Didn’t even have to cancel a show to make it to this game. (Kidding).
Obviously as a North Carolina boy, Eric Church is a huge UNC Tar Heels fan. He’s been spotted on the sidelines of UNC football games, and even canceled a show back in the spring to attend the first ever Final Four matchup between his Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils (which worked out pretty well for him as UNC took down Duke to make it to the national championship).
So it’s no surprise that when he’s not on the road Eric likes to spend his time at the Dean Smith Center taking in some Tar Heels basketball.
And last night he did it with some pretty great company.
Eric was on hand to watch his Tar Heels take down Michigan in an 80-76 thriller, and posted a picture of himself alongside legendary UNC coach Roy Williams and star Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye.
Williams, who’s in both the Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame, knows a thing or two about UNC basketball as he retired in 2021 as the Tar Heels’ second winningest coach of all time.
And Maye led UNC to the ACC Championship this year before losing to Clemson and securing themselves a spot in the Holiday Bowl against #15 Oregon next week. The quarterback also recently made headlines for deciding to remain at UNC after turning down not one, but TWO $5 million NIL offers to transfer to other schools.
But Williams and Maye weren’t the only ones in the building with Church last night: South Carolina native and Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and guitarist Marcus King also posted a picture with Church at the game.
Seems like Chief may have been one of the most popular guys in the Smith Center last night.
Eric Church Reveals First Look Inside His Upcoming Nashville Bar, Chief’s
If you’ve ever been to Nashville in recent years, then you know that Broadway is beginning to fill up with tons of nightclubs disguising themselves as country bars, that tend to do everything but display true, authentic country music.
So, when Eric Church announced that he has a bar coming to Nashville in 2023, it was a breath of fresh air.
Appropriately named Chief’s, the space will be a 6-story bar, BBQ restaurant and music venue
The new venue will be located at 200 Broadway, in the building that formerly housed Cotton Eyed Joe, and will be right beside John Rich’s Redneck Riviera.
Church bought the building for $24.5 million from Rich along with Ben Weprin, founder of boutique venture capital firm AJ Capital Partners, which also owns the iconic Exit/In music venue in Nashville and is best known for its chain of Graduate Hotels across the country.
He’s also bringing in a taste of his local Carolinas by partnering with famous BBQ chef Rodney Scott, the James Beard Award-winning pitmaster and founder of Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ, for the bar’s food program, which will be served from the rooftop and contain all-weather seating for visitors.
And to set itself apart from the other artist bars in downtown Nashville, Chief’s plans to feature a two-story seated music venue that would be able to host ticketed live events.
He even said himself:
“Like everything we do with our music, the same care and consideration has gone into every detail of this place. It will be unrivaled downtown. I can’t wait to play here.”
And he recently offered fans a first look inside the bar via Instagram.
Chief’s will feature a ticketed music venue where Church will be playing himself, along with badass designs and more than 3,000 Church concert posters scattered all on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
It will also have a studio that’s made live for broadcasting Church’s Outsiders Radio Channel on SiriusXM, and will feature legendary Carolina pitmaster Rodney Scott, who is known for his award winning BBQ.
The restaurant will be on the rooftop as well, overlooking the skyline of Nashville.
Just judging by the pictures, this place is already living up to the hype surrounding it.
Needless to say, it’ll be a nice change of pace from the tired glitz and glam that Broadway has turned into over the years.
Check it out:
Get ready.
