Chase Rice Dreams About Performing 'Connie Lou' With Brooks & Dunn -- His New Single Dedicated to His Mother (EXCLUSIVE)

"Connie Lou was a raised right Baptist

Air Force brat with a heart of gold

A little more wild than her sister Katherine

Or so the story goes ... "

Chase Rice was sitting in his breakfast room at his home in Nashville, pondering what to write next. As he sat there, he glanced at a photo of his late father, Daniel Leon Rice, double-fisting Coors Banquet beers.

He stared.

And stared.

And then it hit him.

"It hit me that I've written a lot about him," Rice tells Men's Journal, "but I haven't written about my mom."

Rice's father died 18 years ago at 57 years young on May 18, 2008, from a heart attack. All these years later, Daniel Leon Rice lives through the country star's music -- from lyrics honoring him in "Mr. Coors" to album covers, like for 2023's I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell. That album cover features the same photo Rice couldn't stop staring at, which, coincidentally, inspired him to write a ballad honoring his mother, Connie.

"Connie Lou" is best described as a Western romance shaped by rodeo nights and cold beer. The new single, available on Friday, tells the true story of Rice's parents' early romance. In fact, that photo of Rice's dad double-fisting Coors Banquets was snapped when his parents had just started dating.

"So, I decided to write it from her perspective -- her story and her friends -- when she and my dad started dating," Rice added.

"Connie Lou" is a 3-minute, 43-second track with an elated harmonica intro and rich chords. Men's Journal previewed the song before its release. The song will undoubtedly have fans bopping with its catchy chorus, which will no doubt echo in venues when Rice soon performs it onstage. That the song will elicit happy vibes is what Rice is going for.

"It was simple once I decided to talk about my mom and be happy, since she's had a lot of heartbreak in her life," Rice says. "When I was sitting in the room with [producers and songwriters] Dan [Couch] and Oscar [Charles], Dan asked what her middle name was, and from that point on, it was easy. Connie Lou Phillips is her actual name, and that was the direction we took it."

"... Connie fell for a felt hat and Wranglers

On that Friday sippin' Coors Banquets

He was the Cool Hand Luke of western Wyoming

She was the belle of the dance hall

She saw a wild young mustang ready to tame

He saw the one that never got away

Circa 1978 and the cowgirls sang ... "

If you've seen Rice perform, then you've seen him indulging Coors while sporting Wrangler jeans. It's exactly who his father was -- a brawny, quintessential All-American who owned his own construction company, enjoyed scuba diving, racing cars, and riding Harleys -- and it's exactly who Rice is, through and through.

And with "Connie Lou," it's all become a perfect, are-you-kidding-me full-circle moment.

Rice tells Men's Journal he still remembers visiting the saddle shop in his childhood hometown of Fairview, North Carolina, near Asheville, where he would buy his Wrangler jeans. He'd wear them throughout middle school and high school. He also remembers the first sip of his first Coors Banquet with his dad.

He unlocked a core memory, as the kids like to say these days.

"That really gets into your bloodstream and your heart; you want to be like your dad," Rice says. "I think he'd be really proud that I've stuck to the roots of who I am."

That's what makes Rice's collaboration with Coors Banquet and Wrangler so authentic. He's a natural fit to be the voice and face of the Coors-Wrangler collection, available now. To honor that authenticity, the Coors-Wrangler collection will introduce jeans (dubbed "Beer Chords") featuring the chords from "Connie Lou," printed directly onto the denim. The first-of-its-kind design uses ink infused with, yes, Coors Banquet beer.

"If you had told me in 2010 when I moved to Nashville that in 2026 I'd be able to work with American heritage brands such as Coors and Wrangler, I would have told you to sign me up for that in a second, because that's been my life," Rice says. "It's my life story and how I grew up. After shows, I'm drinking a Coors Banquet on the bus, and I'm drinking one on the golf course, or in a duck blind when the hunt's over. That's not because I'm affiliated with a brand; that's the beer I grew up watching my dad drink. To have all that come into a story about my mom is really, really cool for me, and I'm proud to honor not just my family but how they lived their lives and the two brands that were a big part of their life."

The Coors Banquet and Wrangler collaboration also includes a campaign that will give one lucky fan the chance to perform "Connie Lou" live onstage with Rice. Yes, the music is upbeat, but the lyrics tug at his heartstrings. The idea of sharing not just a stage but also a microphone to perform a song dedicated to his parents' romance might prove challenging.

Just talking about it gets Rice emotional, an evocative emotion spurred by a recent dream.

"Weirdly enough, I've had that thought, and dreams [have popped] up since the song was written. The artist that always comes to mind is Brooks & Dunn," Rice tells Men's Journal. "I know they're really close with the Coors family, and I've gotten to know Kix [Brooks] really well over the last two years. They have a song that mentions Connie."

That song is "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl."

"I've always had that dream of maybe Brooks & Dunn could get on this thing and sing it with me," Rice continues. "That would be a dream come true and a natural fit. I think my mom would appreciate that, too, because we grew up listening to Brooks & Dunn."

"... Wasn't long before he popped the question

Wasn't long before she said yes

Wasn't long before he brushed his Stetson

Wasn't long before that hand me down dress

Turned to rockin' chairs, a wrap around, a couple horses too

And 9 months almost to the day

Their first little buckaroo ..."

It was last November when Rice decided to take a break from touring. He knew he made the right decision when he realized how much he enjoyed being home. He also enjoyed a lot of golf, writing new music, hanging with friends, and enjoying spring.

A song like "Connie Lou" happens, he says, "pretty easily when I finally have the time to be home, writing, and recording."

Thank goodness for that break.

He adds, "I still have some shows this year, just a few a month, which keeps me sharp, but it's given me a lot of time to focus on other things, like this song. I want to focus hard on my new music, as opposed to just putting out music and playing it all year, which gets exhausting and doesn't give people enough time to learn it. I'm really focusing hard on lyrics, true storytelling, and production you can appreciate in 40 years."

The well-earned break, it turns out, helped Rice give his mother the roses she's always deserved.

"She hasn't gotten enough credit through my music and stories over the last 15 years, so now it's her time," Rice says. "I played it for her at Red Rocks, and she started crying, thinking it was going to be a sad song, but I wanted it to be a happy summer song to celebrate her. I'm excited to put out a summer song before summer, see how people react at the few shows I have this year, and give them time to learn about 'Connie Lou.'"

You know, Connie, the one who fell for a felt hat and Wranglers ... while sippin' Coors Banquets.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 7:01 AM.