Chase Rice is taking a well-deserved break from life on the road.
The country star shared a post on his Instagram on Wednesday, January 8, letting fans know that he is scaling back on touring. He only has a few shows scheduled this year, and after those wrap up, he will be taking time to focus on himself.
Rice shared a montage video with clips from concerts he’s played over the years. In the caption, he admits he’s “exhausted.”
“Alright everybody, I wasn’t sure whether I was gonna talk about this or not but here we are,” Rice wrote. “I’ve been touring for 13 years and I’ve lived a dream far greater than I could’ve ever expected. This isn’t a goodbye thing or anything like that to be clear upfront, although it may feel like that, but I’m exhausted.”
He continued, “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. I love songs, I love living them, hearing stories from other people, and figuring out how to put that life into music. 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.”
The news is definitely bittersweet for fans. They don’t know exactly when they’ll get to see Rice on stage again, but they understand why he needs to do this.
The comments quickly filled up with supportive messages reminding him that they will be there for him when he returns. A few messages left by fans include:
“Good for you! Love that you’re doing this for yourself. Life’s too short ❤️”
“Sad to see u go off stage for awhile, but ur health is more important, if ur not feeling like urself, than darlin plz take all the time u need, get ur life, ur music, ur future back on track.”
“Good for you!! Put you first!! Your fans will still be here!”
Rice first rose to fame after competing on Survivor: Nicaragua in 2010, where he finished as the runner-up.
After the show, he shifted his focus fully to country music, which quickly paid off. He went on to co-write major hits, including Florida Georgia Line’s breakout song “Cruise.”
Over the past decade, Rice has released six studio albums. He’s also earned two number one singles on the Country Airplay chart with “Eyes On You” and “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.”
See Chase Rice’s full statement about taking time off from touring below.