{"id":2033019,"date":"2025-09-18T23:38:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T23:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2033019"},"modified":"2025-09-18T23:38:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T23:38:45","slug":"chase-rice-talks-new-album-eldora-freedom-as-an-independent-artist-and-finding-his-true-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/chase-rice-talks-new-album-eldora-freedom-as-an-independent-artist-and-finding-his-true-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"Chase Rice Talks New Album ‘Eldora,’ Freedom As An Independent Artist, And Finding His True Sound"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Chase Rice<\/a><\/strong> will release his brand-new album, entitled Eldora<\/a><\/em>. Out tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 19), and dropping on his 40th birthday, this 12-track offering features a dozen incredible storyteller songs that are deeply personal to the independent artist, as he explores western themes and topics that capture both sad and happy emotions.<\/p>\n

Written mostly in the stillness of a cabin in the breathtaking mountains of Colorado, and produced by Oscar Charles, Eldora<\/em> finds Rice stretching his creative boundaries and songwriting muscles while enjoying his freedom as an artist who doesn\u2019t feel the need to chase mainstream radio anymore. That\u2019s something Rice did with his previous album, 2024\u2019s Go Down Singin\u2019, except<\/em> this time, he doubles down even further as a gifted storyteller who fully embraces who he is, which is a far cry from the bro-country leanings that he was once known for.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a lot more raw and real than even the last two albums,\u201d Rice acknowledges of Eldora<\/em> during an interview with Music Mayhem<\/a><\/em>. \u201cThe last two albums\u2026 were us learning what this new era of my life is. With this one, we took it even further. [The last two] were with a full band, \u2018Let\u2019s record together.\u2019 This one was, \u2018Hey, what am I best at?\u2019 And we discovered through the work tapes in that cabin, it\u2019s really, really powerful when I sing into the phone with a guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When listening to Eldora<\/em> front-to-back, folks will hear Rice showcasing his powerful, gritty vocals and mysterious cowboy-like whisper over a well-built balance of strong lyrics and true musicianship. It\u2019s easy for one to feel as though they are sitting in the same room as he is, as Eldora<\/em> puts Rice in the category of a genre-defying trailblazer, who is still capable of selling out shows and reaching new audiences despite having changed trajectory and taking the more challenging route.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know who the hell else could have made this record. And that\u2019s a really fun place to be,\u201d he says of the album that he recorded on his farm in Nashville.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one takes, singing into the microphones with me on a guitar, and then adding the band around it. That\u2019s how raw this is,\u201d Rice said, describing Eldora<\/em>. \u201cThere\u2019s no doctoring the vocals. There\u2019s no doctoring. The guitars and what you hear is what you get, and it\u2019s a very raw way to do it, but the mistakes are in there, and it\u2019s a very human way to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Chase Rice; Photo Courtesy of Ben Christensen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Before Go Down Singin\u2019,<\/em> Rice was still at his label Broken Bow Records\/BBR Music Group, but he had given folks a taste of his bold new chapter that found him leaning into a new direction, with 2023\u2019s double album, I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go to Hell.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI was just chasing what was popular before the Cowboys<\/em> record,\u201d Rice explained of his time at the label before his exit, which came in the summer of 2024. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what I was doing. Now I found that confidence to be like, \u2018All right. Well, if I give up on mainstream and try to chase what\u2019s popular, I\u2019m okay with that. And if it never comes back, I\u2019m cool with that. I want to make great records. I want to be proud of my music at the end of my life. And that\u2019s where I\u2019m at now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The flexibility that comes with stepping away from a label means Rice can choose when and where to write and when and where to create an album on his own terms. Such is the case with Eldora<\/em>, which may have never come to fruition had it not been for the singer\/songwriter\u2019s show at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater in August of 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played Red Rocks the night before Oscar, my producer, and I were driving up to Rollsville, and we passed a place called the Eldora Lodge, and that really started it,\u201d Rice explained of the inspiration behind the entire project. \u201cIt was like, I don\u2019t know what Eldora is, but we are writing about whoever that is, and it\u2019s the city, but it\u2019s really about a person called Eldora or just the town she\u2019s from. It never really gets specific, but that\u2019s the heart of the album, a story about this couple\u2026. It\u2019s a lot of story songs that are just very well written that we took our time to make sure that they were written right in that cabin.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Chase Rice; Photo Provided<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Only three of the 12 tracks were penned outside of Colorado in Nashville, which proves the authenticity of Rice\u2019s creative direction, as he shared that he has spent the last 5 summers living in Montana. The title track features steady percussion and delicate guitar picking as Rice paints a picture of lasting love that has overcome one of the toughest moments due to a regretful decision. Rice tells that story best.<\/p>\n

\u201cEldora ended up being a story about this couple who break up for what reason, you don\u2019t really know. And then it gives a little hint at it,\u201d he explains of the meaning behind the track. \u201cI\u2019m saying, \u2018we were just two kids with too much life to live<\/em>,\u2019 which is the bomb that drops if you catch it. It explains that the couple had an abortion, and they couldn\u2019t get over the decision that they made, and they split up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a theme in life, especially when couples lose a child in general, they end up \u2014 the divorce rates are insanely high,\u201d he adds. \u201cSo this couple wasn\u2019t married, but they couldn\u2019t get over the decision they made to have that abortion. And finally, he\u2019s like, they know they\u2019re still in love, so I\u2019m coming back to you. I\u2019m going to figure this out. I can\u2019t get over the times that we had together, and we need to have more times together. So he goes back and gets her back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Chase Rice; Photo by Andrew Wendowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Rice\u2019s favorite song on the album is titled \u201cCirca 1943.\u201d Written with Oscar Charles and Wyatt McCubbin, the track was inspired by the Florida native\u2019s grandparents, Harold and Berniece. Featuring a rollicking melody and love story, Rice unveils the heartbreaking twist of fate that the couple met with in the final chorus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWish you could see that we made it to Superior, Montana \/ Your brother\u2019s band sure sounded good last Tuesday night \/ He just turned two and looks like you and although he don\u2019t understand yet \/ Flowers on a cross and water from his momma\u2019s eyes \/ We just wanted you to know, we made it out of there alive<\/em>,\u201d Rice croons the final chorus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s loosely based on my grandparents\u2019 meeting in World War II. They did not meet in World War II; they met before that, but a lot of people can relate to that one with their grandparents\u2019 story. A lot of people who met in World War II had babies, and there are a lot of babies out there that didn\u2019t have their dad or their mom. They never came home. And that\u2019s what circa 1943 is,\u201d Rice explains the meaning behind the final chorus of the track.<\/p>\n

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