Chase Rice's album 'Ignite the Night' impacted Aug. 19 -- a very important day in the singer's life, as it was his late father's birthday. The singer opens up to Taste of Country about the first time he performed for his dad and how it affected his future in music.

The rising star, 27, lost his father roughly six years ago, and his life hasn't been the same since. Although things didn't turn out quite as he expected, he's happy to pay tribute to his father with the release of 'Ignite the Night.' Rice didn't exactly get to choose the day the debut album was released, but he calls the whole timing "cool."

“It was a coincidence,” he explains. “There were only a few days we had off to release it, so it fell on what just so happened to be his birthday, which was cool for me."

Rice's dad never actually got to see his son perform onstage, but he did get a private concert at their home. The singer had his eyes set on a special guitar, and to get it, he made his late father an offer he couldn't refuse. Rice wasn't a singer at the time, but told Mom and Dad he'd sing for them if he could get his dream guitar.

“'If I sing to you and Mom, will you buy me that guitar I’ve been wanting?'" Rice recalls asking, "‘cause I couldn’t afford it then, and he said, ‘Yep, I’ll buy it."

"I really think he didn’t think I would sit in the living room and perform for him and Mom, but I sang him ‘Anything but Mine’ by [Kenny] Chesney and I think ‘Friends in Low Places,’” Rice shares.

The country singer's private family concert also included a Tim McGraw song he couldn't recall, but getting that guitar was a turning point in Rice's career. He started to practice guitar more, and then, he finally started to sing.

During his time with Taste of Country, Rice also pinpointed which songs his dad would enjoy the most -- and which ones his dad may have wanted to spank him for. Rice says he's anxiously awaiting the phone call from his mom saying she's finally listened to the record.

Watch Chase Rice Perform 'Ready Set Roll' Acoustic

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