Chase Rice is stepping away from touring.
In a poignant, vulnerable social media post, the country artist confessed that he was “exhausted. I haven’t been able to be myself on stage in quite a while and really enjoy music and why I got into it in the first place… After 13 years it’s finally beat me up to the point where I need to step away for a while. I need to go live life so that I have more real experiences to write down.”
Other than a handful of dates, Rice won’t tour in 2026 and doesn’t give a timeline for his return. “It wasn’t even really a decision, it was something I know that I just have to do for myself,” he said. While he notes that he’s aware other artists take time off, “It’s new for me so it’s kind of a big deal in my life.”
Rice stresses, “This isn’t a goodbye thing or anything like that to be clear upfront, although it may feel like that,” but then later goes on to say goodbye to his band and crew, adding, “I hope we can all get together in the coming years and get back to enjoying life on the road again.”
Rice adds that he hopes the time off the road gives him “new experiences to put into songs that will make [fans] happy,” before signing off, “Until then, thanks for the ride.”
After self-releasing two sets of his own, Rice’s first major success came as a songwriter in 2012, when he co-wrote Florida Georgia Line’s massive hit “Cruise.” He then signed with Columbia, with his first album for the label, 2014’s Ignite the Night, hitting No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.
After switching to BMG’s Broken Bow Records, he landed two No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart: 2018’s “Eyes On You” and 2020’s “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen,” which reunited him with Florida Georgia Line. In 2024, Rice exited Broken Bow and began releasing music independently, most recently putting out Eldora in September.
Billboard reached out to Rice’s publicist but did not immediately hear back.
His full post is below.
