Eric Church is heading out on tour this fall. The singer-songwriter will kick off his Free the Machine Tour on September 12. Elle King, Marcus King Band and Charles Wesley Godwin will take turns as Church’s opening acts.
“From front to back, these shows will be different than anything you’ve ever seen or heard from us before,” Church hints, in a video shared with his Church Choir fan club members. “I cannot wait to see you on the road for this tour.”
The tour announcement comes one day before Church’s Evangeline vs. the Machine album will be released on May 2.
“An album is a snapshot in time that lasts for all time,” Church says of the record. “I believe in that time-tested tradition of making records that live and breathe as one piece of art – I think it’s important.”
The North Carolina native recently opened up about enduring three back-to-back hardships, and how they forever impacted him and his music. Church suffered a near-fatal blood clot, was a headliner at the tragic Route 91 Harvest Festival, where 58 fans were killed and more than 800 were wounded, and lost his brother. Incredibly painful, the events forever shaped Church, and the music he makes. After experiencing so much loss, the edges around Church, and his music, began to soften.
“The relationship between the artist and the fans, in that moment in time, is sacred,” Church reflects on the Today Show. “And those bullets shattered that. Right after that, I had a health scare, I had a blood clot, and I thought I was gonna die … And then my brother died. So all this happened within a matter of months. I think up until that point, you can listen to music maybe, and you can see that I was brash, arrogant in a lot of ways, but it changes when you have those things happen to you. I think it made the music more humble, and maybe more observant.”
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When Church moved to Nashville, he was, by his own admission, a bit cocky, sure that he was the answer to everything that was wrong with country msuic.
“I expected to go into Nashville and go, ‘You’re welcome. I’m here to save you guys,’” Church recalls with a chuckle. “They didn’t like my songs, they didn’t like my voice, they didn’t like my writing … Even the bartending didn’t work.”
What Church is doing is certainly. working now. His “Hands of Time” single is in the Top 30. Tickets for most dates on Church’s Free The Machine Tour will be available beginning on Friday, May 9. Find more information, and order Evangeline vs. The Machine at EricChurch.com.
Free the Machine Tour Dates:
Sept. 12 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || PPG Paints Arena || Elle King
Sept. 13 || Columbus, Ohio || Nationwide Arena || Elle King
Sept. 18 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Wells Fargo Center || Elle King*
Sept. 19 || Boston, Mass. || TD Garden || Elle King
Sept. 20 || Brooklyn, N.Y. || Barclays Center || Elle King
Sept. 25 || Green Bay, Wisc. || Resch Center || Marcus King Band
Sept. 26 || Milwaukee, Wisc. || Fiserv Forum || Marcus King Band
Sept. 27 || Des Moines, Iowa || Wells Fargo Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 2 || Detroit, Mich. || Little Caesars Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 3 || Lexington, Ky. || Rupp Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Gainbridge Fieldhouse || Marcus King Band
Oct. 10 || Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 11 || Cleveland, Ohio || Rocket Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 23 || Salt Lake City, Utah || Delta Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 24 || Boise, Idaho || ExtraMile Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 25 || Spokane, Wash. || Spokane Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 6 || Vancouver, B.C. || Rogers Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 7 || Portland, Ore. || Moda Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 8 || Seattle, Wash. || Climate Pledge Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 13 || Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 14 || Fresno, Calif. || SaveMart Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 15 || Inglewood, Calif. || Intuit Dome || Charles Wesley Godwin
*on sale Friday, May 16 at 10 a.m. local time