Chase Rice has been around country music for over a decade, but has come into his own in recent years. After writing songs for others and having hits of his own in the early part of the 2010s, Rice began to focus on writing the songs that he felt most connected to and this coincided with an uptick in his success, as fans connected deeply with his newer work. After supporting Dierks Bentley around the United States last year, Rice is now embarking on a solo tour around Australia, with a stop at the Factory Theatre in Sydney one of the headline stops. 

Rice has historically fallen into the “bro-country” categorisation but has made a concerted effort to branch out from this to a more Americana style of country music based upon his love of George Strait among others. Appearing on the Factory Theatre stage, Rice was immediately charismatic, with garments thrown onto the stage early in the set. He sung a few older numbers but largely sung songs from his latest two albums, which are arguably less radio-friendly but anthemic and authentic in different ways. 

This gave the show very much the feel of a journey as Rice told the stories behind some of his more poignant songs. After the emotional ballad “Oklahoma” off his 2023 “Cowboys” album, Rice showed off his artistry with a beautiful, heartfelt cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”, which he described as a song that influenced him greatly. He followed this up with a strong performance of “Key West and Colorado”, which he said was inspired by a trip that he took with his ex-girlfriend that he later decided to take by himself. 

The set was interesting as while Rice performed some bro-country numbers, they were few and far between and indeed, Rice seemed a lot more connected to the music when he was playing what he clearly connected with. One of the highlights of the show was Rice’s tender cover of George Strait’s “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” which was delivered with a sensitivity and passion of an artist who had truly found his sense of style and a confidence in his musical direction. 

Rice attempted to interact with the audience on occasion, but preferred to largely adopt a more reserved persona, focussing on his music and artistry throughout the set. This meant there was little discussion between songs, which allowed the audience to remain immersed in Rice’s music but a bit more interaction would have perhaps elongated the set slightly, as it was on the shorter side for a headline act. 

Overall, this was a great display of country music from an artist whose star is clearly on the rise. This is very much a phase of transition in Rice’s career but he managed the balance between his older work and showcasing his new work well in this set, immersing the audience in his two most recent albums with some cleverly interspersed covers to showcase his artistry. As he left the stage, Rice encouraged the audience to keep engaging with his music so that he could keep coming back to Australia, and with country music fever sweeping the nation at the moment, there is no doubt that Rice’s fans will oblige. 

Rating: ★★★★

Chase Rice – Factory Theatre – 11 March 2025