This year’s ACM Entertainer of the Year nominees Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood will kick off the this year’s ACM Awards with a can’t-miss performance featuring a medley of each of their greatest hits.
For the first time in the show’s history, the awards will take place in Nashville, broadcasting from three iconic Country Music venues: Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. As previously announced, the 55th ACM Awards will also feature performances by Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Riley Green, Mickey Guyton, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett featuring Jon Pardi, Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani, Taylor Swift, Tenille Townes, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban with P!NK, Morgan Wallen and Trisha Yearwood. Joining the all-star lineup are presenters Lauren Alaina, Lily Aldridge, Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black, CeCe Winans, Bobby Bones, Cam, Darius Rucker and Runaway June.
The 55th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, hosted by Keith Urban, will be broadcast September 16th (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on CBS and will be available to stream on demand on CBS All Access.
For many decades, Labor Day was seen as a day for workers to voice their complaints and discuss better working conditions and pay.
U.S. Congress declared Labor Day a national holiday in 1894, and on Monday, September 2nd, we will once again celebrate the people in every occupation whose work and dedication make this nation great. Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers.
Labor Day weekend also signals the unofficial end to summer, and many of the hottest country stars are taking a look back at some of the toughest jobs they had prior to making their mark in music or their dream job now.
Audio / Adam Hambrick talks about one of his summer jobs when he was growing up in Arkansas.
Adam Hambrick (Labor Day) OC: …that summer. :41 “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a bad job. I don’t think I had a bad job, ‘cause I actually enjoyed this job ‘cause I was actually sitting in the air conditioning all day over the summer in Arkansas. It was very monotonous, because I was spending every summer day repairing old fallen-apart medical charts in a heart clinic in Little Rock. I would take all these photos of all these records and re-sort them page-by-page and put ‘em back in the manila folder and re-alphabetize ‘em. But I did bring my computer and watch movies while I did it, so I drank a lot of soda and watched a lot of movies that summer.”
Audio / Alan Jackson says that working man values have always been a part of his music.
AJ (working people songs) OC: … appreciate that. :28
“I’ve always written songs and recorded songs, other people’s songs, about workin’ people, and workin’, the workin’ life ’cause I mean, that’s where I’m from. I mean, I worked…I’d already had jobs and worked as a grown person before I ever even thought about bein’ in the music business, so I come from that background, and…although I hadn’t had a job in a long time (laughs), I still remember a lot about it, you know, and I remember what the lifestyle is, and I still appreciate that.”
Audio / Billy Currington recalls some of the jobs he had before landing his record deal in 2003.
Billy Currington (Labor Day) OC: …record deal. :40 “I started working like at [age] 12, landscaping. This was summer, every summers, and roofing. I started when I was about 16 roofing houses, and that was probably one of my toughest jobs because down there in South Georgia, it gets hot, so doing that every day all summer long. The pawn shop when I moved to Nashville was one of my favorites, even though it was one of my least favorites. The concrete job was my least favorite of all – six years of that, and I couldn’t take it no more. After that job, that was my turning point. Either I’m going to do something else for a living [laughs] or quit and try to really focus on music and get this record deal.”
Audio / BRANDON LAY SAYS HE’S ALWAYS ENJOYED THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND.
Brandon Lay (Labor Day) OC: …a good one. :13 “You know, I can’t complain too much about Labor Day, ‘cause usually doing landscaping and it had slowed down a little, but the water’s still warm enough to hit the river. I’ve gotten to spend some time out on the lake for Labor Day, so Labor Day’s a good one.”
Audio / CARRIE UNDERWOOD TALKS ABOUT THE JOBS SHE HAD GROWING UP AND HER BEST JOB -- PERFORMING FOR HER FANS.
Carrie Underwood (Labor Day) OC: …born to do. :59 “I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad job. I’ve had hard jobs. I’ve had jobs that worked random hours. My first job was at a gas station, and that was a lot of fun actually. While I was working at the gas station, I took another job at a hotel down the street. There was nobody else working there. I had one day of training and then the next day I came in, and the lady that had worked there the longest and was training me just didn’t show. So, the second day at work I was now in charge ‘cause I was now the senior member that was working at the hotel. So, I feel like that one was really challenging to figure my way through it, but I did. My best job is definitely what I do now. I really like being on stage. I really like performing for people and just having fun and singing, because that’s what I feel like I was born to do.”
Caylee Hammack (Labor Day-worst job) OC: …worst job. (laughs) :38 “My worst job was working in a nursery, actually. I love kids so I thought I’d be really good at it, but wen you’re the new person coming in, you have to change all the diapers first. So, I was changing 45 diapers a day and it got to the point where everything smelled like baby poop. It literally drove me crazy. I would walk my dog and I would have to go to pick up her poop, and it would smell like baby poop, and I just couldn’t handle it, honestly. The smell of poop warded me away. The children were lovely, but the smell of poop lingered, and I couldn’t handle that job. That was my worst job.” (laughs)
Audio / Darius Rucker recalls one of his worst jobs before turning to music.
Darius Rucker (Labor Day) OC: …pizza. :15 “I was fifteen, and I worked at a pizza place, and the guy decided that at fifteen, that I could not only clean the floors and wash the dishes, but I also had to make pizza. So, for two months, he taught me how to make pizza.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley makes a living performing for his fans, and he can’t say enough about them.
Dierks Bentley (Labor Day) OC: …generosity. :26 “Personally, the fans give me amazement. That’s the only word to really sum it up. I look out in the crowd, you know, usually see a lot of faces and fans are cheering. I know each one of these like from the road-the signs are from California…Michelle and Kayla live up in the Ohio area. They’re all, I just see them, and I’m like, ‘Wow!,’ they’re all from different regions. You know when you’re in a different region of the country and you just see certain fans. These people are way more hard core than I am, and I’m just amazed by their generosity.”
Audio / Eric Church talks about one of his worst job.
Eric Church (Labor Day-odd jobs) OC: …bought at 2am. 1:27 “I had an awful job. I’ve had a lot of awful jobs…my worst one was when I first came to Nashville. I got a job at the Shop at Home Network. I worked midnight, graveyard, midnight to eight. That was bad enough but then I would work all night, go home, shower and then I had writing appointments all day because I was trying to get a career started. I’d go write songs and get meetings just trying to get signed. And end up getting done at 3 of 4 with all of that, I’d go home, take a shower or sleep for a little bit and then I had to be at work again at midnight. So the schedule was bad enough, however, what I had to do at the job…I sold knives from midnight to 7 or 8am. And, anytime somebody calls you at 3 or 4am and needs 200 knives for $19.95, it’s automatically an alarming situation. And I just, I was young and I’d been in a lot of these people’s shoes, I had done this…I knew they were drunk. I knew what they had done. They’d just come home from the bar, flipped on Shop at Home and said, ‘You know what? I need that.’ So the reason the job didn’t last long for me is that I was maybe the worst salesmen in history because I ended up talking a lot of these people out of it, I’d say, ‘I’ll tell you what man, go to bed, call me, I’ll be here in the morning. If you get up in the morning and want these knives you call me back.’ Because I knew what was going to happen, you know. They bought 200 knives for $19.95…first of all some of these people you didn’t know whether you should call the cops. What do you need 200 knives for? Even though I’m selling them…what do you need them for? So, it was awful doing that job. And then they got rid of me because, they were like, ‘You’re the worst. I can’t believe you’re talking people out of it.’ I was like, ‘Man I know…I’ve been there.’ [laughs] I’d want some to talk me out of buying some of the stuff I’ve bought at 2am.”
Audio / GEORGE STRAIT’S CAREER HAS SPANNED DECADES AND 60 NO. 1 HITS, BUT HE CAN RECALL HEARING ONE OF HIS SONGS ON THE RADIO AND HOW COUNTRY RADIO HAS SUPPORTED HIM.
George Strait (first time on radio) OC: …records I’ve put out. :26 “I took it to a radio station in San Antonio KKYX, and a guy named Jerry King put it on and played it while I ran out to the car to listen to it on the radio. So, it’s just been relationships like that through the years that I’ve had with different people. I don’t know, they’ve just supported me so much and have been very open to the records I’ve put out.”
Audio / JON LANGSTON TALKS ABOUT WORKING FOR HIS FAVORITE FAST-FOOD RESTAURANT...FOR A SHORT TIME.
Jon Langston (Labor Day) OC: …is the bomb. :45 “The worst job – it wasn’t bad – I could just say growing up and stuff and in high school, I was working for my dad. It was a great job, working at the shop. One day I got tired of working for my dad. I thought it’d be smart to go work for somebody else and so I went to work at Chik-fil-a for a family friend, and I’m just not made for cooking chicken. But, I told my dad, ‘Hey, can I come back to work?’ (laughs) So, yeah, I mean, Chik-fil-a a great place to work if you’re into that kind of thing, but not me. But Chik-fil-a is m favorite fast food restaurant of all time. I mean, I will go to war for Chik-fil-a. I eat there probably three or four times a week. Chik-fil-a is the bomb.”
Audio / Jon Pardi talks about his worst job, which was at a grocery store.
Jon Pardi (Labor Day) OC: …so bored! :17 “The worst job I ever had was at Hometown Grocery Store. I didn’t want to work, I was 15, and I did not want to work at the grocery store. Bagging was fun, but they sent me down the aisles to pull up cans and turn ‘em around and face ‘em, and I would just get so bored!”
Jordan Davis (Labor Day) OC: …worst job. :41 “[My] worst job was probably whenever I got out of school I started working for an environmental group in Baton Rouge, and I was doing actual environmental work at first. I went to my boss probably about four months in and told him that I was going to move to Nashville and write songs. Luckily enough, he let me stay on, but I became the weedeater guy for the landscaping side of the business. I seriously weedeated eight hours a day. The only break I would get would be in-between yard to yard. So, like we would be in the car and I would try to doze off for like 10 minutes. I was covered in grass in the middle of the summer in Baton Rouge. It was awful. That was definitely the worst job.”
Audio / KEITH URBAN TALKS ABOUT PERFORMING FOR FANS.
Keith Urban (Labor Day) OC: …amazing. :22 “Seeing people connect to the music is absolutely, hands-down the biggest reward for me, especially when you go to a place you’ve never been to before and it’s all these people, I mean lots of people out there. You’ve never met a single one of ‘em and they’re singing every word, and you realize that it’s not just a pretty melody and everything, but they get the songs. It’s amazing.”
Kip Moore (Labor Day-worst job) OC: …than that. :21 “I’d have to say my worst job ever was laying sod in the south Georgia heat. There’s nothing than that, especially when somebody would think that you’re waiting for the next sod patch to be thrown to you and you got your back turned, and all of a sudden, that big ole piece of sod hits you right on the back. You got nowhere to clean up, and you’re just stuck with dirt on your back for the rest of the day. It doesn’t get any worse than that.”
Audio / NEWCOMER KYLIE MORGAN SAYS BEING ON THE ROAD AND TRAVELING TO GIGS IS TRULY WHAT MAKES HER HEART HAPPY.
Luke Bryan (Labor Day-jobs) OC: …Nashville… 1:07 “At age 12 thru 13, I worked at Rubos IGA Supermarket in Leesburg, GA. I worked during the summers on Monday and Tuesday. I stocked and cleaned up the produce. They paid me under the table…I peeled off all of the brown lettuce. Let’s see, when I was 15, I was a cashier at K-Mart for two months. I worked at K-Mart for two months, and then I reverted back to Rubos because it didn’t really make sense for me to drive all the way into Albany and work for K-Mart. The benefits were great though-you’d get an hour-long on the blue light special. So I started back at Rubos, and then I quit Rubos and worked for my Dad-just awful just driving tractors through cotton all day, and spraying pesticides that eventually would turn your hair green. And then at some point, I started playing guitar. And well, after college I went back and worked for my dad and continued to spray and haul fertilizer around. And then I moved to Nashville…”
Luke Bryan, Eric Church and Mickey Guyton havebeen added to the list of performers at this year’s ACM Awards. They’re joined by Kane Brown, Dan + Shay, Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line and more. Luke will perform his 25th No. 1 smash; two-week chart-topper “One Margarita;” Church will give an unforgettable rendition of his latest single, “Stick That in Your Country Song;” and Mickey, who has one of the best voices in the business will perform her critically-acclaimed “What Are You Gonna Tell Her.” For the first time in the show’s history, the awards will take place in Nashville, broadcasting from three iconic Country Music venues: Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. As previously announced, artists performing at the Ryman include Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Riley Green, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, and Thomas Rhett featuring Jon Pardi, and Tenille Townes. Artists at The Bluebird Cafe include Jimmie Allen, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert featuring songwriters Natalie Hemby and Luke Dick, and Tim McGraw. Hosted by reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year and 15-time ACM Award winner Keith Urban, the 55th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS will be broadcast on Wednesday, September 16th (live 8:00-11:00pm ET/delayed PT) on CBS and available to stream on demand on CBS All Access.
LaurenAlaina has been tapped to host a new show on the Grand Ole Opry’s Circle Network, “Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith.” Some of Lauren’s guests will include Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, Craig Morgan, Randy Travis and his wife Mary, Rita Wilson, Darryl Worley, actress Kristin Chenoweth and many others. “There are a lot of things that are important to me in life, but Jesus is number one,” says Lauren. “There’s no better compliment than someone recognizing my faith and asking me to help share God’s word.” The faith-based show will premiere October 6th at 8:30pm ET.
The nominees for this year’s CMA Awards have been announced, and Keith Urban has earned three nods this year, bringing his total count to 50 nominations and 12 wins. He is now a 13-time Entertainer of the Year nominee, bringing home the trophy two times previously. He has now been nominated 16 times for Male Vocalist of the Year with three wins. Keith received his sixth Musical Event of the Year nomination for Thomas Rhett’s “Be A Light,” which features Keith, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin. He has previously taken home the Musical Event award four times.
Eric Church and Carrie Underwood each earned two nods apiece – both scored an Entertainer of the Year nomination, as well as Male Vocalist and Female Vocalist, respectively. As did Chris Stapleton, who is up against Church for Male Vocalist, but also garners a Music Video nomination for his LEGO-filmed “Second One to Know.”
Winners of “The 54th Annual CMA Awards” will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting CMA members. The third and final ballot will be emailed to CMA members Thursday, October 1st. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Tuesday, Oct. 27 (6:00 PM/CT).
For more information on the CMA AWARDS go to cmaawards.com.
“The 54th Annual CMA Awards” will be broadcast live November 11th at 8pm ET on ABC.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
SINGLE OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer
“10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay (with Justin Bieber)
Producer: Dan Smyers
Mix Engineer: Jeff Juliano
“Beer Never Broke My Heart” – Luke Combs
Producer: Scott Moffatt
Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley
“Bluebird” – Miranda Lambert
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“I Hope” – Gabby Barrett
Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale
Mix Engineer: Buckley Miller
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist and Producer(s)
Heartache Medication – Jon Pardi
Producers: Bart Butler, Ryan Gore, Jon Pardi
Never Will – Ashley McBryde
Producers: Jay Joyce, John Peets
Old Dominion – Old Dominion
Producers: Shane McAnally, Old Dominion
What You See Is What You Get – Luke Combs
Producer: Scott Moffatt
Wildcard – Miranda Lambert
Producer: Jay Joyce
SONG OF THE YEAR Award goes to Songwriters
“Bluebird”
Songwriters: Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert
“The Bones”
Songwriters: Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz
“Even Though I’m Leaving”
Songwriters: Luke Combs, Wyatt B. Durrette III, Ray Fulcher
“I Hope You’re Happy Now”
Songwriters: Luke Combs, Randy Montana, Carly Pearce, Jonathan Singleton
“More Hearts Than Mine”
Songwriters: Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis, Derrick Southerland
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie & Tae
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artists and Producer(s)
“10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay (with Justin Bieber)
Producer: Dan Smyers
“Be A Light” – Thomas Rhett featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban
Producer: Dann Huff
“The Bones” – Maren Morris with Hozier
Producer: Greg Kurstin
“Fooled Around And Fell In Love” – Miranda Lambert (feat. Maren Morris, Elle King, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes & Caylee Hammack)
Producer: Jay Joyce
“I Hope You’re Happy Now” – Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
Producer: busbee
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
Rob McNelley, Guitar
Ilya Toshinskiy, Guitar
Derek Wells, Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s) and Director
“10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay (with Justin Bieber)
Director: Patrick Tracy
“Bluebird” – Miranda Lambert
Director: Trey Fanjoy
“Homemade” – Jake Owen
Director: Justin Clough
“I Hope You’re Happy Now” – Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
Director: Sam Siske
“Second One To Know” – Chris Stapleton
Director: David Coleman
LINER Maddie & Tae (Labor Day)
Hey everybody! I’m Maddie, and I’m Tae, and we’re Maddie & Tae, hoping you have a happy and work-free Labor Day weekend.
Eric Church continues to share new music with fans, as “Crazyland” marks the latest song released from the marathon writing and recording session the nine-time GRAMMY nominee designed earlier this year.
Written by Church together with Luke Laird and Michael Heeney, the mournful song personifies the emotions that come with love lost, bringing to life the spirits of characters ranging from Sad and Regret to All My Fault and I Told You So, all drowning their sorrows together in Crazyland.
“Let me take your hat friend, tell me what’s the matter / ’Round here folks call me the mad hatter / That’s Sad in the corner with his heart on his sleeve / Talking to Regret who’s never gonna leave / Over there playing pool is Fool and Lost / And tending bar tonight that’s All My Fault / We all just hang out and listen to Blues / Sing his songs ’cause there’s nothing else to do in… Crazyland”
As he recently shared, Eric actually dreamed the song’s chorus and wrote the verses to accompany it upon waking up – a feat he credits to the creative groove he got into as a result of the nearly month-long session in rural North Carolina where he wrote and recorded a song from start to finish each day.
“As a songwriter you always have that moment when a song is born and then you have two months or three months before you get in the studio and you bring that thing to life. And I just thought that the feeling and the experience of that is something that we underestimate,” he explained. “So I wanted to, this time, strip all of that down and when the song is born, whatever those things are in the atmosphere that make it turn into something magical, I wanted to try to grab that.”
Thus far, fans have gotten a glimpse into the project that resulted via defiant lead single “Stick That In Your Country Song,” currently climbing the charts at Country radio, as well as follow up “Bad Mother Trucker” which chronicles the rebellious swagger of a female truck driver earning respect on the road. Church has also shared previews of unreleased music with recent performances on ACM Presents: Our Country (“Never Break Heart”), Stagecouch (“Jenny”) and in a defiant spoken-word recording (“Through My Ray Bans”).
“I think this is a great first stick point to what is going to be a lot of music and is going to be a very long process,” he noted in his conversation with Bones. “It’s the most special project of my career and we’re gonna treat it that way. So I think this is something we’re gonna have a lot of fun with over the next period of time, whenever we get to go back and be somewhat normal.”
About Eric Church
The three-time Country Music Association and seven-time Academy of Country Music Award winner released his most recent critically acclaimed and GRAMMY nominated album, Desperate Man, atop the Billboard Country Albums chart in late 2018. The album, featuring his latest No. 1 hit “Some Of It,” also debuted at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Church returned to the road in 2019 for his chart-topping Double Down Tour, with back-to-back nights of two unique shows sans-opening act giving fans 6+ hours of his iconic music in each city. The tour also featured a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where Church broke the venue’s concert attendance record with 56,521 fans just two weeks before awing the same stadium’s audience with a 30-minute, solo acoustic CMA Fest set featuring a medley of 17 hits. “Stick That In Your Country Song,” released on June 25, is the lead single off a forthcoming project born from a sequestered session in rural North Carolina where he wrote and recorded a song per day for nearly a month.
On the heels of his defiant new single “Stick That In Your Country Song,” actively climbing the charts at Country radio, current ACM Entertainer of the Year nominee Eric Church again offers a glimpse at his forthcoming project with today’s release of “Bad Mother Trucker.”
Chronicling the rebellious swagger of a female truck driver earning respect on the road, the song written by Church together with Casey Beathard, Luke Dick and Jeremy Spillman combines a contagious groove and a guitar solo begging for the day the Church Choir can once again gather at a live show with the Chief’s signature snarl and the powerhouse backing vocals of Joanna Cotten.
“She drove an ’81 Peterbilt 18-wheeler, jet black with pink mud flaps / It was a mean piece of metal with lightning in the pedal, thunder coming out the back / And them boys would chuckle when they saw her buckle herself in the captain’s seat / But nobody was laughing when she’d go to passing, smiling at them real sweet,” Church sings as the song opens and listeners meet the heroine. “She was hell on wheels where the road meets the rubber / A real gear jammer, a white line wonder / Yeah you only get one and I wouldn’t want another / ’Cause Mama was a bad mother trucker.”
The two new tracks follow heavy speculation surrounding Church’s forthcoming project, after he discussed writing and recording a song per day in a rural North Carolina cabin during his CRS “Chasing Creativity” keynote appearance earlier this year. Devoted to putting fans first, the man NPR calls “the gold standard for mainstream country” has offered them glimpses at the new songs throughout recent performances on ACM Presents:Our Country (“Never Break Heart”), Stagecouch (“Jenny”) and in a defiant spoken-word recording, “Through My Ray Bans.”
The new music follows Church’s most recent critically acclaimed project, 2018’s Desperate Man, his sixth studio album which was named one of the year’s best by American Songwriter, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, Variety and Vulture, among others, also earning a Grammy nod for Best Country Album (his third nomination in the category).
About Eric Church
The three-time Country Music Association and seven-time Academy of Country Music Award winner released his most recent critically acclaimed and Grammy nominated album, Desperate Man, atop the Billboard Country Albums chart in late 2018. The album, featuring his most recent No. 1 hit “Some Of It,” also debuted at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Church returned to the road in 2019 for his chart-topping Double Down Tour, with back-to-back nights of two unique shows sans-opening act giving fans 6+ hours of his iconic music in each city. The tour also featured a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where Church broke the venue’s concert attendance record with 56,521 fans just two weeks before awing the same stadium’s audience with a 30-minute, solo acoustic CMA Fest set featuring a medley of 17 hits. “Stick That In Your Country Song,” released on June 25, is the lead single off a forthcoming project born from a sequestered session in rural North Carolina where he wrote and recorded a song per day for nearly a month.
Eric Church has partnered with his beloved Jack Daniels to create a special, limited-edition Single Barrel Select, which was overseen by Master Distiller Jeff Arnett based on Eric’s discerning taste.
“My grandfather loved his Jack Daniels, and I’m proud to say I’m carrying on that family tradition,” says Jack. “My love for Jack Daniel’s is for the whiskey, but it’s also about the can-do, small-town attitude where community, loyalty and hard work are the qualities the crafters of this American icon hang their hats on.”
The whiskey is from barrels personally selected by the singer and will feature the Eric’s name on the specially designed black and gold embossed label. Each barrel offers a significant depth of aroma ranging from sweet vanilla and caramel to toasted and charred oak. The whiskey flavor offers the signature sweet notes of a Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel upon entry but quickly gives way to a complex, full and heavyweight mid-palate.
“I’m honored to have my own special release of Jack Daniels Single Barrel,” Eric adds. “Whether we raise a glass at a table with a handful of our friends or from a stage with thousands, let’s raise our glass high. ‘Cause that’s where it belongs.”
Eric is currently climbing the country charts with his latest single, “Stick That in Your Country Song.”
Eric Church just released a studio performance video for his latest single, “Stick That in Your Country Song.” The clip features the North Carolina superstar and his band in a recording studio laying down the fiery track.
Exclusive never-before-seen video of Eric Church’s 30-minute acoustic medley set, performed at CMA Fest 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee, features hits from each of his six studio albums, including: “Mistress Named Music,” “Put a Drink In My Hand,” “Mr. Misunderstood,” “Talladega,” “Desperate Man,” “Some Of It,” “Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag,” “Round Here Buzz,” “Cold One,” “Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Homeboy,” “Record Year,” “Give Me Back My Hometown,” “Sinners Like Me,” “Creepin’” and “Springsteen.”
He explains how he came up with the idea on the day of is performance, “I started doing this myself sometime in the afternoon. Our show was about 10 o’clock that night. I was having a bit of a brain thing where we just played Nissan and set the record, and in my opinion, the best show of our career, and then I’m back three weeks later, and I’ve got to figure out how to do something that’s gonna be memorable again. That was the hardest thing earlier in the day. I started working on it – I could do this. I could do that. I thought about doing all covers. I thought about just changing it up completely. I went through all these things in my head, and finally decided that probably the best avenue, the best path was me just to go out and play ‘Mistress (Named Music)’ like I was gonna play a bunch of the stuff – that had taken on its own form during the tour, people knew about it, it’d become popular, they probably thought I was gonna do ‘Piano Man.’ And then to go in and cover myself for those 17 songs, I thought, as it grew and as I kept going, it’d be a really neat thing. The fun thing for me was during the day was figuring out, ‘How can I play for 30 minutes and not stop’ – and that was my set time – ‘…can I pull all that off and then get back to Mistress at the end?’ So, I had a lot of fun just trying to figure that out. That was a challenge, and I love stuff like that…and I was by myself. I didn’t let anybody know. At this point in time, nobody knew. And I was working on it, working on it, and I wasn’t sure it could happen. I’d think, ‘Eh,’ and I’d go back up and think about it for a minute, and go, ‘Eh.’ My fallback is I’m just gonna play five songs, and I’d go back and work on it again. Finally I thought, ‘I can do this. This is gonna be, it’s gonna be something. It’s gonna be ballsy.’ (laughs) I went and told the band, ‘The best thing that can happen is you guys leave, because if you’re still here, there’s a chance I’ll go back and do the other. I need you to go home and then I’m on my own.’ And then I told ‘em what I was doing, and they thought it was cool. I think that’ll be neat. So, they all grabbed their bags and got in their cars and they left. So, at that point in time, we’re about an hour before the show and the band’s gone. The bus is empty.”
Audio / ERIC CHURCH EXPLAINS HOW HIS EPIC 30-MINUTE MEDLEY AT CMA MUSIC FEST CAME ABOUT.
Eric Church (CMA Fest show) OC: …bus is empty. 2:08 “I started doing this myself sometime in the afternoon. Our show was about 10 o’clock that night. I was having a bit of a brain thing where we just played Nissan and set the record, and in my opinion, the best show of our career, and then I’m back three weeks later, and I’ve got to figure out how to do something that’s gonna be memorable again. That was the hardest thing earlier in the day. I started working on it – I could do this. I could do that. I thought about doing all covers. I thought about just changing it up completely. I went through all these things in my head, and finally decided that probably the best avenue, the best path was me just to go out and play ‘Mistress (Named Music)’ like I was gonna play a bunch of the stuff – that had taken on its own form during the tour, people knew about it, it’d become popular, they probably thought I was gonna do ‘Piano Man.’ And then to go in and cover myself for those 17 songs, I thought, as it grew and as I kept going, it’d be a really neat thing. The fun thing for me was during the day was figuring out, ‘How can I play for 30 minutes and not stop’ – and that was my set time – ‘…can I pull all that off and then get back to Mistress at the end?’ So, I had a lot of fun just trying to figure that out. That was a challenge, and I love stuff like that…and I was by myself. I didn’t let anybody know. At this point in time, nobody knew. And I was working on it, working on it, and I wasn’t sure it could happen. I’d think, ‘Eh,’ and I’d go back up and think about it for a minute, and go, ‘Eh.’ My fallback is I’m just gonna play five songs, and I’d go back and work on it again. Finally I thought, ‘I can do this. This is gonna be, it’s gonna be something. It’s gonna be ballsy.’ (laughs) I went and told the band, ‘The best thing that can happen is you guys leave, because if you’re still here, there’s a chance I’ll go back and do the other. I need you to go home and then I’m on my own.’ And then I told ‘em what I was doing, and they thought it was cool. I think that’ll be neat. So, they all grabbed their bags and got in their cars and they left. So, at that point in time, we’re about an hour before the show and the band’s gone. The bus is empty.”