WATCH: Chase Rice Debuts Emotional Unreleased Song, ‘For A Day’ On Grand Ole Opry Stage

Chase Rice stepped into the historic circle of the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday, Oct. 11 to perform “Way Down Yonder,” just a few days ahead of its release date, and also debuted his new track, “For A Day.”

While both of these songs are special for Rice, “For A Day” especially stands out as it was written in honor of his late father. 

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“This is as raw as it gets. I miss my dad every day, and if I could have one more with him here’s just a couple things I’d do with him,” Rice shared of the heartfelt song. “My favorite part would be seeing him with my niece and two nephews. I did three takes on this, one for each one of them, and I couldn’t hold it together for any of ’em.” 

In a video that captured his live performances, Rice took a moment to share a few words before starting his first performance. In doing so, he explained that the song was inspired by the night of his Opry debut that took place a few years back. 

“This next one, the first time I ever played the Opry, I looked down and I saw in the front row, I saw my mom and that was a special moment,” he began. “My mom is not here tonight, but I looked down that night, I saw her, and she was by herself. She had an empty seat next to her. My dad passed away when I was 22 years old, and that’s probably the biggest reason why I ended up moving to Nashville and doing this for a living.”

The country hitmaker then confessed that he feels he has done a “pretty bad job” of expressing who he really is through his music over the last 10 years. Looking ahead, Rice plans to change that and show his fans more vulnerability than ever before. “For A Day” is the perfect example of the raw path he intends to take from this point forward.

“You got bits and pieces of it, but this next record that we’re about to put out is by far the best and most vulnerable real music that I have ever done in my life,” he continued. “And seeing her that night with the empty chair next to her was kind of the start of this song. That was, I don’t know, five or six years ago when that happened, my first time playing the Opry, but that right there was where the idea kind of started from this song right here.”

His most recent night at the Opry was the first time he ever performed “For A Day” live and he decided to play it the same way he does on the upcoming no-track record, “just me and guitar.”

Another recent release that will be featured on his next full-length project is “Key West & Colorado,” which was written during a writing retreat in Florida by Rice and Brian Kelley. On the same day this song was penned, he joined forces with Hunter Phelps, John Byron, Blake Pendergrass and Corey Crowder to create “Way Down Yonder.” Rice will also be dropping an official music video alongside the outlaw anthem. 

This new music is just a taste of what’s to come from Chase Rice’s time spent recording during a two-week period alongside producer Oscar Charles and a live band at his farm outside Nashville. The “Lonely If You Are” singer has yet to share when the new project will be available.

Chase Rice is currently on the road in support of Jason Aldean for a few stops on his Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour. He joined the trek on Oct. 7 and will continue on the road until their final stop in Wichita, KS on Oct. 29.