Eric Church On Narrowing Down A New Setlist After ‘Heart & Soul’: “It Has Been Maddening”

Eric Church sitting in a chair playing a guitar

Eric Church is kicking off his Gather Again Tour THIS WEEKEND.

After nearly two years at home, he’s hitting the road on a massive 55-city headlining tour that will run through the spring of 2022.

As someone who has been extremely sad without live music for much of the last year and a half or so, I’m absolutely ecstatic to finally get to see Eric in real life soon. Knowing that there’s so much new music I’ll get to hear for the first time live makes it all the more exciting.

If you’ve ever seen Eric at a live show before, then you obviously know how many great songs he picks specifically for each different city. With such an expansive catalog, it’s nearly impossible that you’ll end up hearing every one of your favorites at any given show.

But, that’s what makes him such a great artist. Imagine having that much great music to sort through.

And, with the arrival of his triple album Heart & Soul earlier this year, it’s only intensified the challenge of making the perfect setlist for each tour stop:

“The hardest thing I’ve done thus far in my career is this setlist. Because you add 28 songs, it’s not a normal record, it’s three.

So, you add 28 songs to what we already had going, which is a pretty stacked and packed setlist. And when you start to try to get rid of stuff and change it every night, which I’m committed to, we’re still gonna play a different set.

We’re gonna give people different experiences. It has been maddening.”

PUMPED.

And, if you’ve seen any of the teasers he’s been releasing over the past few weeks of rehearsals in the lead-up to opening night tomorrow, you should be, too.

I’m just hoping my personal favorite out of all three new records, “Russian Roulette”, makes the cut when he comes to North Carolina.

“Russian Roulette”

The Gather Again Tour dates:

Sept. 17, 2021 – Rupp Arena Lexington, Ky.
Sept. 18, 2021 – Nationwide Arena Columbus, Ohio
Sept. 24, 2021 – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Cleveland, Ohio
Sept. 25, 2021 – KeyBank Center Buffalo, N.Y.
Oct. 1, 2021 – Alerus Center Grand Forks, N.D.
Oct. 2, 2021 – Bell MTS Place Winnipeg, Manitoba
Oct. 8, 2021 – PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh, Pa.
Oct. 9, 2021 – Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pa.
Oct. 15, 2021 – Ball Arena Denver, Colo.
Oct. 22, 2021 – Scotiabank Saddledome Calgary, Alberta
Oct. 23, 2021 – SaskTel Centre Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Oct. 29, 2021 – Rogers Arena Vancouver, British Columbia
Oct. 30, 2021 – Climate Pledge Arena Seattle, Wash.
Nov. 12, 2021 – Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tenn.
Nov. 13, 2021 – Ford Center Evansville, Ind.
Dec. 3, 2021 – SNHU Arena Manchester, N.H.
Dec. 4, 2021 – UBS Arena Belmont Park, N.Y.
Dec. 10, 2021 – The Anthem Washington, D.C.
Dec. 11, 2021 – The Anthem Washington, D.C.
Dec. 17, 2021 – Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, S.C.
Dec. 18, 2021 – Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, N.C.
Jan. 7, 2022 – Pinnacle Bank Arena Lincoln, Neb.
Jan. 8, 2022 – Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Sioux Falls, S.D.
Jan. 14, 2022 – Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
Jan. 15, 2022 – Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa, Ontario
Jan. 21, 2022 – Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids, Mich.
Jan. 22, 2022 – Little Caesars Arena Detroit, Mich.
Feb. 4, 2022 – KFC Yum! Center Louisville, Ky.
Feb. 5, 2022 – Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Ind.
Feb. 11, 2022 – CHI Health Center Omaha Omaha, Neb.
Feb. 12, 2022 – Wells Fargo Arena Des Moines, Iowa
Feb. 18, 2022 – T-Mobile Center Kansas City, Mo.
Feb 19, 2022 – BOK Center Tulsa, Okla.
Feb. 25, 2022 – Hampton Coliseum Hampton, Va.
Feb. 26, 2022 – Spectrum Center Charlotte, N.C.
March 4, 2022 – Amway Center Orlando, Fla.
March 5, 2022 – Amalie Arena Tampa, Fla.
March 11, 2022 – United Center Chicago, Ill.
March 12, 2022 – Enterprise Center St. Louis, Mo.
March 18, 2022 – Resch Center Green Bay, Wis.
March 19, 2022 – Resch Center Green Bay, Wis.
March 25, 2022 – Legacy Arena at the BJCC Birmingham, Ala.
March 26, 2022 – Simmons Bank Arena Little Rock, Ark.
April 1, 2022 – Dickies Arena Fort Worth, Texas
April 2, 2022 – AT&T Center San Antonio, Texas
April 8, 2022 – Toyota Center Houston, Texas
April 9, 2022 – Smoothie King Center New Orleans, La.
April 15, 2022 – Moda Center Portland, Ore.
April 16, 2022 – Spokane Arena Spokane, Wash.
April 29, 2022 – ExtraMile Arena Boise, Idaho
April 30, 2022 – Vivint Arena Salt Lake City, Utah
May 6, 2022 – Pechanga Arena San Diego, Calif.
May 7, 2022 – STAPLES Center Los Angeles, Calif.
May 11, 2022 – Golden 1 Center Sacramento, Calif.
May 13, 2022 – T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nev.
May 14, 2022 – Gila River Arena Glendale, Ariz.
May 20, 2022 – Madison Square Garden New York, N.Y.

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