On May 4th, Chase Rice brought a party to Merrimack College for their spring concert with his friends LOCASH and Ryan Kinder. All the performers brought their A-game and put on a show that was packed with great songs and even better personal touches to their sets. There is no better way to kick off spring weekend than with a country concert – with Chase Rice no less!
Ryan Kinder opened before LOCASH. His set was full of acoustic songs along with many stripped down versions of Ryan singing, including his recent single ‘Close’. His voice is powerful and raw, which pierced through the arena to catch the attention of everyone buzzing about. Cell phone lights lit the floor during his set, with many people dancing arm-in-arm. His energy was positive and exciting, leaving the audience ready for what was next to come.
LOCASH was up next. The duo took the stage to ‘Ain’t Startin Tonight’ and the crowd went insane before transitioning into ‘You Gonna Fly,’ a song that they wrote and was recorded by Keith Urban. Chris took the time to talk to the crowd for the first time in the night; “this school ain’t no joke! So y’all ready to party right now? Let’s go!” and then went into ‘All Day.’ The fourth song in their set was dedicated to their #1 song on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart. Preston took to the crowd this time when introducing this great hit; “this song gave us a lot of parties as it was climbing the charts. We went to PF Chang’s when it hit 20, and then it hit 10. Boston country radio called us and said ‘we’re gonna turn it a little bit to move it from number 6’ and then the next morning it hit Number One in America!” and the group started playing ‘I Know Somebody.’ The crowd was in a frenzy singing the lyrics and recording the performance. Preston followed their lead and took out his phone and started recording the audience on the huge acapella sing along to the chorus.
Their newest single ‘Ring On Every Finger’ was played next. LOCASH told the audience that the song was co-written by their good friend Thomas Rhett (along with Jesse Frasure and Josh Kear). Preston joked around in saying “yeah, we thought we could use the money more than he could, so we cut it instead!” The dancing was non-stop during this upbeat and undeniably catchy song. LOCASH then transitioned into a song that the boys wrote but was cut by Tim McGraw, ‘Truck Yeah,’ and Chris said “we need you to take it to the next level right now and sing this with us!” The entire arena echoed in chants of “truck yeah’s” and loud screams. At the end of the performance, a few members of the audience started chanting “Augie’s Pub.” Chris picked up on it and took the opportunity to play off of it; “I have no idea what the hell y’all are saying right now,” he leaned towards a fan and learned the name of the on campus pub they were cheering for. “Hey Preston, are we going streaking at Augie’s Pub tonight?” and the crowd went insane. “Let’s go, we’re gonna do it. We’re bringing the band and a couple guitars and we’re going to Augie’s Pub after the show!” Preston interjected the beyond excited crowd saying “somebody better go call Augie and let him know what’s going on.” And just like that, LOCASH closed it up with their final song of the set, the undeniably catching ‘I Love This Life.’ Their smash hit playfully transitioned into another Keith Urban song. This time it was ‘Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me.’ LOCASH ended their final song with a crowd sing along to the chorus of ‘I Love This Life.’
After the boys of LOCASH exited the stage, the audience was more than ready to see the renowned Chase Rice. The energy was high and the anticipation could be felt throughout the entire arena. At just around 10:15, Chase took the stage and the audience was ecstatic. The talented singer-songwriter opened with his hit ‘How She Rolls’ and ‘Dirt Road Communion’ played right after. The title track from his sophomore album was released in 2012 and was at the beginning of his fame. Chase stopped to interact with the crowd to prepare them for what was to come; “how y’all feeling? We’re giving you everything we got tonight and you gotta give it right back to us all night long!” and ‘Do It Like This’ was song number three before rolling into ‘50 Shades of Crazy’ which showed off how insanely talented his guitarists were with a hardcore guitar solo built for a rock n’ roll show. ‘Beer With The Boys’ was up next and the crowd was totally vibing to Chase’s setlist with only being five songs in. The cameras were out, the lyrics were being sung, and the girls were definitely drooling over how good Chase looked in his baseball hat and white tank top under an opened-front denim button up.
Chase’s set continued with a medley of a few awesome, stripped-down and shortened versions of covers of some of his idols in country music. “I’ve had a really cool couple of years, going out with guys I use to listen to while I was in college and high school. It’s a dream come true. This is where I’m going to pay my respects to them. Sing this shit as loud as you can if you know it!” ‘Drunk On A Plane’ by Dierks Bentley was the first song. J. Thom Lawler Rink was shaking from how loud the crowd was singing the chorus. The next artist Chase chose to pay tribute to was Mr. Eric Church with his ‘Drink In My Hand.’ Once again, the crowd was hyped up and the buzz continued to grow as he played ‘American Kids’ by the great Kenny Chesney. Rice toured with Chesney in 2015 as a part on his The Big Revival tour. The last song to close out the covers was ‘Live Like You Were Dying’ by Tim McGraw.
After bringing familiarity to the audience with those timeless hits, Chase kicked it back up with his 2016 single ‘Everybody We Know Does.’ Song eleven changed the pace with his personal song ‘Carolina Can.’ “This song is for all you people who live in a small town like I did. I love my hometown in the tarheel state and it’s my place to get away from it all.” A video montage of Rice’s hometown played on the big screen behind him, and the sincerity in voice could be felt throughout the performance. At the end of the song, Rice took the time to thank the crowd by saying “and Massachusetts can too, thank y’all.” ‘Gonna Wanna Tonight’ was the next to be played to continue the more simple and relaxing tempoed theme. Of course, there was a crowd sing along to accompany Mr. Rice on the chorus. The next song played means a lot to Chase and he explained why it made his setlist; “country music is a very different version of what is used to be when I was growing up. But hey, that’s life and things change. But I’m gonna go back to how it used to be, with just me and a guitar. This is my favorite song that I’ve ever written” and his song ‘Jack Daniels and Jesus’ began. Phone lights lit the arena as the acoustic version of this song echoed throughout.
After all the noise from the crowd simmered down, Chase was just strumming some chords on his guitar, softly, in the middle of the stage. The crowd quieted in anticipation to see what was going to happen next. After a few minutes of playing some soft, unfamiliar chords, Rice’s voice cut through the silence with the lyrics “take off those heels…” and the entire female population in the audience went hysterical in high pitched screams. They all knew what was to come next, yes you guessed it, Chase’s rendition of ‘Ride’ was song number fourteen. Every girl was screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs and capturing Chase sing this unbelievably sexy song with their phone. Rice was playing off of the exhilaration of the crowd and ended up pulling one lucky girl up on stage with him to serenade acoustically. Chase certainly knows how to make the ladies swoon over him – and boy does he do it well!
To bring the pace back up, Chase played ‘Cruise,’ a song that he co-wrote a few years ago and ultimately became one of the most successful songs in country music history. Halfway through the song he introduced the crowd to his amazing band. Chris Lock, a guitarist, was introduced and played a small riff of Blink 182’s ‘All The Small Things’ and the crowd went nuts. Jonathan Suki, guitar, played a portion of ‘She Hates Me’ by Puddle of Mudd. Marcelo Kravitz, bass, was introduced next. Chase informed the crowd that Kravitz did not speak much English so he asked him to play something everyone could sing to. First, he played ‘Shipping Up To Boston’ by the Dropkick Murphys. Rice stopped him and asked for something that had a little bit more lyrics. So, Marcelo did what he said and played ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and the entire audience sang it – just like Chase requested. Rice sat back laughing hysterically. To continue on in Boston fashion, Kravitz played ‘Zombie Nation’ by Kernkraft 400 – formerly known as the Boston Bruins goal song. The crowd was electric and jumping up and down. Chase looked at the crowd in awe, watching how rowdy Boston fans can be. Finally, he played the legendary Boston sports song – ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Neil Diamond. Orchestrated by Chase, everyone sang the famous chorus that echoes throughout Fenway Park. ‘Sweet Caroline’ was a fitting choice because Chase had a private tour of Fenway earlier in the day and took some batting practice on the field, he informed the crowd. Rice sported his red Boston Red Sox hat during this time to get the crowd even more hyped. Jeremy Roberson, drums, was the last to be introduced. Roberson is from Sandwich, MA which resonated well with the fans considering he was a fellow Masshole. Rogerson put on an unbelievably amazing drum solo which consisted of tricks, flips of drum sticks, and so much more. The solo finished into the remix version of ‘Cruise’ with Chase and the guitarists joining back in. To close out his set, Rice played ‘Ready, Set, Roll.’ The entire audience was on their feet, dancing and singing as loudly as they could.
Chase Rice set up an unbelievable show for Merrimack College, leaving the audience more than ready to celebrate spring weekend, and welcome summer. Between timeless hits, covers, and songs by Rice himself, the audience was electrified. It’s safe to say when Chase goes on tour to arenas alike, he brings that same intensity. We can’t wait for the day he does. Chase is definitely an artist to see live – put it on the bucket list!
Photos: Merrimack Programming Board. Click here to see more.