Eric Church ‘Shocked’ With Unhappy Fans After CMA Fest

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

July 14th, 2023 11:16 AM

When Eric Church performed his set at CMA Fest in June, many fans were unhappy with the performance and voiced their thoughts on social media.

Eric has now reacted to the backlash of his performance, telling Rolling Stone that he is shocked at the fan reaction. Church said, “I was shocked because I played the show that I went out there to play.” He noted that he stayed within the time limit given to him by the festival, and that he was giving a preview of what his tour would be like.  That seemed to not go over well with the audience, who were surprised by his re-arranged versions of “Drink In My Hand” and “Cold One,” and his cover of Little Feat’s “Sailin’ Shoes.”

One fan tweeted after the set in June, “Eric Church ends very weird set and disappoints 50,000 fans. I don’t know if he was pissed off at the CMA or what. Lights come on only 4 songs in, and it’s done. Major disappointment at the CMAs.”

RELATED: Eric Church Partners For New Whiskey Brand

Over the weekend, Church shocked some fans tailgating before the show in Pittsburgh and Toronto when he drove up in a black SUV and got out to shake hands, take pictures, and chat with the fans tailgating.

Eric’s social media team posted a video of the moments he shocked fans on Instagram. In the video clip, Church is smiling, riding around the tailgate area before his concert, watching fans enter the venue. He suddenly stops, gets out of the SUV, and approaches fans. Many of them start to shout and shake his hand. The video then shows fans gathered around Church taking pictures and chatting.

Eric’s team posted along with the video, “Toronto and Pittsburgh were (fire emoji) during week 3 of #TheOutsidersRevivalTour! Thanks for letting us crash your tailgate on Saturday. Cincinnati and St. Louis, the revival is coming for you next!”

Eric Church: 20 Of His Very Best Songs, Ranked

• 20. “How ‘Bout You” (2006)

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  A good one for his debut single from his 2006 debut album “Sinners Like Me.” Church wrote this song with Brandon Church (his brother) and Brett Beavers.

• 19. “Give Me Back My Hometown” (2014)

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  An Eric co-write with Luke Laird. It was released in January 2014 as the second single from his album “The Outsiders.” The song reached number one on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart in May of that year.

• 18. “Guys Like Me” (2006)

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  Great line: “I ain’t scared to bleed.” In the song, Eric describes the ways in which his lifestyle appears incompatible with that of his partner. He hypothesizes that even though she has lots of other men interested in her, it is an act of God's will that motivates her to choose someone like him.
• 17. “Hell on the Heart” (2009)

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  A top ten for Eric who sings about a girl he knows, saying that she is "heaven on the eyes / But boy, she's hell on the heart."

• 16. “Smoke a Little Smoke” (2010)

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  Somewhat of a controversial song when it was first released, over a decade ago. The video sees Church driving vintage cars at Clarksville Speedway, and includes a cameo from NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne.

• 15. “The Outsiders” (2013)

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  Eric described it as a mix of Waylon Jennings and Metallica. Church also said when it came out, “It’s a bit of a statement. I wanted to send a message with this album that it’s gonna be different, it’s gonna be another level."
• 14. “Cold One” (2014)

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  A straight up country song. Church states in the song that a woman took a beer from a twelve-pack that he was drinking at the time and describes both the beer and her sudden departure as a "cold one."

• 13. “Does to Me” (2020)

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  Eric joined one of his biggest fans on this duet with Luke Combs. It’s a solid collaboration co-written by Combs along with Ray Fulcher and Tyler Reeve, it is the third single from Combs's 2019 album 'What You See Is What You Get.’

• 12. “Mr. Misunderstood” (2015)

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  Church dropped this album of the same name backstage to media on the night of the 2015 CMA Awards. The song is about a misfit teenager, expressing sympathy for his being "misunderstood." In it, Eric says some encouraging words about the good things that will happen one day when people will appreciate him.
• 11. “Some of It” (2019)

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  "Some of It" became Eric Church's eighth number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It’s pure Church.

• 10. “Monsters” (2019)

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  This one is a bit eerie but makes a statement using the analogy of a monster hiding under a child's bed to represent troubles in one's life.

• 9. “Desperate Man” (2018)

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  In the cool music video for this song, Church gets "busted" by FBI agents whose uniforms read EMI, the name of his record label.
• 8. “Hell of a View” (2020)

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  It is the lead single from Eric’salbum “Soul,” part of a triple album set. The track features backing vocals from Church's longtime collaborator Joanna Cotton.

• 7. “Creepin’” (2012)

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  Church describes the memory of a former lover as being similar to "creepin'." The tune features a banjo and an electric guitar, as well as several vocal effects on Eric’s voice.

• 6. “Record Year” (2016)

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  It’s about a man who recovers from a broken heart by listening to a collection of vinyl record albums.
• 5. “Stick That in Your Country Song” (2020)

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  This is pure Church; even the title is exciting. The song doesn’t disappoint either as it addresses several social issues and situations including underprivileged lives in urban areas, a soldier coming back from war, and an overworked and underpaid school- teacher. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance.

• 4. “Raise ‘Em Up” (2015)

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  An amazing duet with Keith Urban. It asks every concert crowd to simply “Raise ‘Em Up.”

• 3. “Talladega” (2014)

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  "Talladega" is a song about a man who is sharing memories from a trip made to Talladega Superspeedway with friends after his senior year in high school. Eric and his crew filmed the video for the song at the real Talladega Superspeedway.
• 2. “Drink in My Hand” (2011)

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  This song is just infectious and gets you to really want to put a drink in your hand. It was Church’s first number one song on the Billboard Country Singles chart.

• 1. “Springsteen” (2012)

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  Inspired by an idol of his, Bruce Springsteen; like many of Bruce’s early songs, it tells the story of a teenage romance. And it got the attention of Jersey’s favorite son: if you search “Bruce Springsteen and Eric Church” on YouTube, you’ll see Bruce inviting Eric onstage for a duet of “Workin’ On The Highway.”

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

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