On Tuesday (Aug. 29), Eric Church became the 18th artist to perform as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s prestigious artist residency program, as he kicked off the first of two nights of intimate, career-spanning shows at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s 700+ seat CMA Theater. Launched in 2003, a prestigious residency has since celebrated the artistic magnitude of artists including Cowboy Jack Clement, Earl Scruggs, Kenny Rogers, Connie Smith, Tom T. Hall, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson and Miranda Lambert.
For Church, it also marked a full-circle moment, as acclaimed journalist Robert K. Oermann noted that just seventeen years ago, Church had launched his major-label recording career with an album release party for Sinners Like Me in that same building, at the 200+ seat Ford Theater. Back then, Oermann had asked the tiny audience of ardent Church fans if they were ready for “a kick in the pants.” That night at the CMA Theater, he guaranteed the audience of passionate fans — many of them Church Choir members — were sure to get “a kick in the heart.”
He returned to the hallowed Hall as a Country Music Association entertainer of the year winner, a 10-time Grammy nominee, and the subject of his own exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, aptly titled Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul.
Seated front and center on a stool, and backed by his longtime band and backup singers, Church embarked upon a career-cataloging set that chronicled his evolution into one of country music’s biggest artists. The early portion of the evening centered on his fierce determination to rise above an onslaught of negative early career press, as a video screen outfitted to resemble an vintage television rattled off reviews that disparaged his early music and performances.
From the beginning of his career, Church has done things his own way and colored outside of the lines, daring to dig deeper, musically and creatively. He was kicked off an early tour for playing too loud and too long; in 2016, he surprised the industry and his fan club members by releasing his Mr. Misunderstood album directly to members of his Church Choir fanclub first, by mailing out vinyl and CD copies directly to them before anyone in the industry had heard it. He took on ticket scalpers in a bid to keep real fans in the concert seats at reasonable prices.
But early on, he also knew the power of building a devoted fanbase. He launched his CMA Theater set with songs including “How ‘Bout You,” “Sinners Like Me” and “Smoke a Little Smoke” — songs that displayed his dogged determination, but also positioned him as an advocate for those who are downtrodden, left of center or simply determined to leave their own unique legacy.
From there, the career-spanning set touched on his breakthrough projects, and songs that showed him to be a songcraft expert. From his CMA album of the year-winning project Chief, he performed “Springsteen” and “Like Jesus Does.” From The Outsiders, he offered “Give Me Back My Hometown” and “Talladega.” From another CMA album of the year-winning album, Mr. Misunderstood, came the title track and “Record Year,” and from Desperate Man came the wisdom-imbued “Some of It” and the tender-and-tough “Monsters.” Along the way, Church has been rewarded with 10 Billboard Country Airplay No. 1 hits. He’s also become one of the chief musical architects infusing a new wave of country music with this soul-fueled, heartland rock sensibilities, layered with keen observations and a knack for a killer hook.
The evening had moments of hand-raising, righteous rock and moments of somber tribute. As the crowd rose to its feet and cheers of “Chief!” swelled throughout the theater at the set’s conclusion, Church said, “I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did.” Surveying the past nearly two hours of career-spanning music, he noted, “It was tough at times, but you know what? That’s our life. That’s our career. Everything you saw tonight is who we are and that’s unbelievably how we got in this room. It has been the greatest honor of my life to do this.”
Below, we look at five standout moments from the Chief’s opening night as a Country Music Hall of Fame artist-in-residencce.
Chief Hits
Image Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Church’s chronicling of his career zeniths and nadirs reached its first towering peak as he rolled into Chief, his 2011 album that brought Church his first two Billboard Hot Country Songs chart-toppers and his first Grammy nomination for best country album. Church offered up musical salvation with “Country Music Jesus,” and the double shot of swagger and nostalgia that is “Springsteen.” The 700+ fans that packed the CMA Theater swayed, raised beer cans and sang mightily to every lyrical nod to summer nights, old tattoos and the Boss.
Family Ties
Church closed the show by placing the focus on the reason and fuel behind his life and career — his family.
Nodding to his wife and two sons in the CMA Theater audience, Church offered up “Holdin’ My Own,” a song surveying a life of wins and losses, and finding peace in being able to hold his loved ones close, regardless of whatever else life throws at them.
“This is my favorite song,” Church told the crowd. “I went a long time not declaring anything that, but this is my favorite song. My boys are here tonight my family is here tonight.”
“Through My Ray-Bans”
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic impacted millions of lives and forced artists off the road, Church was among the artists who took a stand in many ways to help get concerts up and running again –including appearing on the cover of Billboard in 2021 while getting his own COVID-19 vaccine. During his CMA Theater set, the television screen showed footage depicting the ravages of the pandemic, before Church performed “Through My Ray-Bans,” a come-together bellwether that tributes concertgoers, which he likens to “an army of Friday night soldiers” fending off the world-weary week ahead for a few precious hours of camaraderie.
“Why Not Me”
As much as the evening cataloged Church’s hits and career surge, more importantly, it touched on moments that indelibly impacted his life — and the lives of many. The first of those came when audio played that described the mass shooting that occurred in 2017 at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, where a gunman claimed the lives of 60 people, with hundreds more injured. Church was among the headliners at the festival that year.
During his CMA Theater set, Church offered the reflective, sorrowful “Why Not Me,” letting the song’s words reverberate truth throughout the room. “Why Not Me” is the same song he performed on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry stage in October 2017, just days after the massacre in Vegas — dedicating it to Sonny Melton, one of the victims of the shooting.
Gill’s Special Tribute
Image Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Immediately following the tribute to those lost in the Route 91 shooting, Church continued paying homage to important people in his life who have passed on — this time, Church’s late brother Brandon Church, who died in 2018 at age 36. Special guest and Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill walked onstage unannounced, drawing cheers from the crowd. However, his performance was somber, sturdy and sentimental.
As the screen lit up with a photo of Church’s late brother, Gill offered a solo rendition of his 1995 song “Go Rest High on That Mountain” — a song that Gill finished writing following the passing of his own brother in 1993. The crowd offered Gill a standing ovation as he waved and left the stage, as Church returned, seemingly discreetly wiping tears from behind his signature Ray-Bans.
