Country singer-songwriter Chase Rice returned to touring over the weekend, with his Tennesee stop drawing thousands of maskless audiences and mixed responses, Saturday night, June 28.
As a part of his 2020 tour, Rice performed at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, TN. According to TMZ, the 10,000-capacity former prison turned venue had 4,000 audiences during the performance. In a post on his Instagram story, Chase Rice filmed the people - tightly packed and without facemasks - singing along during one of his numbers.
In Defiance of Social Distancing Protocols
This perceived defiance of the social distancing protocols in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic has drawn flak from people and Rice's fellow artists. Kelsea Ballerini, country-pop artist behind the hits "I Hate Love Songs" and "Peter Pan," called out the Rice and the show.
"Imagine being selfish enough to put thousands of people's health at risk, not to mention the potential ripple effect, and play a NORMAL country concert right now," Kelsea Ballerini wrote on Twitter. She added that they all want, and need, to tour but they care about the fans enough to wait.
Imagine being selfish enough to put thousands of people's health at risk, not to mention the potential ripple effect, and play a NORMAL country concert right now. @ChaseRiceMusic, We all want (and need) to tour. We just care about our fans and their families enough to wait. ️ https://t.co/eJaLnGu28k — Kelsea Ballerini (@KelseaBallerini) June 28, 2020
Mickey Guyton, the country singer-songwriter behind "Better Than You Left Me," also responded on Twitter. "I'm disgusted. Shame on him for putting people at risk."
Irish singer-songwriter Gavin James also shared the footage of Chase Rice's IG story and wrote: "This is mental."
The host of the event, Brushy Mountain Group, extended a statement to TMZ. "All local requirements were abided by for the recent concert, and numerous precautions were taken," the venue said. They also argued that they had reduced their capacity from 10,000 to 4,000, exceeding the state advise on admitting 50% of actual size. Brushy Mountain added that temperature checks and hand sanitizers were provided, with staff and vendors wearing masks and gloves.
Chris Janson, another country singer-songwriter, also held a concert last Saturday, this time in Idaho. He also shared video footage of the jampacked Hwy 30 Fest in Filer, ID, on his social media page - all related posts deleted the day after, Sunday.
The official Twitter account for Rukes, a photography company, wrote on Twitter that Rice would be donating "every bit of profit from his concert in Tennessee to numerous COVID-19 related charities." As of this writing, there has been no similar statement from Chase Rice or his team.
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Chase Rice: Football Linebacker to Country Star
The 34-year-old singer-songwriter is a former college football linebacker for the University of North Carolina. Chase Rice has also worked as a NASCAR pit crew under Hendrick Motorsports, a premier stock car racing team.
Rice also appeared on the reality TV show "Survivor: Nicaragua" back in 2010. Surviving and reaching up to the final three but lost to Jud "Fabio" Birza. As a musician, he released his first studio album, "Friday Nights & Sunday Mornings," in April 2010. It spawned his hit song, "Larger Than Life." It was among the first songs he ever recorded. It was also a tribute to his late father.
It was followed in 2011 with "Country as Me," an EP with six singles, including "Buzz Back." His songs started gaining more airtime, and Rice followed his EP with his second studio album, "Dirt Road Communion," in April 2012. Since then, he has released two more albums: "Ignite the Night" in 2014 and "Lambs and Lions" in 2017.
