Joining an elite group of Music City’s biggest stars – literally.
Eric Church was one of the newest stars added to the Music City Walk of Fame in downtown Nashville yesterday, during an induction ceremony to honor Chief and the other members of this year’s class.
The Walk of Fame, located across the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame on Demonbreun Street in downtown Nashville, serves as a “landmark tribute to those from all genres of music who have contributed to the world through song or other industry collaboration and made a significant contribution to the music industry with connection to Music City.”
And it’s hard to argue that Church didn’t earn his star.
He was the first artist to play Nashville’s (at the time) brand new downtown amphitheater, Ascend Amphitheater, back in 2015 with a two night sold-out run. And back in 2019, he set the then-stadium record for attendance at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium during a massive show on his Double Down Tour.
And Chief will also leave his mark on Broadway in 2024, when his six-story bar, restaurant and music venue, appropriately named Chief’s, will debut on downtown Nashville’s most famous entertainment strip.
At his induction ceremony, Church reflected on getting his start in Music City – and the city that’s become his home:
“I came to this town in a 1987 two-tone Chevy Blazer in 2000. And I remember pulling in. I didn’t know anyone. I had a guitar, mediocre songs at the time, and big, big dreams.
And to be here today, and to have this, and to have a building going in downtown soon, it’s just beyond what I’d ever dreamed.
I thought I had big dreams. But this is beyond those things. And I’m very thankful that I did stay in town, but I’m also thankful that this became my home.
I’ve been here 23 years now. I met my wife here. My manager Jon Peat’s here. Had my kids here. Go to baseball games here now. It’s become home to me.
So the honor is for the accomplishments I’ve had in my career, but it’s also for: This is home.”
Church’s star becomes the 99th on the Music City Walk of Fame, alongside names like Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Randy Travis, Dolly Parton, and many others who have made their mark on Nashville.
Along with Church, other inductees from this year’s class included Joe and Linda Chambers, co-founders of Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame, and Butch Spyridon, the longtime CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp – and the man who first had the idea for the Music City Walk of Fame 25 years ago.
So if you’re in Nashville, make sure you stop by and check out the newest stars on the Walk of Fame – and see all of the legends who have already been honored.
Just don’t get too drunk over on Broadway and pass out on your favorite celebrity’s star. Because I’ve seen that happen too.
