Lee Brice Gets ‘Real’ in ‘Memory I Don’t Mess With’ Acoustic Video as He Enjoys ‘Fun’ of Performing Again

The country music star exclusively tells PEOPLE he wanted to “put little nuggets of ‘real'” in the stripped-back clip, which was shot on his Nashville farm

Lee Brice is giving fans a closer look at his personal life in a new acoustic video for his latest hit single, “Memory I Don’t Mess With.”

PEOPLE has your exclusive first look at this new version, which finds the country music star, 42, stripping back the upbeat sound of the original, which is taken from his acclaimed fifth album Hey World.

Brice decided to shoot the accompanying visual on his Nashville farm, helping to bring a more intimate touch to the emotional song, which holds a special meaning for the star.

“I love this video for many reasons. For one, it’s like this little snapshot of a moment in time in my personal life,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively. “There was a time, a girl, a story very close to what this video portrays that I actually went through, even down to the year and model of the truck in the video.”

The award-winning musician feels it’s important to “put little nuggets of ‘real'” in both his music and his videos, and knew taking this new clip to the place where the song was created would bring that personal touch.

“Another really cool thing about the video is where we filmed it – on my farm, where it was written, even where some of it was recorded,” he explains. “Shooting down in that river bed where I float, where I fish with my kids, was one of the coolest shots I’ve ever been a part of.”

After the global pandemic put live performances on hold for over a year, Brice has begun touring again, and couldn’t be more thrilled to be back on the road.

“This whole record was so fun to make from start to finish, and now getting back on the road is beyond fun,” he says, pointing out that playing his latest songs in front of crowds for the first time sparked a bigger reaction than he anticipated.

“Being able to play all this new music and see the reaction from a live audience, real voices, real smiles, claps, lighters in the air, has been even overwhelming emotionally in moments,” he added.

Lee Brice Gets ‘Real’ in New ‘Memory I Don’t Mess With’ Acoustic Video | PEOPLE.com