Between soundcheck and showtime, Eric Church took a ride around Boston to surprise some lucky fans with pit passes. Make sure you join Eric on the Double Down Tour for a weekend full of surprises. Eric, who is making his way up the country charts with “Some of It,” will take his show to Minneapolis this weekend.
It was five songs in to his set before Eric Church addressed the sold-out crowd at the CHI Health Center in snowy Omaha, Nebraska on Friday night, the first of two shows kicking off the Double Down Tour, proclaiming “it’s gonna be a journey, so buckle up… We’re gonna have a lot of fun tonight.” He stood beneath a 137,000-pound lighting rig that ran from his stage all the way to the back row of the arena on the 10-bus and 18-truck tour, clearly enjoying his return to the stage after a 16-month hiatus from touring to write, record and release Desperate Man.
Church took more than 30,000 total fans on unique journeys sans opening act each night, covering a range of songs off all six of his studio albums – from his debut single “How ‘Bout You” to his many No. 1 hits including “Drink In My Hand,” “Springsteen” and “Record Year,” as well as an extensive offering of tracks off his current album, Desperate Man. Across both shows, Church owned the stage for more than seven hours to play nearly 70 songs – only 13 of which appeared on both set lists, upholding his promise to make every show completely its own.
He paused often throughout the marathon sets to reflect on the Omaha crowd’s enthusiasm – retrieving fans’ American flags to passionately sling around his neck for the remainder of each show and even taking song requests from the audience – visibly awed by the energy of the Church Choir filling the arena from top to bottom and setting a promising standard for the 18 cities to follow.
Rolling Stone raved about “the vibe of the tour’s opening night, one where loose, funky explorations were given just as much space as the singer’s radio hits,” while the Omaha World-Herald praised Church for the “epic” two-night stand, remarking on how he “roamed the stage with his guitar slung across his back like some kind of country music warrior seeking someone to slay with his songs… and his fans followed along at every turn.” The Reader agreed, asserting of the second show that “it didn’t matter if it was your first Eric Church concert or your second one of the week, Saturday night’s Double Down show was an absolute joy and a victory lap for arguably the biggest artist in modern country music.”
Click here and here to download audio from Eric talking about the Double Down tour.
Church’s Double Down Tour continues in the unique back-to-back night format for the next four months before coming to a crescendo with a one-night only supersized show at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, where he will more than double the attendance record set at Music City’s Bridgestone Arena in 2017.
Fans can continue the celebration of Church’s music at home with the upcoming colored vinyl releases of three classic albums. His Gold-certified debut Sinners Like Me will be re-issued on red colored vinyl in its second pressing. The album including Top 20 hits “How ‘Bout Me,” “Two Pink Lines” and “Guys Like Me” and available for pre-order now is set to be released this Friday, January 25.
Church’s 3x Platinum album Chief which landed atop both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Country Albums charts will follow on February 15, also being re-issued in red vinyl for its second pressing. The album featuring No. 1 hits “Drink In My Hand” and “Springsteen” as well as Top 10s “Like Jesus Does” and “Creepin’” is also available for pre-order now.
Rounding out the collection is the fourth pressing of his Platinum-certified sophomore album, Carolina, featuring Top 10 songs “Love Your Love the Most” and “Hell on the Heart.” The album celebrating its tenth anniversary will be released on yellow vinyl and is also available for pre-order now in advance of its April 5 release date. For more information on all upcoming releases as well as the Double Down Tour, visit www.ericchurch.com.
About Eric Church
The three-time Country Music Association and six-time Academy of Country Music Award winner released his highly-anticipated album Desperate Man atop the Billboard Country Albums chart on October 5. The album also debuted at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Rolling Stone describes the album as “classic Church: expertly crafted and country-radio-friendly, while also pushing boundaries in a way that sounds natural and unforced” and American Songwriter notes that it “sublimates the pain of a tumultuous year into his most adventuresome album yet.” Church has returned to the road for his 2019 Double Down Tour, visiting 19 markets for back-to-back nights of two unique shows sans-opening act to give fans 6+ hours of his iconic music in each city. The tour also includes a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville where Church will more than double the attendance record set at Bridgestone Arena in 2017. For more information visit www.ericchurch.com, download the new Eric Church app and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and on Instagram @ericchurchmusic.
Eric Church is looking forward to kicking off his 2019 Double Down Tour on Friday and Saturday (January 18th and 19th) in Omaha, Nebraska. He’ll play two nights in each city (except for Nashville in which he’ll play Nissan Stadium) and perform six albums worth of material. Unlike his Holdin’ My Own Tour in 2017 where he would sometimes play four different cities in less than a week (a trek that nearly killed him), he has spaced out his shows to a city a week. You might want to catch both nights on tour, since he’s planning on changing his set list between Friday and Saturday.
“Some people may be surprised to learn that there’s only about five songs from our back catalog that are gonna be both nights. I’m going to play most of the Desperate Man over the two nights; probably six a night for those, but they’re not gonna be what they think. So, we’ll play ‘Smoke a Little Smoke’ one night, but you won’t get it the next. You’ll get ‘Drink in My Hand’ the next, but you won’t get it the first one,” says Eric. “So, we’re gonna make this a little bit where they’ll be those songs in there, but they won’t be both nights unless you go to both nights. It’s just the way we’re gonna do it. I think we can do it. I think our catalog will let us do it. If you come, you’re gonna hear ‘Sinners Like Me’ one night, but not both nights. And I think that it’ll make it interesting for the people that are coming, and it’ll make the show fun for us.”
Eric is hitting the airwaves with his new song, “Some of It,” from his recent album, Desperate Man.
Eric Church’s 2019 Double Down Tour Dates:
January 18, 2019 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center+
January 19, 2019 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center+
January 25, 2019 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center+
January 26, 2019 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center+
February 1, 2019 Boston, MA TD Garden+
February 2, 2019 Boston, MA TD Garden+
February 8, 2019 Minneapolis, MN Target Center+
February 9, 2019 Minneapolis, MN Target Center+
February 15, 2019 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena+
February 16, 2019 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena+
February 22, 2019 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena*
February 23, 2019 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena*
March 1, 2019 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center+
March 2, 2019 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center+
March 8, 2019 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena+
March 9, 2019 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena+
March 15, 2019 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum+
March 16, 2019 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum+
March 22, 2019 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena*
March 23, 2019 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena*
March 29, 2019 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum+
March 30, 2019 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum+
April 12, 2019 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center*
April 13, 2019 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center*
April 19, 2019 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena*
April 20, 2019 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena*
April 26, 2019 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
April 27, 2019 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
May 3, 2019 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena+
May 4, 2019 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena+
May 10, 2019 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
May 11, 2019 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
May 17, 2019 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center*
May 18, 2019 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center*
May 25, 2019 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium#
June 28, 2019 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre#
June 29, 2019 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre#
Eric Church (Double Down Tour) 2 OC: …fun for us. :45
“Some people may be surprised to learn that there’s only about five songs from our back catalog that are gonna be both nights. I’m going to play most of the Desperate Man over the two nights; probably six a night for those, but they’re not gonna be what they think. So, we’ll play ‘Smoke a Little Smoke’ one night, but you won’t get it the next. You’ll get ‘Drink in My Hand’ the next, but you won’t get it the first one. So, we’re gonna make this a little bit where they’ll be those songs in there, but they won’t be both nights unless you go to both nights. It’s just the way we’re gonna do it. I think we can do it. I think our catalog will let us do it. If you come, you’re gonna hear ‘Sinners Like Me’ one night, but not both nights. And I think that it’ll make it interesting for the people that are coming, and it’ll make the show fun for us.”
Eric Church has released his new song, “Some of It,” and it goes for adds at radio January 14th. The song, which Eric co-wrote with Jeff Hyde, Clint Daniels and Bobby Pinson, almost didn’t make his Desperate Man album.
“I was playing the album for a dear friend of ours, and my wife was with me…This person loved the album, but my wife said, ‘But let me play you what didn’t make it.’ The first thing she played was ‘Some of It.’ And I hadn’t listened to it in a while, and it was always a favorite song of mine. It’s why it was the first one we took in, and I listened to it that night and I’m like…I’m gonna regret if I don’t record this song,” says Eric. “And it just fit in the dialogue, it fit into what the entire album’s talking about and, it really made the album. I loved the album before it was on there, but it might be my favorite album now that it’s on there.”
Eric is set to kick off his Double Down Tour January 18th and 19th in Omaha, Nebraska. Before he launches the trek, you can catch him performing during the Willie Nelson tribute concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena January 12th. The all-star concert event featuring Willie, Eric, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, John Mellencamp, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett and many others will be taped and broadcast as a television special on A&E at a later date.
Eric Church (Some of It) OC: …on there. 1:16
“I was playing the album for a dear friend of ours, and my wife was with me and it was just the three of us playing the album and as we listened to the album. This person loved the album, but my wife said, ‘But let me play you what didn’t make it.’ The first thing she played was ‘Some of It.’ And I hadn’t listened to it in a while, and it was always a favorite song of mine. It’s why it was the first one we took in, and I listened to it that night and I’m like…I’m gonna regret if I don’t record this song. I called my manager that night and said that we gotta talk. The recording was done, the record was essentially done, but, um, I said, ‘I gotta do this. I gotta cut this song.’ I think my hesitation was because, initially, all the stuff that I thought was gonna be the pillars for this album just bombed…so I was scared of that song. I thought this is another song that was in that group that I’m gonna bump and I’m gonna go a different way. But I think it’s really interesting that the album took on an identity that allowed some of it to make it from where it started to where it is now. And it just fit in the dialogue, it fit into what the entire album’s talking about and, it really made it uh, to me it made the album. I loved the album before it was on there, but it might be my favorite album now that it’s on there.”
What are some of your favorite stars doing to welcome in the New Year? A few of them are working to help fans celebrate. Several artists have taken the time off around the holidays and will hit it hard when they return to the road in January. Some artists have resolutions, and some are very helpful with their own hangover cures for those who imbibe too much on New Year’s Eve.
Keith Urban is set to headline Music City on New Year’s Eve for the third consecutive year. He’ll perform at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park as part of the Jack Daniels Music City Midnight bash. Peter Frampton, Judah & the Lion, Caitlyn Smith, Devon Gilfillian and the Fisk Jubliee Singers are also on the bill. Keith will be featured on “NBC’s New Year’s Eve,” which will be hosted by Carson Daly and Chrissy Teigen. The special will air Monday, December 31st from 10-11pm ET/PT and return 11:30pm – 12:30am ET/PT.
Lauren Alaina will perform during the West Coast celebration of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2019.” She joins Kane Brown, Bazzi, Kelsea Ballerini, Camila Cabello, Ciara, Halsey, Shawn Mendes, Weezer, The Chainsmokers, Foster the People, Dua Lipa, Ella Mai and Charlie Puth, as well as a performance by Macklemore with Skylar Grey. Airing just after midnight, Post Malone will perform from a stop on his current tour in Brooklyn, New York. The televised celebration takes place Monday, December 31st beginning at 8pm ET on ABC.
Dierks Bentley will perform on the FOX Network’s New Year’s Eve with Steve Harvey. The special begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT.
Brothers Osborne (New Year) OC: (TJ) …next month. :44
JOHN: “I think it’s kind of funny how we spend literally the last moment and the very first moment of every year being extremely intoxicated, extremely, because you don’t want to wait until like 12:30 to get your buzz on. You’ve got to do it before midnight, and then once midnight happens, you’re like, ‘Omigod! Now it’s time to celebrate even more.’ Debauchery is the literally bookending your entire year.” TJ: “I love how everyone starts the year off with diets and then we end the year with like excessive amounts of food. And then you get to the end of the year, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to start a diet on the 1st, so I’m going to eat everything that’s in front of me.’ I love it.” JOHN: “And come February 1st, ‘what diet?’” [laughs] TJ: “What diet? I’ll start it next month.” [laughs]
Brothers Osborne (hangover cure) OC: …of the year. :07
“Usually drinking more. I mean, a little hair of the dog never hurt anybody. Plus, it’s the first of the year.”
Clare Dunn (hangover cure) OC: …hangover cure. :10
“Greasy food is always kind of a, you can let it go for one day before you start all your resolutions [laughs] after that. So, that’s probably my best hangover cure.”
Dierks (NYE) OC: …for that. :10
“I think January first is universally accepted as a dog. So I mean, a little hair of the dog, I guess. But just…water and stay on the couch, I guess. There’s no real sure-fire cure for that.”
Dierks Bentley (New Year’s) OC: …in stride. 1:11
“New Year’s is rough. New Year’s hurts no matter what’s going o n. I’ve played a lot of New Year’s shows, you know, but I’ve honestly found that it’s not my favorite night to throw down. Look, for a living, that’s what I do. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, I host a big party; not only on stage, but I’ve got friends backstage. It starts before the concert sometimes, [and] it goes long after the concert, so a lot of times on New Year’s, I’m looking for a really mellow hang – a good party, good friends, pretty chill. Some of my best New Year’s – it doesn’t make for great radio – but some of my best New Year’s have been just like actually hearing fireworks go off while I’m in bed, [laughs] and know I’m gonna wake up the next morning for the first day of the New Year feeling great, feeling recharged and I’m ready to go ad go into the New Year feeling good as opposed to going into it with a giant Jagerbomb hangover, which I’ve done many, many times. So, the goal this year is to go into it feeling pretty good and the kids help with that, because you really just don’t want to be hungover with children. It’s not a good feeling. You would probably admit to any crime to get them, just feel better, and get them leave you alone. So, [I’m] gonna try to hit New Year’s this year in stride.”
Eric Church (hangover cure) OC: …every time. :17
“The best hangover cure – I’ve got two. One is 5-hour Energy [bottles], because of all the B-vitamins that are in it. You can start pounding those, and it’s either gonna work, or it’s gonna keep you up and prolong your misery. But the other one I have is just take two Advil and a beer in the morning. Hair of the dog, man – that works every time.”
Jon Pardi (hangover cure) OC: …deal with it. :20
“My hangover cure is Bloody Marys, but be careful – because once you have a couple, don’t go to beer, because if you go to beer, you’re gonna start drinking again and you’ll end up a morning drunk. OR if you want to go the non-alcoholic route, there’s nothing you can do for hangovers. [laughs] You just go deal with it.”
Kacey Musgraves (hangover cure) OC: …water. Yup! :32
“Coconut water is a major help with hangovers and also, a lot of times we go and eat Vietnamese fuh. It’s a soup, and it’s got this awesome broth. You can get different things in it or whatever, but for some reason, it’s just like…it’s almost like a chicken noodle soup kind of an idea, you know, but it’s good. That’s good for hangovers too. That, sleep, Tylenol, coconut water and just water, in general. And when you’re drinking, have your alcohol, drink a little bit of water, drink some more alcohol, drink some water. Yup!”
Kip Moore (avoiding hangovers on NYE) OC: …yourself. :03
“Pace yourself on New Year’s – that’s the remedy. Pace yourself.”
Luke Bryan (New Years-best) OC: …great night. :17
“My best New Year’s Eve is definitely when my wife and I started back dating. We started back dating right before Christmas, and we went on a trip down to Florida and met some friends. And her birthday is New Year’s Eve. We celebrated it that night. It was just a great night.”
Travis Denning (favorite New Year’s Eve party) OC: …it was good. :41
“I think my favorite New Year’s Eve party ever was when my sister got married, and my sister’s party got done at 10:30, 10:45 and she got married right behind a little club that I played a lot in Macon, Georgia called the Crazy Bull and love the owner. We’re boys, you know? So, we just literally walked right over and burned the house down. That was one of my favorite New Year’s Eve memories, ‘cause I got to see my sister and brother-in-law get married and that was such a great, great time, and then me and my older cousin and best friend, we ended up at Waffle House that night, so it was good.”
Travis Denning (wants to get dressed up for New Year’s Eve) OC: …good for it. :13
“No matter what I do for New Year’s Eve, I want to get dressed up. I want to wear a suit. I want to get real snazzied up, and I don’t care if I’m just going to a bar. Like, it’s New Year’s Eve, let’s look good for it.”
Travis Denning (hangover cure) OC: …me better. :17
“You know, I think my hangover cure is just sitting on my butt, [laughs] not doing anything. Drink some water, a cup of coffee, but usually anything greasy or just some big ole Mexican food that’ll get me at least to a nap, which will get me better.”
“Hey Everybody! I’m Adam Hambrick, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey Everybody! I’m Adam Hambrick. Happy New Year.”
“What’s up everybody? This is Brandon Lay, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne. Happy New Year.”
“Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! I’m Clare Dunn, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Happy New Year!
“Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley. Happy New Year!”
“10-9-8-7—6-54321, Happy New Year, y’all. It’s Eric Church, and it’s time to put a drink in MY hand!”
“Hey! It’s Eric Church, hoping you have a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! Eric Church here…This New Year’s Eve, if you put a drink in your hand…hand your keys to a friend. Trust me guys, don’t drink and drive.”
“Hey everybody! I’m Gary Allan. Happy New Year!”
“Hey y’all! I’m Jon Langston, wishing you a very Happy New Year.”
“Hey y’all, I’m Jon Langston. Happy New Year.”
“Hi! I’m Jon Pardi, wishing you a Happy New Year!”
“Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy New Year!”
“Hey! I’m Josh Turner. Happy New Year!”
“Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, hoping you have a safe and Happy New Year!”
“Hey! It’s Kassi Ashton. I’d love to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year.”
“Hey everyone! This is Keith Urban. Have a safe and happy New Year.”
“It’s Kip Moore, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“This is Lauren Alaina, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy New Year!”
“Hey! This is Luke Bryan, hoping you have a Happy New Year.”
“Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! This is Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Happy New Year!”
“Hi! This is Shania Twain. Happy New Year!”
“Hey y’all, this is Travis Denning, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
Chris Stapleton, Emmylou Harris, Eric Church, Jimmy Buffett, Bobby Bare, Jamey Johnson, Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, Micah Nelson, Nathaniel Rateliff, Ray Benson, and Steve Earle have been added to the all-star lineup of Willie: Life & Songs Of An American Outlaw, A Willie Nelson All-Star Concert Celebration. They join previously announced performers Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, The Avett Brothers, George Strait, Jack Johnson, John Mellencamp, Kris Kristofferson, Lee Ann Womack, Lyle Lovett,Norah Jones and The Little Willies, Sheryl Crow, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks, and Vince Gill.
This once-in-a-lifetime concert event will take place Saturday, January 12th, 2019 at 7PM CT at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. This historic event will honor living legend Willie Nelson and feature his greatest hits performed by today’s biggest superstars.
The event will be filmed for a broadcast television special to premiere on A&E Network in 2019.
Additional tickets have just been released and are on sale now online at Livenation.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, and at the Bridgestone Arena box office. VIP packages including great seats and exclusive merchandise are also available.
In his 85th year, Willie Nelson is more prolific than ever. In 2018 alone, he’s released his 67th studio album (Last Man Standing), a stirring collection of his favorite Sinatra songs (My Way) and headlined the largest touring festival in North America (Outlaw Music Festival). Willie is America’s music hero. It’s hard to put into words what he means to singers, songwriters, musicians, and people all over the world. Through life’s ups and downs, heartbreaks and rewards, Willie and his songs have been a dear and constant friend to all of us. He’s a trusted father figure to millions of Americans by lifting them up through FARM AID and his annual JULY 4th PICNIC. He’s the clear inspiration for dozens of today’s biggest music stars
from all genres of music.
UMG Nashville is pleased to bring you a unique holiday special to help you program your stations. The three-hour program is spot-free (includes 10-14 minutes of local avails per hour; non-exclusive).
Click here to download the special.
A Country Christmas is a three-hour, multi-artist special hosted by Lauren Alaina, and features classic holiday tunes, as well as Christmas thoughts, memories and more from many of your favorite country artists, including Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Alan Jackson and George Strait, among many others. We’ll also give you some bonus content and liners, as well.
CLEARANCE WINDOW:
Friday, December 14th – Sunday, December 25th
Esquire magazine released its list of the Top 10 Best Country Albums of 2018, and UMG Nashville has several on the list including Brothers Osborne’s Port Saint Joe (No. 7), Dierks Bentley’s The Mountain (No. 5), Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour (No. 4) and Eric Church’s Desperate Man (No. 2). Ashley McBryde’s Girl Going Nowhere, John Prine’s The Tree of Forgiveness and Pistol Annies’ Interstate Gospel were also on the list.
Kacey’s CMA Album of the Year, Golden Hour, summed up the last chapter of her life. “The title Golden Hour just seemed to sum up this chapter of my life perfectly. I mean not only am I from a town called Golden, Texas, but leading up to making this record, there’s been a lot of beauty in my atmosphere and in my world. I love the picture that pops in my head when I hear that title. It’s also an actual song on the record, but it’s just this warm, golden feeling that I’m really happy to have in my life, and I found it to be the perfect title for this record.”
Dierks took to the Rocky Mountain resort town of Telluride, Colorado, which every summer plays host to a celebrated bluegrass festival. Owing to his well-documented love of the genre, Bentley has attended the festival multiple times over the years, always making a point to slow down and tune back in to the world around him. But after performing on the festival’s main stage in 2017, the beautiful surroundings became more than a much-needed getaway, it reflected where he is in life; his past, present and future and the album reflected the happiness he felt.
“I think the unifying thread that runs through The Mountain would be just happiness and positivity, just a real kind of vibe of being grateful in the moment that you’re in, you know? The album really started off just as a tiny idea of something to do with the West,” says Dierks. “The album kind of wrote itself to be that story of just songs like ‘Living,’ ‘Can’t Bring Me Down’ and ‘The Mountain,’ just the vibe of just being really grateful and inspired by your surroundings and not just the mountain vibe, but the surroundings on the road too. The people that I meet on the road that are climbing their own personal mountains and the stuff they’re trying to overcome. I hear so many stories backstage at the Meet-and-Greets, and I was unknowingly inspired by those stories, and I think that gives the whole Mountain [album] a great metaphor between the actual mountains and the mountains people are pursuing in their own lives.”
[audio-player-1]]
Dierks Bentley (unifying thread in The Mountain) OC: …their own lives. 1:22
“I think the unifying thread that runs through The Mountain would be just happiness and positivity, just a real kind of vibe of being grateful in the moment that you’re in, you know? The album really started off just as a tiny idea of something to do with the West. I wasn’t sure if it was a sonic idea or some sort of lyric or an overall vibe, and I didn’t really know where to go. I just put it on the backburner and kept just doing what we were doing which was touring nonstop. I had some shows up there. I played a show, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in June (2017) and it was just so inspiring and so fun, and I kinda had the idea to come back and write there and I did. I came back in August, then I came back and recorded there. That initial little idea I had, I thought I wasn’t going to work on that all, but it turns out I was just kind of in a back door way. And the album kind of wrote itself to be that story of just songs like ‘Living,’ ‘Can’t Bring Me Down’ and ‘The Mountain,’ just the vibe of just being really grateful and inspired by your surroundings and not just the mountain vibe, but the surroundings on the road too. The people that I meet on the road that are climbing their own personal mountains and the stuff they’re trying to overcome. I hear so many stories backstage at the Meet-and-Greets, and I was unknowingly inspired by those stories, and I think that gives the whole Mountain [album] a great metaphor between the actual mountains and the mountains people are pursuing in their own lives.”
Eric Church is looking forward to launching his 2019 Double Down Tour in January. He will play two nights in each city (except for Nashville where he’ll play Nissan Stadium) and perform six albums worth of material. Unlike his Holdin’ My Own Tour in 2017 where he would sometimes play four different cities in less than a week (a trek that nearly killed him), he has spaced out his shows to a city a week.
The North Carolina native says he learned a lot from his previous tour and applied it to his new Double Down outing. “When we booked the last tour, we booked the tour before we decided to kind of show what we were going to do. So, we ended up with four or five shows a week sometimes at three hour shows, and it was tough physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. The whole thing was really, really hard on me, very draining,” says Eric. “So, this time knowing that we are going to do that, we booked it in a way that I think we can do that the best way. So, we’re going to a city, we’re going to stay in a city and we’re going to play three, three-and-a-half hours…We’re just gonna stay there and make it about this spiritual, musical experience. I think that’s what the last tour really taught me is there is a different level of where touring can go for us and for the fans. I had not experienced that in my career until the Holdin’ My Own Tour.”
Eric is currently sitting inside the Top 15 on the country charts with his latest hit, “Desperate Man.”
Eric Church’s 2019 Double Down Tour dates are as follows:
January 18, 2019 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center+
January 19, 2019 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center+
January 25, 2019 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center+
January 26, 2019 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center+
February 1, 2019 Boston, MA TD Garden+
February 2, 2019 Boston, MA TD Garden+
February 8, 2019 Minneapolis, MN Target Center+
February 9, 2019 Minneapolis, MN Target Center+
February 15, 2019 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena+
February 16, 2019 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena+
February 22, 2019 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena*
February 23, 2019 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena*
March 1, 2019 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center+
March 2, 2019 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center+
March 8, 2019 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena+
March 9, 2019 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena+
March 15, 2019 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum+
March 16, 2019 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum+
March 22, 2019 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena*
March 23, 2019 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena*
March 29, 2019 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum+
March 30, 2019 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum+
April 12, 2019 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center*
April 13, 2019 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center*
April 19, 2019 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena*
April 20, 2019 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena*
April 26, 2019 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
April 27, 2019 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
May 3, 2019 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena+
May 4, 2019 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena+
May 10, 2019 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
May 11, 2019 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
May 17, 2019 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center*
May 18, 2019 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center*
May 25, 2019 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium#
June 28, 2019 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre#
June 29, 2019 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre#
+on sale October 5 at 10am local time
*on sale October 12 at 10am local time
#on sale October 19 at 10am local time
Eric Church (Double Down Tour) 1 OC: …we’d get to. 1:12
“I think a lot of it we learned on the last one, but when we booked the last tour, we booked the tour before we decided to kind of show what we were going to do. So, we ended up with four or five shows a week sometimes at three hour shows, and it was tough physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. The whole thing was really, really hard on me, very draining. So, this time knowing that we are going to do that, we booked it in a way that I think we can do that the best way. So, we’re going to a city, we’re going to stay in a city and we’re going to play three, three-and-a-half hours. What I love is last time we went to Detroit, for example, and [it was] one of the best shows on the tour and we played three hours, 10 or 15 minutes, and I remember that night as I was on the bus after going, ‘How in the world are we gonna top this?’ Well, one way to do it is do two nights and instead of three-and-a-half hours, it’ll be seven hours of music, and we’re just gonna stay there and make it about this spiritual, musical experience. I think that’s what the last tour really taught me is there is a different level of where touring can go for us and for the fans. I had not experienced that in my career until the Holdin’ My Own Tour. So, this, I’m hopin’, is a continuation on that and we go to a place we hadn’t been yet, ‘cause they’ve already taken me places I never thought we’d get to.”