Eric Church does what he wants.
Throughout his now 20-year career, Chief has never been one to do things Nashville’s way. Whether it’s threatening to walk from a record deal if his label didn’t release a song about smoking weed to going behind his label’s back to send a surprise album directly to fans, Church has always done what he wants – and there’s no denying it’s worked.
Last year, Church continued his fiercely contrarian streak by dropping an album, Evangeline vs. the Machine, that went against the Nashville grain and featured a full gospel choir, orchestra and horn section – an ensemble that he took on the road with him for his Free the Machine Tour over the past year.
Next year though, Church will be heading back out on the road not as a headliner (at least not that’s been announced yet) but as the opening act for his good friend Kenny Chesney.
Announced today, Church will be joining Chesney on his Original Vibe Room Tour, a massive 19-stop stadium tour that will also feature Sheryl Crow, Old Dominion and Greylan James.
In a statement, Chesney spoke about how the all-star tour came about:
“When we started to talk about touring next year, all I could think about was how good those stadiums feel. To make it really hit, I called Eric, who’d come out that first weekend in Vegas and sang a few with me, to see if he’d want to do this. He was in. Then to give fans a twist, something a little different, but someone who rocks and everyone in No Shoes Nation loves, I asked Sheryl Crow if she wanted to come play with us; and she said, ‘Yes.’ Suddenly, we’ve got all that high-powered energy, and it was starting to feel the same way we did way back in the day.”
Of course, Church has opened for Kenny in the past: He joined him on the road (no pun intended) back in 2013 on his No Shoes Nation Tour, and also appeared for some dates on his 2015 The Big Revival Tour. More recently, Church was the surprise guest during one of Kenny’s shows at the Sphere, joining him to perform “When I See This Bar” while also performing his own hits “Springsteen” and “Drink In My Hand.”
And during an interview this morning with Katie Neal on Katie & Company on the new tour, Kenny expressed his appreciation for Church for agreeing to do the tour – and step back into an opener role – despite being a massive headliner on his own:
“Eric Freakin’ Church went out and did a stadium tour with me in 2013. And even then, he didn’t have to do it. I mean, it’s crazy.
He was building his own life. He was building you know, he had all these great hit songs. And and we did a couple of sporadic shows together in 2015. …
Eric Church does not have to go with us. And it says a lot about him that he is. And I love him. And the only way I can think about my brain around it is because he just wants to. And I love that.”
Chesney clearly appreciates that a massive artist like Church is willing to step back as an opener, but it sounds like he’s even more appreciative of the friendship the two have built over the years:
“I owe him big time, especially now he’s going out and doing shows with us. So I really owe him. But he’s gone out of his way to show up for me.”
I mean, if there’s a summer tour to be on as an opener, it’s probably Kenny Chesney.
Original Vibe Room Tour Dates
April 24 — Tampa, Florida — Raymond James Stadium
May 1 — Greenville, North Carolina — Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
May 8 — Arlington, Texas — AT&T Stadium
May 15 — St. Louis, Missouri — The Dome at America’s Center
May 22 — Minneapolis, Minnesota — U.S. Bank Stadium
May 29 — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Acrisure Stadium
June 5 — Ames, Iowa — Jack Trice Stadium
June 12 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Lincoln Financial Field
June 19 — Orchard Park, New York — Highmark Stadium
June 26 — Chicago, Illinois — Soldier Field
July 3 — Nashville, Tennessee — Nissan Stadium
July 10 — Milwaukee, Wisconsin — American Family Field
July 17 — Denver, Colorado — Empower Field at Mile High Stadium
July 24 — Kansas City, Missouri — Arrowhead Stadium
July 31 — Atlanta, Georgia — Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Aug. 8 —East Rutherford, New Jersey — MetLife Stadium
Aug. 14 — Detroit, Michigan — Ford Field
Aug. 21 — Charlotte, North Carolina — Bank of America Stadium
Aug. 28 — Foxborough, Massachusetts — Gillette Stadium
