February 15, 2026 Well played, Mr. Brice. Well played.The post Lee Brice Tweaks His Setlist In Response To Critics Of His New Single “Country Nowadays” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.