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Eric Church Recalls Having To Play A Concert For A Group Of Six Year Olds While Promoting ‘Sinners Like Me’ – “I Was Thinking, I’m Going Back Home”
Like any artist trying to make it in the industry, Eric Church has had his share of less-than-ideal venues and shows in the past. From only knowing 12 songs and playing them twice over at his first-ever gig to playing behind chicken wire at shady bars, which resulted in his late brother, Brandon, leaving the stage to fight someone in the parking lot during a song, it’s safe to say the Chief has a laundry list of wild stories during his early years as a performer.
Of course, it’s stories like these that have made Church the absolute legend he is today, and fans (myself included) are always dying to hear more tidbits from his journey over the past two decades.
While the Free The Machine Tour keeps rolling after kicking off last weekend in Pittsburgh, Church performed in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center last night. In the midst of a set that contained the entirety of Evangeline vs. The Machine, a rare performance of “Drowning Man,” his mashup of “Smoke a Little Smoke” and Al Green’s “Take Me to the River” and a surprise cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City,” the 10x Grammy-nominee took some time to share a hilarious story about his first time playing in the Philadelphia area.
As Church recalls, he was playing a birthday party for one of Philadelphia’s local radio stations, WXTU, with the promise of them playing some of his songs on his debut album, Sinners Like Me. Thinking it would be your standard affair, Church came ready to play his early standout tracks such as “Before She Does,” “Lightning” and the title track.
As it turns out… he actually ended up playing for a group predominately consisting of six year olds in the area.
“I started playing I think my first time in the area was a birthday party for WXTU… I had this album called ‘Sinners Like Me.’ I show up to this birthday party because they’re going to play my song, and I get there and it’s like 30 six year olds. And I’ve got ‘Before She Does,’ ‘Sinners Like Me,’ ‘Lightning,’ ‘How ‘Bout You,’ ‘Guys Like Me.’
I’m thinking, ‘I’m going back home.’ I never forget that when I come back to Philly. Sh*t those kids are probably tonight drinking with us.”
According to the radio station itself, it wasn’t quite how Church described it. With that being said, however, his description wasn’t too far off.
The event was actually called Backyard BBQ, which allowed one lucky listener to win a private show at their house, thus creating an entire neighborhood party headlined by the selected artist. Being played by both Dierks Bentley and Daryl Worley in the past, the event had been a huge success for the WXTU. And of course, these were usually adult-oriented. For whatever reason, one that even WXTU’s Program Director, Mark Razz, couldn’t explain, Church’s appearance at that year’s Backyard BBQ quickly became the go-to spot for neighborhood children that weekend, resulting in undoubtedly one of the weirdest sets he had to perform.
In reality, it seems like those kids were wise beyond their years and got to see the Chief live before a lot of other people could make the same claim. Probably made for one hell of a story to tell to their kindergarten class, too.
Watch here:
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Eric Church Tour Dates
Sept. 19 || Boston, Mass. || TD Garden || Elle King
Sept. 20 || Brooklyn, N.Y. || Barclays Center || Elle King
Sept. 25 || Green Bay, Wisc. || Resch Center || Marcus King Band
Sept. 26 || Milwaukee, Wisc. || Fiserv Forum || Marcus King Band
Sept. 27 || Des Moines, Iowa || Wells Fargo Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 2 || Detroit, Mich. || Little Caesars Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 3 || Lexington, Ky. || Rupp Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Gainbridge Fieldhouse || Marcus King Band
Oct. 10 || Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 11 || Cleveland, Ohio || Rocket Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 23 || Salt Lake City, Utah || Delta Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 24 || Boise, Idaho || ExtraMile Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 25 || Spokane, Wash. || Spokane Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 6 || Vancouver, B.C. || Rogers Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 7 || Portland, Ore. || Moda Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 8 || Seattle, Wash. || Climate Pledge Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 13 || Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 14 || Fresno, Calif. || SaveMart Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 15 || Inglewood, Calif. || Intuit Dome || Charles Wesley GodwinThe post Eric Church Recalls Having To Play A Concert For A Group Of Six Year Olds While Promoting ‘Sinners Like Me’ – “I Was Thinking, I’m Going Back Home” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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