Rice considers "Rock & Roll"

"Stepping back from live music was a hard reset for a lot of folks, and it hit me especially hard since I don't have a wife or a family yet, so I was forced to really look at who I am as a person and the music I've been writing and singing every night on stage," said Rice, referring to the break due to COVID. "I'm really proud of the journey, and yet until the last year, I admittedly hadn't taken the time to process all the life I have been able to live on the road. The time we had off the road really inspired a shift in how I write and has pushed me to be so much more intentional."

"When it's working, it's easy to say 'let's keep doing this,' so it definitely feels like somewhat of a risk to put this new music out, yet it's also the most excited I've been in a really long time," the North Carolinian said.

Produced by Jay Joyce, the song was the first major release written completely independently by Rice.

"The night I wrote this song, I decided to take a break from social media, so instead of aimlessly scrolling like most nights, I put Bruce Springsteen's 'Letter to You' documentary on my living room TV. His song 'If I Was the Priest' stood out to me and got me thinking about my own relationship with Jesus and all of the things I love in life: country music, NASCAR, my friends and family," said Rice. "I picked up a guitar and wrote 'If I Were Rock & Roll' alone in that moment. No track and no cowriters meant I had no choice to focus on the lyrics and lean into what is real to me."

The song goes to country radio on Oct. 18.