Chase Rice Encourages Fans to 'Live Life in US Mode' (Exclusive)

Chase Rice and UScellular are giving fans a chance to win a trip to Milwaukee's Summerfest music festival.

By Stephen Andrew

As the weather starts to warm up across the U.S., the summer concert season is fast approaching. While music fans get ready to head out to catch some great live performances, country star Chase Rice is encouraging fans to "live life in US mode."

Speaking exclusively to PopCulture.com, Rice opened up about his new partnership with UScellular, which is designed to inspire less dependency on the virtual and more connection to the real. "For me, it's about what I'm doing right now. I'm literally pulling my Airstream to Missouri... It's not a fake thing for me."

"That's something that I have to do," Rice added. "Getting off of social media, getting off my phone. Cruising down the road, listening to music, listening to podcasts. Just disconnecting from what we think the real world is, which is not. The real world is what I'm doing right now."

"That, for me, allows me to disconnect," the "Fireside" singer continued. "So, when I do go back into songwriting, or when I do go back into shows, or when I go back into recording, that I got the energy for that, man. It's like disconnecting allows you to really connect in the way that matters, which is face-to-face with people."

Elaborating on why he was eager to team up with UScellular, Rice explained, "It's a really cool thing that UScellular did. I'm proud to be a part of it, because it's right down my alley and it's very true to me. It's funny that we're doing this interview now because that's what I'm doing. The only time I've been on my phone today is talking to you and listening to music."

As part of his collaboration with UScellular, some lucky fans will have a chance to win festival tickets, transportation, hotel accommodations, and a meet and greet with Rice at Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI on July 6th. "Milwaukee's always been an awesome [city] for me," Rice said. "I've played Summerfest before, and I think we're playing back-to-back nights with [Tyler] Childers, who's a great artist."

"They're awesome fans in Milwaukee. I don't say that about every place. Milwaukee's always been awesome for me," Rice continued. "It's connecting through the music, and that's all that matters that night, man. It's going to be a night of escape from real life, escape from your phone, plus sing some songs together."

Finally, we asked Rice about cell phones recording at concerts, and what are his thoughts on how it impacts living in the moment. 

"I try not to tell people what to do, but I try for myself when I go to concerts, get one picture, get one video, and then put it down," he said, offering a suggestion on how to enjoy a concert and still have digital keepsakes. "If they don't have US Mode on their phone because they're not with UScellular, I would say at least have that US Mode mindset of... get one video, get your favorite song... then put it down and focus on being in the moment. I think that's just a healthy way to live... That's what I do."

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Rice concluded, "If people want to pull up their phone and do that the whole time, that's their prerogative, but I would encourage people to at least have a little bit of that US Mode mindset of like, 'Hey, I'm going to live in this moment, I'm going to enjoy it for what it is.'"

Fans can click here for more information on how to enter to win the Chase Rice VIP experience at Summerfest. Keep it locked to PopCulture.com for more great country music interviews, news, and exclusives!

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