Eric Church tops Pollstar’s Global Chart

Double Down Tour Continues with Newly-Added Fall Dates

Eric Church performs on the Double Down Tour | Photo Credit: Anthony D’Angio

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With sold-out weekends of back-to-back shows the norm thus far on the critically-acclaimed Double Down Tour, multi-Platinum superstar Eric Church lands at the top of both Pollstar’s LIVE75 and Global Concert Pulse Charts this week.

According to Pollstar’s data, “Eric Church makes his stand at No. 1 [on the LIVE75 chart] with a ticket sales average of 13,987 from two-night engagements at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. on March 29-30, American Airlines Center in Dallas on April 12-13 and Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (formerly Quicken Loans Arena) the following weekend.” This marks the second consecutive week Church has led the LIVE75.

On both charts, Church sits ahead of blockbuster tours by artists including Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Metallica, Michael Bublé, Bob Seger, Cher and KISS, among others – all of which boast higher average ticket prices than the Double Down Tour. Church also stands as the only Country artist in the Top 15 of the Global Concert Pulse chart.

Pollstar's LIVE75 chart ranks the average tickets sold by Active Tours for reported shows taken place over the last 30 days. Active Tours with at least 3 reported shows are eligible to chart. An Active Tour is one where there are upcoming shows in the next 30 days in Pollstar's Route Book database. Average Capacity Sold is based on sellable capacity (venue manifest minus complimentary and production kills) as reported to Pollstar.

The loyal ticket-buying Church Choir fans aren’t the only ones loving the Double Down Tour concept boasting back-to-back nights in each city sans-opening act; critics have also praised Church at each stop for the success of unique approach. With newly-added fall dates, the booming success of the tour is poised to continue through the rest of the year.

“…playing three-hour sets with no opener and changing up his setlist from night to night…he’s raising the bar even further” -- Rolling Stone
 
“Not only is he one of the most electric artists in all of music, but one worthy of a title such as ‘Entertainer of the Year.’” -- People

“one of country's most bankable stars… Church roamed the stage with his guitar slung across his back like some kind of country music warrior seeking someone to slay with his songs.” -- Omaha World-Herald

“Churchtook the stage like a poker player who just filled an inside straight: oozing confidence.” -- St. Louis Dispatch

 “… the two-set, three-plus-hour show at TD Garden proved that this was a smart move, showing off the depth of Church’s catalog and the breadth of his band’s ability while also letting devotees appreciate the deeper cuts.” -- The Boston Globe 

 “… unusual tour that seems to be bringing out the best in him.” -- Twin Cities Pioneer

“Sweating, shouting, dancing and smiling until each fan leaves the room exhausted just from following his lead…It’s a show where paying tribute to Merle Haggard in the first set and Queen in the second set feels natural.” -- Forbes

“Church has the stage presence of many huge country arena acts… but the attitude and demeanor of an ’80s rock star. As for his status on the country music spectrum, Church sits rightly on his own.” -- CincyMusic

Remaining Double Down Tour Dates:
May 10 & 11               Denver, Colo. || Pepsi Center
May 17 & 18               Los Angeles, Calif. || STAPLES Center
May 25                        Nashville, Tenn. || Nissan Stadium
June 28 & 29               George, Wash. || The Gorge Amphitheatre
Sept. 13 & 14              Green Bay, Wis. || Resch Center
Sept. 20 & 21              Calgary, Alberta || Scotiabank Saddledome
Sept. 28                       San Francisco, Calif. || Chase Center
Oct. 4 & 5                   Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena
Oct. 11 & 12               Philadelphia, Pa. || Wells Fargo Center
Oct. 25                        Little Rock, Ark. || Verizon Arena
Oct. 26                        Birmingham, Ala. || BJCC Arena
Nov. 1                         Manchester, N.H. || SNHU Arena
Nov. 2                         Hartford, Conn. || XL Center
Nov. 15 & 16              Washington, D.C. || The Anthem
Nov. 22 & 23              Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center

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Eric Church's sixth studio album DESPERATE MAN drops October 5th

ERIC CHURCH'S SIXTH STUDIO ALBUM, DESPERATE MAN ,
Releases October 5th

Tickets for 2019 Double Down Tour on Sale Today at EricChurch.com

  

Eric Church Desperate Man Album Art | EMI Records Nashville

Friday, Oct. 5, 2018 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In August’s candid Rolling Stone cover story shortly after Eric Church announced his sixth album was in the works, readers learned exactly what the North Carolinian has been shouldering since his Holdin’ My Own Tour wrapped last May. It was the first time the songwriter had spoken out regarding the turmoil and angst of the last year, his processing of it all and the outcome: a collection of 11 songs that tell a broader story with today’s release of Desperate Man. 

Release Date: 5 Oct. 2018

Label: EMI RECORDS NASHVILLE

Total Length: 36:41

Genres: Country

Debut #1 UK Country iTunes Album Chart (#19 UK iTunes all-genres) | Sat Oct 6: #2 (#31 all-genres)

Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com

His longest stretch amid albums, Church’s pause between Mr. Misunderstood and Desperate Man was intentional. “I still felt shook up pretty good,” he says of the time he took following a serious health scare and having performed at Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, where dozens of country music fans lost their lives. “I wasn’t ready yet, wasn’t settled from all that happened – I was still reeling from Vegas, I felt displaced and not really connected to anything. I had to get back to enjoying what we were making and finding refuge in the music as a bit of an anchor.”

But then came a breakthrough for the man Music Connection declares “a frankly magnificent songwriter,” in the form of two songs that represented an entirely new direction.

“The Snake” – the first song greeting listeners on the album described by Esquire as “brilliant” – is a menacing, spoken-word parable with a political undertone. “The rattlesnake and the copperhead—that’s left/right, blue/red, however you say it,” says Church. “They sit there and fight all day to rile people up and then go get a drink. They’re working together while the whole world is burning down.”

Then, immediately after, he wrote a simple song called “Hippie Radio,” an acoustic meditation on the ways that music is there to mark different phases in your life. And suddenly, Church started to get a notion of where this project might be headed – to a place Rolling Stone dubs “classic Church: expertly crafted and country radio-friendly, while also pushing boundaries in a way that sounds natural and unforced.”

His songwriting prowess serves as the backbone of the project, with Vulture noting that his “devastating pen is pushed to center stage” as “Desperate Man weaves excellence out of ordinary threads.” Church, who had a hand in writing all 11 songs on the album, is also praised by the LA Times as “one of Nashville’s most forthright truth-tellers,” resulting in “a warm, appealingly ragged collection infused with wisdom and reassurance” which American Songwriter declares as “his most adventuresome album yet.”

Eric Church | Photo Credit: John Peets Photography

NPR opens in First Listen, “On Desperate Man, Church embodies his heroic image even more completely and convincingly than he has on the five albums that came before it.” As the New York Times acknowledges, "Church has never been an easy fit into Nashville's familiar boxes - his music is as much rock as it is country" with Stereogum observing that this renegade spirit is what sets him apart: “Church is someone who’s at the top of his genre because he breaks its rules in big, exciting, arena-filling ways. If that’s not a rock star, I don’t know what is.”

The three-time Country Music Association and seven-time Academy of Country Music Award winner confessed to American Songwriter in their September/October cover story, “For how far we have evolved, we still have the same basic problems. We are all broken, and we are all going to break. It doesn’t matter how far we’ve come or how many pills we come up with or how much technology distracts us; we still want the same things. And you can get through anything in your life with a jukebox, and a bar,” [“Jukebox And A Bar” is one of three songs Church penned solo on the album].

And its closing track, “Drowning Man,” addresses the state of our times and the ways artists have (or haven’t) responded. “With what’s going on in the world, I felt forgotten, left behind,” says Church. “And if you go to any bar or concert in America, there are whole groups of forgotten people who are very much alike, who have more in common than not. There’s a lot of madness in the world that makes no sense, and it’s not all high tides and yachts.”
 
Newsday recognizes this sentiment while praising “Church’s skill as a songwriter and a singer,” noting that he “doesn’t sugarcoat anything, but still manages a positive outlook, even if, as he does in ‘Drowning Man,’ all he can do is offer an escape.”

Desperate Man and tickets to Church’s 2019 Double Down Tour are available today, October 5.  and visit EricChurch.com for ticketing information.

Eric Church -- Desperate Man (EMI Records Nashville / Release Date: Oct. 5, 2018)

1. The Snake (Written by Eric Church, Jeremy Spillman and Travis Meadows)
2. Hangin’ Around (Written by Eric Church and Jeff Hyde)
3. Heart Like A Wheel (Written by Eric Church)
4. Some Of It (Written by Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Clint Daniels and Bobby Pinson)
5. Monsters (Written by Eric Church and Jeff Hyde)
6. Hippie Radio (Written by Eric Church) 
7. Higher Wire (Written by Eric Church, Casey Beathard and Scooter Carusoe)
8. Desperate Man (Written by Eric Church and Ray Wylie Hubbard)
9. Solid (Written by Eric Church and Anders Osborne) 
10. Jukebox And A Bar (Written by Eric Church) 
11. Drowning Man (Written by Eric Church and Casey Beathard) 

       Produced by Jay Joyce
       Executive Producer Arturo Buenahora, Jr. 

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Eric Church’s 2019 Double Down Tour dates are as follows: 
January 18, 2019     Omaha, NE                CHI Health Center+
January 19, 2019     Omaha, NE                CHI Health Center+
January 25, 2019     St. Louis, MO            Enterprise Center+
January 26, 2019     St. Louis, MO            Enterprise Center+
February 1, 2019     Boston, MA               TD Garden+
February 2, 2019     Boston, MA               TD Garden+
February 8, 2019     Minneapolis, MN      Target Center+
February 9, 2019     Minneapolis, MN      Target Center+
February 15, 2019   Detroit, MI                 Little Caesars Arena+
February 16, 2019   Detroit, MI                 Little Caesars Arena+
February 22, 2019   Cincinnati, OH           U.S. Bank Arena*
February 23, 2019   Cincinnati, OH           U.S. Bank Arena*
March 1, 2019         Kansas City, MO        Sprint Center+
March 2, 2019         Kansas City, MO        Sprint Center+
March 8, 2019         Toronto, ON               Scotiabank Arena+
March 9, 2019         Toronto, ON               Scotiabank Arena+
March 15, 2019       Greensboro, NC         Greensboro Coliseum+
March 16, 2019       Greensboro, NC         Greensboro Coliseum+
March 22, 2019       Chicago, IL                Allstate Arena*
March 23, 2019       Chicago, IL                Allstate Arena*
March 29, 2019       Milwaukee, WI          Fiserv Forum+
March 30, 2019       Milwaukee, WI          Fiserv Forum+
April 12, 2019         Dallas, TX                 American Airlines Center*
April 13, 2019         Dallas, TX                 American Airlines Center*
April 19, 2019         Cleveland, OH           Quicken Loans Arena*
April 20, 2019         Cleveland, OH           Quicken Loans Arena*
April 26, 2019         Greenville, SC           Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
April 27, 2019         Greenville, SC           Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
May 3, 2019            Pittsburgh, PA            PPG Paints Arena+
May 4, 2019            Pittsburgh, PA            PPG Paints Arena+
May 10, 2019          Denver, CO                Pepsi Center*
May 11, 2019          Denver, CO                Pepsi Center*
May 17, 2019          Los Angeles, CA       STAPLES Center*
May 18, 2019          Los Angeles, CA       STAPLES Center*
May 25, 2019          Nashville, TN            Nissan Stadium#
June 28, 2019          George, WA               The Gorge Amphitheatre#
June 29, 2019          George, WA               The Gorge Amphitheatre#
+on sale October 5 at 10am local time
*on sale October 12 at 10am local time
#on sale October 19 at 10am local time 

Eric Church's Epic "61 Days in Church" LP Coming on Record Store Day

ERIC CHURCH DELIVERS EPIC FEAT WITH 61 DAYS IN CHURCH

Musical Milestone – Featuring Live Performances of Popular Covers Including Bob Seger, Billy Joel and Pearl Jam – Available on Record Store Day, Saturday, April 21

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Eric Church’s relationship with his fans is undeniable, unconditional and often unconventional. And he delivers on that mission again with the release of live covers from his epic project 61 Days In Church.

The covers, which feature popular music by Soundgarden, Billy Joel, Little Feat, Bob Seger and more, is available Saturday, April 21 during Record Store Day. The musical milestone, released by EMI Nashville, is available on LP with 2,500 exclusive copies available to fans.

Church recorded the ambitious project in 2017 during his Holdin’ My Own Tour, which ran from January through May and was named a Tour of the Year by none other than Rolling Stone, which opined: “Over the years, Church concerts have always been parties. But in 2017, they went from merely ass-kicking to epic.”

During the 61-date tour, Church recorded 30 songs per night for a total of more than 200 hours of live music. The Record Store Day exclusive release is a selection of the very best cover songs from those shows (available only at participating record stores).
 
The collection includes the following eight special cover songs:
1.     “Better Man” (Live At Tacoma Drive, Tacoma, WA, March 18, 2017)
2.     “Turn The Page” (Live At CenturyLink Center, Omaha, NE, April 8, 2017)
3.     “Dixie Chicken” (Live at Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, April 5, 2017 with Chuck Leavell)
4.     “Six Days On The Road” (Live at PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, April 21, 2017)
5.     “Rusty Cage” (Live at Verizon Center, Washington, D.C., May 19, 2017)
6.     “Allentown” (Live at Santander Arena, Reading, PA, May 18, 2017)
7.     “Midnight Rider” (Live at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN, May 27, 2017)
8.     “American Woman” (Live at Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, April 5, 2017 with Glenn Hughes)

The Holdin’ My Own Tour was presented in two sets with an intermission. The tour reached nearly a million fans culminating with two sold-out shows at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Performing nearly 40 songs a night, Church’s fans interact and engage with a fervor usually reserved for shows with traveling rock cult bands such as Phish and the Grateful Dead.

Fans connect with Church’s artistic independence and reciprocal loyalty. He cancelled 33,000 tickets destined for sale by scalpers. He went so far as to commission his own technology to vet suspicious online purchases to protect his fans and their hard-earned cash. In 2015 he released his album Mr. Misunderstood for free to the Church Choir (then 80,000 followers) – a day before it was available for sale on iTunes.   

Bucking convention isn’t an easy path, but for Church there is no question about where he prioritizes his relationship with his fans and the lengths he will go to provide the ultimate musical experience for his steadfast audience of devoted Choir members.

For information and to sign up for the Church Choir, visit www.ericchurch.com.
 

Eric Church ‘sets the bar for country concerts’ on HOLDIN’ MY OWN TOUR

ERIC CHURCH ‘sets the bar for country concerts’ as he wraps completely

SOLD-OUT HOLDIN’ MY OWN TOUR (DE FORCE)

More than 900,000 fans sing along to every song 

on 2017’s most-attended concert tour

PHOTO: Eric Church rocks record-breaking crowd
with his signature Hummingbird Dark Gibson Guitar
 during his two-night Holdin' My Own Tour finale in Nashville 
Photo credit: Anthony D'Angelo

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – To really understand how Eric Church feels about the Holdin’ My Own Tour, you have to see things from his perspective standing at the mic. For the last five months, country music’s most electric performer has stood face-to-face with nearly 1 million people and truly connected.
 
“This tour has been my career’s biggest challenge physically, but I can honestly say I'm gonna miss it,” shared Church after a record-setting, 42-song set at Saturday’s show (that went well into Sunday morning). “Seeing what happens between us and the crowd for over three hours a night is awe inspiring.  I'm gonna miss seeing those faces and freezing that moment in time night after night.”
 
The No.1 most-attended music tour in the world in 2017 (Pollstar) included 62 sold-out shows across North America, each unique in its own way with just Church and his band relentlessly grinding out memorable moment after memorable moment with over three dozen or more songs each night. That’s the way it’s always been for Church, from his first shows in front of a few dozen to the record-setting, two-night stand at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena that drew 38,016 fans (18,996 on Friday and 19,020 on Saturday, setting the new attendance record for the venue) to close the tour.

“The first time we played in Nashville, we played for - I’m not kidding - 30, 40 people, and when they left that show they told 10 or 20 people about what they’d seen,” Church told the crowd Friday night at Bridgestone Arena. “And the next time we played this town, 200 people showed up. Here’s the thing I can say for myself and this band: We’ve never gone out on stage and played for 20 or 30 people. Every night we played, we played it because there were 50,000 people in front of us. It was never about how many, it was about the music. It was about the heart of the music.”
 
And that’s something that everyone is picking up on, not just Church’s fervent fans. His peers and the critics have been paying tribute all along the way.
 
“It reminded me of the way Waylon treated other musicians,” Ray Wylie Hubbard, the singer-songwriter and Church favorite, said in a glowing Nashville Scene cover story. “Waylon had that idea of respect. … I’m pretty sure it’s nice he’s selling a lot of records. But what’s more important is the feeling he gets, the joy he gives his fans. He lays it on the line and writes from a place where the real badass, cool songwriters write from. I have a lot of respect for him, not as a big-shot entertainer but as a songwriter.”
 
The critics lined up to agree this winter and spring, digging the way Church constructed his show “like a classic box set” (Erik Ernst, Journal Sentinel) with “the attitude of rock 'n' roll, transgression and a little sin." (John Adamian, The Courant). Rolling Stone raved that Church “sets the bar for country concerts” at his show at Brooklyn Barclays Center, “taking a page from Bruce Springsteen.” “In a relatively short time Eric Church has firmly established himself as one of the best live performers of his generation,” wrote Thom Jennings in the Niagara Gazette. “His albums keep getting progressively better as do his live shows. It may only be a matter of time before he is too big for hockey arenas and will start headlining stadium shows."
 
“You can’t truly grasp how strong it is until you’re one of 19,020 in the stands,” wrote Dave Paulson of the bond between Church and his huge following (deemed the “Church Choir”) at Saturday’s show for The Tennessean. “Sure, it’s an easy pun, but ‘Choir’ is an apt name for Church’s faithful. If you didn’t already know which songs were radio singles, there was no way to know at Saturday’s show. This room knew every verse of every song, from the floor to the upper deck. That was never clearer than on ‘Give Me Back My Hometown,’ when the ‘Choir’ nearly drowned out Church’s band.”
 
Church strives to make every show unique and the Holdin’ My Own Tour was full of special moments, from unique setlists each night to new collaborations and covers and many stops. He paid tribute to Gregg Allman on Saturday night in Nashville just hours after the legend’s death with a cover of The Allman Brothers Band’s “Midnight Rider.” And earlier this month he paid tribute to Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell with his version of the “hillbilly Black Sabbath crossover” (Rolling Stone) song “Rusty Cage,” a Soundgarden favorite. On Friday night at Bridgestone, he trotted out an old favorite “Tennessee Jed” by The Grateful Dead. Other memorable moments on tour included his cover of Pearl Jam's "Better Man" in Tacoma. Along the way there were also versions of The Band’s “Don’t Do It,” Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken” and The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” In the Windy City, he took on blues standard “Sweet Home Chicago” and brought in his favorite singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde to perform her composition, “Bible and a .44.” 
 
Church was joined by Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes and longtime Rolling Stones touring keyboardist Chuck Leavell at his Colorado stop. The trio performed The Guess Who’s “American Woman” in a classic moment no one there will ever forget.
 
Moments like these have created a special bond between Church and his fans, who often stand all the way through his nearly four-hour shows. That bond has made Church one of country music’s most bankable stars, and The Chief flexed his muscle on the road this year. The tour set many records, including occupying all top five spots on the May 15 Billboard Country Boxscore with sellouts in Tampa, Florida, Greenville, South Carolina, Uncasville, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Pittsburgh – a run that included more than 81,000 fans. He broke the attendance record in Jacksonville– where 13,854 fans filled the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. And he did all this despite cancelling 33,000 tickets listed on the secondary market due to scalper activity, something he abhors.

62 shows
Over 200 hours worth of music
Over 2,200 songs
Nearly a million fans
Thanks for letting me Hold My Own pic.twitter.com/1oOwZyT5GD

— Eric Church (@ericchurch) 30 May 2017

Billboard Boxscores

Rank Artist: #3

Event Venue City/State: Eric Church Staples Center Los Angeles, Calif.

Dates: March 31, 2017 Gross Sales: $1,042,599 Attend: 16,596/ 16,596

Shows/ Sellouts: 1/1 ** SOLD OUT ** Prices: $89, $15

Promoters: Messina Touring Group/AEG Presents

Rank Artist: #4

Event Venue City/State: Eric Church, Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.

Dates: Jan. 31, 2017 Gross Sales: $1,044,361 Attend: 17,076/ 17,076

Shows/ Sellouts: 1/1 ** SOLD OUT ** Prices: $89, $27

Promoters: Messina Touring Group/AEG Live

Rank Artist: #5

Event Venue City/State: Eric Church, TD Garden, Boston, Mass.

Dates: Jan. 28, 2017 Gross Sales: $1,018,761 Attend: 16,697/ 16,697

Shows/ Sellouts: 1/1 ** SOLD OUT ** Prices: $89.50, $28.50      

Promoters: Messina Touring Group/AEG Live

Rank Artist: #5

Event Venue City/State: Eric Church U.S. Bank Arena Cincinnati, Ohio

Dates: April 22, 2017 Gross Sales: $1,322,826 Attend: 16,736/ 16,736

Shows/ Sellouts: 1/1 ** SOLD OUT ** Prices: $129, $29

Promoters: Messina Touring Group/AEG Presents

Rank Artist: #9

Event Venue City/State: Eric Church BMO Harris Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wis.

Dates: April 14, 2017 Gross Sales: $1,102,384 Attend: 17,931/ 17,931

Shows/ Sellouts: 1/1 ** SOLD OUT ** Prices: $89, $25

Promoters: Messina Touring Group/AEG Presents

Rank Artist: #12

Event Venue City/State: Eric Church Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario

Dates: March 2, 2017 Gross Sales: $868,865 Attend: 16,405/ 16,405

Shows/ Sellouts: 1/1 ** SOLD OUT ** Prices: $66.80, $20.26

Promoters: Messina Touring Group/AEG Presents

Rank Artist: #18

Event Venue City/State: Eric Church Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex Birmingham, Ala.

Dates: Feb. 17, 2017 Gross Sales: $899,884 Attend: 17,031/ 17,031       

Shows/ Sellouts: 1/1 ** SOLD OUT ** Prices: $89, $18

Promoters: Messina Touring Group/AEG Live

Rank Artist: #19

Event Venue City/State: Eric Church Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, Mich.

Dates: Feb. 25, 2017 Gross Sales: $1,233,087 Attend: 18,940/ 18,940

Shows/ Sellouts: 1/1 ** SOLD OUT ** Prices: $89, $25

Promoters: Messina Touring Group/AEG Live

 While the Holdin’ My Own Tour is over, fans will have a handful of chances to catch Church before the end of 2017 – though they are precious few. The Chief will play CMA Fest at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium Friday, June 9, at 10 p.m. And Church has announced eight more standalone shows in 2017:
 
June 23 Cadott, WI at Country Fest
Sept. 2 and 3 Stateline, NV at Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys**
Sept 7, 2017 Austin, TX at Austin 360 Amphitheater+
Sept. 8, 2017 Houston, TX at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion+
Sept 15, 2017 Tuscaloosa, AL at Tuscaloosa Amphitheater*
Sept 16, 2017 Orange Beach, AL at The Wharf Amphitheater*
Sept 21 and 22 Gilford, NH at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion***
Sept 23 Bangor, ME at Darling's Waterfront Pavilion***
Sept. 29 Las Vegas, NV at Route 91 Festival+
*With special guests Brothers Osborne and Ashley McBryde
**Margo Price opening
+ Elle King and The Texas Gentlemen opening
***Special guests announced soon
 
Additional support announcement and on sale information coming soon.
 
Church’s pop-up store in East Nashville (address: 218 South 11^th Street) returns for the third consecutive year with a portion of the proceeds benefiting his and his wife Katherine’s non-profit Chief Cares foundation that serves more than 2.5 million people around the globe with charitable giving. For more information on Chief Cares Fund, visit www.ericchurch.com/chiefcares.
 
The pop-up store will be open Thursday, June 8, through Sunday, June 11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. where it will feature exclusive merchandise unavailable anywhere else, such as his new design of his These Boots by Lucchese cowboy boot line, a custom Orion Cooler, vintage tour T-shirts and the complete poster set from the Holdin’ My Own Tour. Plus, there will also be another golden ticket hidden within the store, this one will be for entrance into the Church Choir party on Friday, June 9 in Nashville where every year Church performs a unique arrangement exclusive to fans. 

For more information.

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Eric Church owns Nashville crowd in first of two tour-closing shows

ERIC CHURCH OWNS NASHVILLE CROWD
IN FIRST OF TWO TOUR-CLOSING SHOWS 

Again Sets Arena Record; Delivers Marathon 39-Song Set to 18,996

CLICK to ENLARGE

PHOTO: Eric Church | Photo credit: Anthony D'Angio

Saturday, May 27, 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Eric Church fans have come to expect a transcendent experience when they attend one of his concerts. Friday night at Bridgestone Arena – the first of a two-night, sold-out hometown stand that wraps the Holdin’ My Own Tour – Church built a record crowd into a frenzy with the help of the East Nashville Magnet High School Choir as he closed show opener “Mistress Named Music.”

“Yeah, I’m married to a dream with a mistress named music,” the gathered throng sang in unison, nearly 19,000-strong record-breaking rocking Bridgestone Arena like the hometown Nashville Predators did just a few days ago in the same venue as they clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup.

Church told fans he promises attendees at every show the band will give everything they have. On Friday night, the visibly pumped singer-songwriter promised to take it further and made a simple request.

“I think it’s safe to say we’re going to give you more than we have over these two nights,” Church told the roaring crowd. “I just need you to meet me halfway.”

Of course, none of this is new for Church or his fans. Nashville has been full of milestone moments over the years and this weekend’s two-night hometown stand at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena marks the frenzied end of the cross-continent Holdin’ My Own Tour. Over 900,000 fans have made it the No.1 most-attended music tour in the world in 2017 (Pollstar) with sell outs in of each of the more than 60 shows he’s played since January.

Church has greeted each new crowd with a marathon set list and nearly four hours of music, playing more than three dozen fan favorites and deep cuts alike in a fully immersive experience that includes an intermission and no opening act. Friday night, while performing the title track of his fifth studio album, Mr. Misunderstood, Church brought out now-15-year-old McKinley "Mickey" Smay, who appears on the album's cover, to jam. Church's congregation responded in their usual overenthusiastic way, as captured by the Nashville Scene, which profiled "the country outsider" in a cover story to preview this weekend's shows.
 
“They’re not like other fans – especially country fans,” Marissa R. Ross wrote in the Scene. “They sing along and know every word, and are more excited for deep cuts than singles like ‘Springsteen.’ The camaraderie in the crowd, the fervent dedication, the way people in the audience respond to each song – offering up some Jack Daniels during ‘Drink in My Hand,’ or raising a shoe during ‘These Boots,’ as a sign of solidarity, but also in hope Church might grab one and sign it onstage – are more like the rituals of the traveling rock cults associated with Phish or The Grateful Dead.”

Speaking of the Dead, Church and his longtime band covered “Tennessee Jed” Friday night before reprising Chief’s “Over When It’s Over” with Joanna Cotten on guest vocals, followed by an unexpected cover of Ben Harper’s “Steal My Kisses”—two unique cover jams just for Bridgestone’s crowd. In all, Church played 39 songs during his two sets with the to-the-rafters crowd standing the entire show, raising their glasses—and boots – when prompted. At one point, more than two hours into the show, Church stopped to gather album covers, platters of vinyl and magazines from fans before taking out a silver Sharpie and signing each, handing them back to fans as the crowd cheered.

Church drew a new arena record 18,996 fans Friday night, breaking February’s 18,514 set by Bon Jovi. That record broke Church’s previous Bridgestone mark of 18,411 set Jan. 10, 2015. The singer has a chance to break his new record again Saturday night with another sold-out show, the 62^nd and final of the tour. Church set the mark using a 360-degree stage and audience configuration and despite canceling 2,214 tickets for the shows previously listed on the secondary market.

Church once again opened a pop-up store in East Nashville (address: 218 South 11^th Street) for the third consecutive year with a portion of the proceeds benefiting his and his wife Katherine’s non-profit Chief Cares foundation that serves more than 2.5 million people around the globe with charitable giving. For more information on Chief Cares Fund, visit www.ericchurch.com/chiefcares.

The pop-up store will be open through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. where it will feature rare items specific to the Holdin' My Own Tour. The store will open again Thursday, June 8, through Sunday, June 11, during the same hours and will feature exclusive merchandise unavailable anywhere else, such as the debut a never-before-seen design of his These Boots by Lucchese cowboy boot line, a custom Orion Cooler and vintage tour T-shirts and posters. The boot design is called The Chattanooga Lucy after the “the most thrilling country dance tune to come along in ages” (Rolling Stone Country) from his fifth studio album, Mr. Misunderstood. Church’s devotees have one more chance at making it to the sold-out Holdin’ My Own finale. If they come in to the Nashville pop-up store Saturday and purchase the store’s exclusive poster, they have a chance of finding a pair of tickets to that night’s show.

Set 1:

Mistress Named Music, That's Damn Rock & Roll, The Outsiders, Knives of New Orleans, Drink in My Hand, Carolina, How 'Bout You, What I Almost Was, Cold One, Round Here Buzz, Mr. Misunderstood, Talladega, Like a Wrecking Ball, Pledge Allegiance to the Hag, Smoke a Little Smoke

Set 2:

Ain't Killed Me Yet, Guys Like Me, Lotta Boot Left to Fill, Record Year, Homeboy, Chattanooga Lucy, Two Pink Lines ('17 version), Kill a Word, Tennessee Jed (Grateful Dead cover), Over When It's Over, Steal My Kisses (Ben Harper cover),

Give Me Back My Hometown, Jack Daniels, Before She Does, Country Music Jesus, Mixed Drinks About Feelings, Creepin',

Three Year Old, These Boots, Springsteen

Encore:

Sinners Like Me, 16th Avenue (Lacy J. Dalton cover), Those I've Loved, Holdin' My Own

Fans who will be in town for CMA Fest and missed Church’s two-night stand at Bridgestone can catch The Chief at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium Friday, June 9 at 10 p.m. And Church has announced eight more shows in 2017 after the close of his current tour:
June 23 Cadott, WI at Country Fest
Sept. 2 and 3 Stateline, NV at Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys**
Sept 7, 2017 Austin, TX at Austin 360 Amphitheater***
Sept. 8, 2017 Houston, TX at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion***
Sept 15, 2017 Tuscaloosa, AL at Tuscaloosa Amphitheater*
Sept 16, 2017 Orange Beach, AL at The Wharf Amphitheater*
Sept 21 and 22 Gilford, NH at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion***
Sept. 29 Las Vegas, NV at Route 91 Festival+
*With special guests Brothers Osborne and Ashley McBryde
**Margo Price opening
***Special guests announced soon

Additional support announcement and on sale information coming soon.

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Eric Church Holds His Own on 2017 solo tour

ERIC CHURCH HOLDS HIS OWN ON 2017 SOLO TOUR

The 60-plus-city Holdin’ My Own Tour kicked off Friday 13th in Lincoln, Nebraska

Eric Church Holdin' My Own Tour at Lincoln
Neb's Pinnacle Bank Arena

Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Eric Church wastes no time bringing music to his fans in 2017 as he embarks on his Holdin’ My Own Tour . 
The tour kicked off at Lincoln, Nebraska's Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday, Jan. 13. 

The “Kill a Word” singer will see 60+ cities in North America and will be without any opening acts for the entire tour. 

The award-winning singer/songwriter and his band will bring their two-set show that New York Times says is “fuel for love, for anguish and, naturally, for other music,” to both coasts before ending with a two-night blowout at Nashville, Tennessee's Bridgestone Arena in May.

All fans who hope to see “one of country’s smartest, most ambitious singers and songwriters,” (Vulture) from beginning to end on the Holdin’ My Own Tour, need to ensure they take their seats by 8:00 p.m. local time, as Church will kick the show off promptly with a huge moment, without any opening support preceding. The double-set show will feature a 360-degree stage that offers fans great views from anywhere in the arena. 

CLICK to ENLARGE:
Eric Church at Sioux Falls-SD's Danny Sanford Premier Center

Continuing his ambitious war against ticket scalpers for this year’s tour, Church has ensured that more fans have the chance to see the show at face value, already revoking thousands of tickets bought by scalpers and re-releasing them to the public. Church continues to combat scalpers with his proprietary presale process and delayed delivery tickets, making it tough on them to resell.

For the first time on a tour, concert-goers will be able to purchase Church’s custom boot line at the venue (no longer a VIP-only experience). In September of 2014, Church partnered with Lucchese Boots to launch his exclusive signature boot line, These Boots by Lucchese. Each pair has the lyrics to the song “These Boots” in Church’s handwriting laser etched into the sole, and are handmade in El Paso, Texas. Fans can pre-order boots ahead of time and get fitted at the venue by our team of boot specialists. For more information and to pre-order visit www.ericchurch.com/theseboots.

The Holdin’ My Own Tour comes on the heels of Church winning Album of the Year at the CMA Awards with his critically acclaimed, surprise-release album, Mr. Misunderstood. His most recent single, the thought-provoking ballad, “Kill a Word,” highlights, as Billboard claims, Church’s “impressive voice, as well as his songwriting skills.” Church also released a live album in November, Mr. Misunderstood On the Rocks Live & (Mostly) Unplugged, recorded at Morrison, Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, where the singer/songwriter announced his 2017 tour directly to his fans at the show.

2017 Holdin’ My Own Tour dates are as follows:
Friday, January 13: Lincoln, Neb. Pinnacle Bank Arena
Saturday, January 14: Sioux Falls, S.D. Denny Sanford Premier Center
Sunday, January 15: Grand Forks, N.D. Ralph EngelstadArena
Thursday, January 19: Des Moines, Iowa. Wells Fargo Arena
Friday, January 20: Minneapolis, Minn. Target Center
Saturday, January 21: Green Bay, Wis. Resch Center
Wednesday, January 25: Philadelphia, Pa. Wells Fargo Center
Friday, January 27: Brooklyn, N.Y. Barclays Center
Saturday, January 28: Boston, Mass. TD Garden
Tuesday, January 31: Kansas City Mo. Sprint Center 

For more dates & to purchase Holdin’ My Own Tour tickets here.

For further details on the ticketing system plus information on VIP packages, These Boots by Lucchese and Church's custom-designed Gibson Hummingbird Dark on tour:

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