Genre: Christmas, Folk/Acoustic/Americana, Other, Pop/Rock
For fans of: David Wilcox, James Taylor, Rich Mullins, Steven Curtis Chapman, John Mayer
Label: eb+flo records

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Risk fuels creativity. When an artist steps away from their comfort zone, following their muse into fresh territory, it generally opens up an exciting new direction. Not everyone is willing to take chances, but Chris Rice isn't your conventional artist. That maverick spirit and creative passion courses through every track of Rice's new release "What A Heart is Beating For."

After more than a decade in the music business that brought Dove Awards, sales success and a loyal fan base, the singer/songwriter could have become accustomed to the status quo. He might have continued down the same path, reaping the same rewards, but that's not what a true artist chooses to do, and it's not what Chris Rice did. Instead he took a chance with his last album, "Amusing." He left the security of his longtime label home and partnered with friend/producer Monroe Jones to become co-owner in the innovative imprint Eb + Flo. Then joining forces with INO Records, Rice set out to expand his audience.

He shifted gears, tapped into the music bubbling inside him and created "Amusing," a stylistic departure that changed and exceeded the already high expectations for a Chris Rice album. His risk paid off with the mainstream AC radio hit "When Did You Fall," and the creative leap paved the way for Rice's new effort "What a Heart is Beating For."

"I'm more excited about these songs than ever," says Rice. "I feel like they've taken me as a writer into new territory that allowed me to explore different aspects of my own writing and thinking. There aren't constraints on it. There aren't lines in the coloring book that I have to stay in. I get to put on the page whatever I want. It's freedom I can't describe. I still love God, but He's given me a new coloring book."

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