The past two years have seen Chase Rice evolve as an artist. He went from a backward ball cap wearing bro-country artist to an interesting songwriter with something to say over the course of two albums. I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go to Hell signaled a sonic and artistic shift for Rice in 2023. Then, last year, Go Down Singin’ saw him moving further in that direction. Today (March 7), he released a new three-track EP that shows more forward momentum.
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Last month, Rice played a two-night stand at Eric Church’s Lower Broadway bar Chief’s. The first night saw him playing his 2023 album in its entirety. The next night, he played all the songs from his most recent album. However, he didn’t just take the stage to play songs fans already knew by heart. He also introduced a sample of his next album and covered some songs that mean a lot to him. Today’s EP, Live from Chief’s showcases two meaningful covers of songs from Church and George Strait and an unreleased track from his next album, Eldora.
[RELATED: Exclusive: Chase Rice Didn’t Change, He Just Got Brave Enough To Be Himself]
Chase Rice Surprises Fans with New Live EP
Chase Rice is giving fans as much of the live acoustic experience possible on the new EP. For instance, two of the three songs start with a brief introduction. On “Carolina” he takes time to tell the crowd why the song and Eric Church are important to him. His cover of “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” ends with a story about the new song “Cowboy Goodbye.”
“This is a song that really inspired me in college. It was probably one of the first 10 songs I ever learned,” he said of the Eric Church cover. “I grew up listening to this guy. He was kind of fresh when I was in college. Man, I loved him. He was just real. He was different,” Rice added before singing the opening lines of “Carolina.”
“This next song is very much inspired by ’I Can Still Make Cheyenne.’ It’s my favorite George Strait song. It’s the very first song we wrote for the Eldora record,” he said of the unreleased track. “I’ve given up a lot to do music. I love my life, I love my job, I love what I get to do for a living, but I’ve given up a lot to do it. I don’t have a family yet but that’s the goal. But that’s one of the main things I’ve given up to do this thing. Right now I get to see the world. Maybe I’ll get to do it with somebody one day,” he said of what inspired him to write the song.
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