CHASE RICE – Being The Best Man Possible
CHASE RICE UNVEILS INDEPENDENT ALBUM GO DOWN SINGINâ SET FOR SEPTEMBER 20 RELEASE.
Building upon the ironic turn of 2023âs I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell, celebrated by Billboard as âone of 2023âs most unexpected artistic pivotsâ and one of the best albums of the year across all genres, Diamond-certified songwriter Chase Rice doubles down on the raw introspection of that project with forthcoming independent release Go Down Singinâ arriving September 20. Pre-order/pre-save HERE.
Mirroring the cover art of that critically acclaimed I Hate Cowboys album, which features an image of his late father holding two Coors Banquets during the late â80s in Wyoming, Rice recreated that photo himself for Go Down Singinâ as he continues to honour the man who not only served as his childhood hero, but who also still shapes his music and the person he is today.
Marveling at being a work-in-progress, he considers the 11-song cycle an arrival on the brink of âbeing the man my father always believed I could be.â Now, after what seems like so many chances, the Florida-born, North Carolina-raised dreamer is making good on what his father told him so many years ago, âBoy, anyone can play guitar, but no one is gonna really listen to you until you start singing.â
And writing. Though he co-wrote ‘Cruise’, arguably one of countryâs biggest songs this century, Rice realized heâd only been skimming the surface. A kid when he started, he faced challenges, loss, soul-searching and gained a new appreciation for the art instead of the craft. With Go Down Singinâ Rice emerges as a spirit settling into a more philosophical place, still wildly committed to living wide open in pursuit of his dream and being the best man possible.
In a voice sturdy as a retaining wall, Rice confesses, âIâm 38 now, and thatâs part of it. Iâve journaled since I was 15 years old, but thereâs something about being able to tell other people. Iâm a deep person, but I donât know to show it in real life, so Iâm trying to do it in my music.Â
âFor me, Go Down Singinâ is everything about where I am and what I want,â he continues. âIâm starting to see myself as who I want to be, not who I thought I should be. Thatâs a good start. And I think a lot of men struggle with this stuff, too.â
Getting honest, digging down, Rice shifted his approach. Collaborating for a second time with producer Oscar Charles (Boy Named Banjo, Madeline Edwards, Elvie Shane), the pair worked to create a sound that was as honest, as real instrument-grounded as the songs that were emerging. Written largely on guitars and piano, Go Down Singinâ shows a man reckoning with growing up.
âFor one record, I thought I was Ed Sheeran. For one, I thought I was Florida Georgia Line,â he offers. âI was 22. I got into the party scene, I got lost. I didnât know. I was very influenced by Eric Church, and wanted to be like him, though mostly, I was just so confused. You fall into things, being in the studio, and you look backâŠâ
Now when Rice looks back, itâs for the sake of the songs. As a writing process, Go Down Singinâ also marks a creative â if seemingly unlikely â collaboration with three-time GRAMMY winner Lori McKenna, who is also featured on the album. Known for vulnerable but clear-eyed emotion, the Americana force came to see Rice play in Boston and recognised the wounding and the promise inside him.
âI just had Chase Rice over here, who I had not known. His last record has a song called âBench Seat.â I think itâs like a masterclass in songwriting, and he wrote it by himself,â McKenna shared with Billboard of their first songwriting session together. âI think heâs got this long, beautiful road ahead of him.â
âI wanted to bring her a song I had started that was the story of moving to Nashville, getting anything you wanted and losing it all,â Rice recalls of ‘Oh Tennessee’, one of their four cowrites on the album. âI knew she would understand, and from there, well, we had so much to say.â
Across their collaborations and the entire record, the man whoâs had three No. 1s, his own sold-out tours and key stadium support slots with Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney takes stock of where he is, where heâs going and what really matters.Â
âIâm a fuck up, and I know it,â he admits. âBut Iâm trying. I mean, my favorite story in the Bible is David, who sends his best friend off to war, so he can be with his friendâs wife⊠I was a lost kid who lost his Dad. Iâm not alone. I know lots of people struggle, too. The last record dealt with that loss, and this one is about taking all that and becoming who youâre meant to be.â
Go Down Singinâ Track List:
1. Go Down SinginâÂ
(Chase Rice, Blake Pendergrass)
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2. Fireside
(Chase Rice, Jackson Dean, Jonathan Sherwood, Oscar Charles)
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3. That Word Donât Work No More feat. Lori McKenna
(Chase Rice, Lori McKenna, Oscar Charles)
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4. Hey God Itâs Me Again
(Chase Rice, Corey Crowder, Randy Montana)
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5. Oh Tennessee
(Chase Rice, Lori McKenna, Oscar Charles)
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6. Haw River
(Chase Rice, Blake Pendergrass)
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7. Arkansas
(Chase Rice, Rob Baird)
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8. Numbers
(Chase Rice, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell)
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9. If Drinkinâ Helped
(Chase Rice, Lori McKenna, Oscar Charles)
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10. Little Red Race Car
(Chase Rice, Jackson Nance, Heath Warren)
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11. You In â85
(Chase Rice, Lori McKenna, Oscar Charles)
For more information, visit ChaseRice.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter/X and TikTok @ChaseRiceMusic and on Instagram @ChaseRice.
