• Chase Rice is facing backlash for performing at an 800-person concert in Tennessee on Saturday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  • The concert took place one day after the state reported its largest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases.
  • Photos of the concertgoers, who didn’t wear masks or practice social distancing, prompted outrage on social media.
  • Fellow country singers like Kelsea Ballerini and Mickey Guyton criticized Rice, calling his decision to perform “selfish.”
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Chase Rice is being criticized for playing an 800-person concert in Tennessee on Saturday amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The concert took place at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee, the day after the state reported its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases.

The country singer, 34, wrote, “We back” on his Instagram story over the weekend, panning over a seemingly jam-packed audience singing his song “Eyes On You.” Concertgoers didn’t appear to wear masks or social distance at the event.

When videos of the concert surfaced on social media, fellow country singers lambasted Rice for performing in front of the crowd in the midst of a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Kelsea Ballerini tweeted that Rice was "selfish" for putting fans at risk, pointing out that his actions could cause a "ripple effect" and infect people that didn't even attend the concert.

"Imagine being selfish enough to put thousands of people's health at risk, not to mention the potential ripple effect, and play a NORMAL country concert right now. @ChaseRiceMusic," she wrote. "We all want (and need) to tour. We just care about our fans and their families enough to wait."

Mickey Guyton also expressed her disapproval for the concert, saying the videos made her "sick to my stomach."

And though some of Rice's fans thanked him for performing, dispelling the risk of COVID-19 without citing scientific evidence, many people joined Ballerini and Guyton in calling out the country singer for creating an environment that defied health experts' advice. Many blamed the crowd for ignoring social distancing efforts to attend the concert.

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Brian May, the vice president of Brushy Mountain Group, released a statement to Insider saying that "all local requirements were abided by for the recent concert."

"We drastically reduced our maximum venue capacity of 10,000 to 4,000 maximum capacity (lower than the state's advisement of 50%) with less than 1,000 (954 tickets sold with 809 tickets scanned) in attendance Saturday night providing ample space in the outdoor lawn area for fans to spread out to their own comfort level," he wrote.

May said that the venue took precautions by taking guests' temperatures prior to entering the venue, providing complimentary hand sanitizer, and requiring the staff to wear masks and gloves.

"We were unable to further enforce the physical distancing recommended in the signage posted across the property and are looking into future alternative scenarios that further protect the attendees, artists and their crews and our employees," he said.

May added, "We are reevaluating the series from the top to bottom - from implementing further safety measures, to adding stanchions, to converting the space to drive-in style concerts, to postponing shows."

In an emergency meeting on Friday, the Nashville Board of Health voted to mandate masks while in public spaces, a rule that went into effect on Monday.