Kelsea Ballerini Calls Out Chase Rice For ‘Selfish’ Return To the Stage

Chase Rice returned to the stage for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation live shows on…

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Lauren Jo Black

| Posted on

June 28, 2020

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6:48 pm

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Kelsea Ballerini, Chase Rice; Photos by Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Chase Rice returned to the stage for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation live shows on Saturday (June 27) with a show at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee.

The former prison turned concert venue hosted 1,000 fans to see the “Eyes On You” singer perform live. As the news of the show hit social media, some people became outraged at the fact that Rice would host a concert amid the current spike in COVID-19 cases across many parts of the country.

While venue officials say they followed all local guidelines, many are concerned that Rice and the event organizers put fans at risk at the mass gathering.

“All local requirements were abided by for the recent concert, and numerous precautions were taken,” a representative from The Brushy Mountain Group told TMZ. “We drastically reduced our maximum venue capacity of 10,000 to 4,000 maximum capacity (lower than the state’s advisement of 50%) with less than 1,000 in attendance Saturday night providing ample space in the outdoor lawn area for fans to spread out to their own comfort level.”

The company’s statement also read: “All guests were given temperature checks prior to entering the venue and free hand sanitizer was provided to everyone at entry. All vendors and staff were advised to wear masks and gloves when interacting with guests, and bandanas were available for purchase on-site.”

According to social media posts from Rice and several concertgoers, it appears that no one followed social distanced guidelines and masks were nowhere to be seen.

Several people took to Twitter to voice their concerns over the show, including country superstar Kelsea Ballerini, who directly called out Chase Rice for putting others at risk.

“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,” she wrote.

A few other country artists chimed in, including Avenue Beat and Mickey Guyton.

“Preaaaach sisssss,” wrote the trio, while Guyton said, “An absolute selfish act. Shame on him.”

Guyton later shared the video and wrote, “This is happening in Tennessee where cases are spiking y’all. Jesus help us.”

Her tweet caught the attention of Maren Morris, who responded, “no masks,” alongside the exploding head emoji and the pensive face emoji.

https://twitter.com/soujornsolace/status/1277083105841602560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1277083105841602560%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fetcanada.com%2Fnews%2F662077%2Fchase-rice-holds-1000-person-concert-no-masks-worn%2F

Rice, who has additional concerts planned in the coming weeks, isn’t the only country star to return to the road. Chris Janson reportedly performed in Idaho on Saturday night, while Granger Smith made his return to the stage with a concert in Texas earlier this month.

Jimmie Allen performed his first “social distance” show this weekend as well, however, attendees at his show were asked to stay in their cars to watch.

“Played our first show last night since March 11. First-ever “social distance” show. Not gonna lie it was weird at first,” he admitted. “I got tired so I sat down and talked to the crowd for the while. I was totally out of “show” shape but it felt great to play again. Oh yeah…..I hate that phrase ‘social distance.’”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CB9WA-Gjnmd/

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted the live music scene. Artists are slowly trying to test the waters with ways to continue to bring live music to fans with virtual concerts, drive-in shows and more.

Garth Brooks hosted a massive drive-in concert on Saturday, with a live concert airing at over 300 drive-in theaters around the United States.

As of Sunday evening (June 28), more than 2.6 million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. More than 1 million have recovered and over 128,000 have died.

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Lauren Jo Black

Written by

Lauren Jo Black

Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.

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