Chase Rice Reveals What His Mom Thinks About the Song He Wrote About Her, Premieres “Connie Lou” at Nashville Fan Event (Exclusive)

Chase Rice has his mom’s stamp of approval. For his latest single, the country singer found inspiration in his mom’s story, and wound up naming the song “Connie Lou,” a nod to her middle name.

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“I just felt like it was time to write her a song,” Rice told American Songwriter. “I just wanted it to be fun, summer, a happy song for my mom as opposed to putting her through something sad.”

After Rice decided to pen a song about his mom, he teamed up with Dan Couch and Oscar Charles to flush out the idea. What they came up with wound up being “very accurate” to his parents’ love story, so much so that Rice used a photo of the duo as the song’s cover art.

Sonically, after the “somber” nature of his 2025 album, Eldora, Rice wanted “some energy, excitement” for the first song of his newest era.

“I just kept hearing harmonica on this song,” he said. “The start of the song is one of my favorite parts where the big acoustic comes in with the harmonica. It’s simple.”

When the song was done, Rice decided to play it for his mom for the first time right after he stepped of stage at Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

“I said, ‘OK, I wrote you a song, Mom.’ She literally started freaking out. I think she thought it was gonna be sad, started tearing up a little bit,” Rice recalled. “… And then I played it and I think she was happy with it.”

Chase Rice Premieres “Connie Lou” at Free Nashville Concert

Rice released “Connie Lou” on May 29, but some lucky fans in Nashville got to hear the track live, hours before it came out. The singer teamed up with Coors Banquet and Wrangler to put on a free concert in the parking lot at Nashville hotspot Losers.

After entertaining opening sets from Rhys Rutherford and Hannah McFarland, Rice took the stage. The headliner delivered an hour-long set of his biggest hits, before debuting “Connie Lou” to the world.

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The crowd immediately loved the track, as did the two brands who helped put on the event. So much so, in fact, that Rice worked with the companies to develop a new limited-edition apparel collection.

The 32-piece collection includes something for everyone. However, the most noteworthy item is a pair of jeans that feature actual chords from “Connie Lou,” printed directly onto the denim using Coors Banquet beer-based ink.

For Rice, a longtime fan of both brands, the collaboration fit right into his wheelhouse.

“You see a bunch of weird stuff that country music fans are wearing, different things, at country music festivals, especially in the summer,” Rice said. “It’s a very summer song. You see all that interesting stuff in country concerts. It fits right in.”

Chase Rice on His Next Era

Though “Connie Lou” is out in the world, fans may have to wait a while for any more new music from Rice. At the top of the year, the singer revealed that he intended to take 2026 off touring. It’s a decision that has proved to be just what he needed.

“I’m loving it. I’m golfing a lot and I’m hanging out with buddies,” Rice said of his time off, before noting that all that real-life experience has left him with “a ton” of song ideas that he plans to delive into at songwriting retreats this fall.

“I know how I go with writing. You start freaking out a little bit. You’re like, ‘F**k, I haven’t written a song in months,’” he admitted. “And then you go into it, and… all these ideas that are flowing into my phone are gonna finally get written.”

Though he’s still in the early stages of his new music, Rice already knows what the major theme will be.

“It’s gonna be happy. ‘Hope’ was the word that I started thinking after the Eldora album, because it just didn’t feel like there was a lot of hope in that,” Rice said. “That’s what I want with this next one to be. I want it to be happy. I’m just in a good place in life at a point.”

Sonically, Rice said that fans can expect to hear harmonica and fiddle on his next project.

“It’ll continue to be down a similar vein as the last three albums,” he said. “… This next one, I really want to go down the road of bringing some energy and having so fun with it.”

Photo by John Amis, Associated Press