A new album is coming from Chase Rice, and he’s releasing it on his own. After stepping away from a record label to release Go Down Singin‘ last year, Rice is back with Eldora, a new 12-track project, out on September 19.
“This is the kind of music I’ve always loved and the kind of stories I’ve always wanted to tell,” Rice says. “I hope the past few years have helped fans see that this is the real me, not the person who was chasing trends or afraid to do something different. Eldora isn’t about proving anything – it’s about making something that’s real and letting it speak for itself.”
The name is after the city in Colorado, where Rice wrote the project.
“Wrote all the songs in a cabin in Colorado and didn’t overthink it,” Rice shares on social media. “Recorded every song we wrote that week, and I believe it’s the best album I’ve ever made. A lot of Western themes in it, sad songs, happy as hell songs, and story songs. Putting it out on my birthday 9/19 while I’m floating a river in Montana. I love y’all, and can’t wait to share this whole album with you. ‘Circa 1943’ [is] out tonight, my personal favorite on the whole album. I hope y’all love it as much as I loved making it.”
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The Story Behind ‘Circa 1943’
“Circa 1943” was written about World War II, The song references Harold and Berniece, his maternal grandparents.
“Harold and Berniece were my mom’s parents,” Rice reveals. “They didn’t meet around 1943, he never took a bullet to the leg to my knowledge, she had brown eyes, not blue, he was not a Marine (he was very proudly Air Force), and she was not a nurse in our military. However, he did make her laugh and loved her with every ounce of his being. Their names are the only true parts about this story – nevertheless, I hope it honors them and anybody from the Greatest Generation who fought and/or died for our amazing country.”
The Songs On ‘Eldora’
Rice is a writer on all 12 songs on Eldora, along with his producer, Oscar Charles. He also released “Two Tone Trippin’” ahead of the album announcement.
1. Cowboy Goodbye (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Foy Vance)
2. Tall Grass feat. Kashus Culpepper and Elvie Shane (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Foy Vance)
3. Namin’ Horses (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Wyatt McCubbin)
4. ELDORA (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Wyatt McCubbin)
5. Two Tone Trippin’ feat. Wyatt McCubbin (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Wyatt McCubbin)
6. Mr. Coors (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Wyatt McCubbin)
7. Circa 1943 (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Wyatt McCubbin)
8. Country & Western feat. Madeline Edwards (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Wyatt McCubbin)
9. Cottonmouth (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Wyatt McCubbin)
10. Good Side of Gettin’ Older (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Wyatt McCubbin)
11. One Drink Long (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Wyatt McCubbin)
12. Sunsettin’ (Chase Rice, Oscar Charles, Cleto Cordero)
What Chase Rice Said About His New Album
Earlier this year, Rice hinted he would likely release another album in 2025, only a few months after the release of Go Down Singin’.
“I’m in love with music,” Rice tells American Songwriter. “I’m not overthinking anything. I’m not having to wait on an album cycle. I’m not having to wait 52 weeks for a single to pop to drop the album. I have the ability to write songs and record them as they’re written. I have a producer who loves what we’re doing because we’re writing a lot of them together anyway… We’re going to add three or four more, call it an album, and put it out early this year.”
Why Chase Rice Left His Record Label
There are no hard feelings between Chase and Broken Bow, his former record label. Instead, the North Carolina native just felt he could do just as well on his own.
“We got no nominations for anything for CMAs, I think it was,” Rice recalled at a recent media event. “Which is fine. I’m never nominated for anything, so I wasn’t expecting much. But I did think ‘Bench Seat,’ the video, was good enough to be nominated. It wasn’t like I was mad, ’cause it was Lainey [Wilson] and Jelly [Roll] from my label, so it’s like, for you to take third, that’s two who are good to take third from. But I didn’t get that, and then the same day they pulled ‘Bad Day to Be a Cold Beer’ off of the radio, and then the next day they didn’t approve the budget for the album we were recording.”
Pre-order Eldora, and find all of Rice’s music and upcoming shows at ChaseRice.com.