One of Country music's few Diamond-certified songwriters, Chase Rice brought his critically acclaimed album I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell to the sold-out Ryman Auditorium last night, April 11, playing all 13 songs off the new project along with his decade-plus catalog of fan-favorites and chart-topping hits.
In addition to sharing an unreleased song, “Church,” the first he’s written since releasing the new project, Rice was joined onstage for album track “Oklahoma” by surprise guest Read Southall, who also appears alongside him on the recorded version of the song praised by PopCulture as “one of the absolute best songs in Rice’s entire musical repertoire.” He also invited a special guest onstage for the poignant “Bench Seat,” as Rice’s beloved dog Jack appeared to the delight of fans for his performance of the powerful song about the companionship a dog can offer, with the Tennesseean declaring, “the touching country ballad could be, by the end of 2023, one of the surprise candidates for Song of the Year.”
From start to finish, the sold-out show was a celebration of the album that fans and critics alike have celebrated as Rice’s best work to date. PopCulture asserts that the project is already “the best country album of the year… and everybody’s got to live up to it,” remarking that instead of following the traditional “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” approach, “Rice and his team, somehow, simultaneously broke it AND fixed it — both on purpose.” Leading U.K. music publication Entertainment Focus also has high praise for the “absolute triumph” of an album, labeling it with the first five star review of the year – an honor that took the outlet until September to award in 2022 – and remarking that “it’s a songwriter’s album and a lyricist’s album but it also does all sorts of wonderful things with melodies that are both clever and yet infectious at the same time.”
Cowboys & Indians further celebrates I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell for its “risk-taking and rule breaking approach,” proclaiming, “that gamble has paid off handsomely, resulting in vulnerable and personal music.”Billboard agrees, noting the album “refines his artistic voice,” creating an offering that is “still propulsive with arena-ready moments, but is laced with deeper, more introspective themes.”
Rice continues the Way Down Yonder Tour throughout the summer. For all the latest news and tickets to upcoming tour dates, visit ChaseRice.com and follow Rice on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok @ChaseRiceMusic and on Instagram @ChaseRice.
Chase Rice Performs "Oklahoma" With Surprise Guest Read Southall at the Sold-Out Ryman Auditorium on April 11, 2023 | Photo Credit: Evan DeStefano
About Chase Rice
With nearly 2.5 million albums sold and over 2.5 billion total streams, plus a legion of passionate fans at his high-energy concerts across the globe, Chase Rice has established himself as a powerful force in Nashville and beyond. With the critically acclaimed album I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell crafted in his rural Tennessee home-turned-studio and available everywhere now, Rice’s sound continues to evolve to reflect the realities of his life; from emotional reckoning to an admiration of the Western way of life. The new music serves as a follow up to his three-part project, The Album, featuring his latest Platinum-certified No. 1 hit, “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen. (feat. Florida Georgia Line)” and Platinum-certified Top 10 hit “Lonely If You Are.” This is the same gravelly-voiced Chase Rice fans first fell in love with years ago – but better, freer; unbeholden and uninhibited. The new music builds upon the success of his sophomore album, Lambs & Lions, which featured the triple-Platinum, two-week chart topper “Eyes On You” – Rice’s first No. 1 as an artist and the most-streamed song of his career. Lambs & Lions followed Ignite the Night, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums and No. 3 on the all-genre chart, producing a pair of Top 5 hits; “Gonna Wanna Tonight” and Platinum-certified “Ready Set Roll.” In addition to guesting on sold out arena tours with Kane Brown and Jason Aldean plus stadium shows with Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks, Rice consistently sells out venues on his own headlining tours, including the Way Down Yonder Tour underway now in support of the new music.