Eric Church took a creative risk at Stagecoach and played an unusual, contentious acoustic set alongside a gospel choir. Some people absolutely loved it. Some people absolutely hated it.
A large amount of fans left in the middle of his performance, which was labeled as “career suicide” by the haters.
Multiple videos from Indio, Calif. showed the mass exodus take place while Church was still on stage. It was not just one or two concertgoers who tried to beat traffic. They left in droves.
As a result of the disgruntlement, a large group of disappointed patrons moved over to a smaller stage for Nickelback’s performance. That created a logistical nightmare.
Church usually performs with high energy and a full band. He switched things up as the headliner at Stagecoach on Friday night. His 90-minute set was an acoustic medley that was designed to feel and look like church.
The 46-year-old country music star played some of his own songs.
Church also played a few covers, like Gin and Juice.
The set was largely enjoyed by the folks watching on T.V. at home. The same cannot be said for a significant number of folks who were there in person and expected a big headlining set to close out the night.
Church doesn’t really care what the haters think and is comfortable with his performance. He responded to the criticism with an explanation of his inspiration not long after the show ended.
his was the most difficult set I have ever attempted. I’ve always found that taking it back to where it started, back to chasing who Bob Seger loves, who Springsteen loves, who Willie Nelson loves, you chase it back to the origin. The origin of all that is still the purest form of it. And we don’t do that as much anymore. It felt good at this moment to go back, take a choir and do that.
For me, it’s always been something with records, with performances, I’ve always been the one that’s like, “let’s do something really, really strange and weird and take a chance.”
Sometimes it doesn’t work, but it’s okay if you’re living on that edge, because that edge, that cutting edge, is where all the new guys are going to gravitate to anyway. So if you can always challenge yourself that way, it always cuts sharper than any other edge.
— Eric Church
There is no doubt that Eric Church took a risk. The loud expression of disapproval on social media would lead you to believe that his gamble didn’t work. However, there is a silent majority that might push back on that notion.
Either way, it’s not like Church does this on tour every night. He’ll be fine!