A well-deserved honor. Recently, Eric Church was honored by the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police (NCACP) for his ongoing commitment to his home state and his personal ties to law enforcement. Their 2026 NCACP Conference & Ceremony took place last week in Cherokee, North Carolina, which concluded with a banquet with entertainment from North Carolina’s own, Mr. Church. In addition to performing, North Carolina governor Josh Stein presented Eric with the flag of North Carolina alongside the NCACP, recognizing not only his personal ties to law enforcement, but his philanthropic contributions to the state, notably his incredible relief efforts following Hurricane Helene through the Chief Cares fund. What he’s done for the local community cannot be understated, and you can read more about it here. Eric’s maternal grandfather, Rusty, was the chief of police in the small town of Granite Falls in western North Carolina where Eric grew up, and his nickname “Chief” is a sort of borrowed family hand-me-down from Rusty. When Eric first started playing in little bars and clubs, the lighting was so strong that his eyes would get really dry and his contacts would fall out on stage. He’d be up there playing blind, essentially, which eventually prompted him to keep sunglasses on and wear the hat to keep the sweat off his face. If nothing else, it made him look like a police chief himself. When he started playing bigger crowds, he tried to get away from wearing the hat and glasses on stage. But fans kept showing up to shows wearing the same exact thing, and he felt it had naturally just become a part of his brand, or really, his “show time uniform”, as he put it. His band got a kick out of it, and they’d always call him “Chief” as a joke about his look before he went on stage: “The band starting joking with me, when I put the hat and sunglasses on, they go ‘Alright, its Chief time, Chief’s here.’ Well, Chief became my nickname on the road, really as a joke…I laughed about it…but what they didn’t know, the really cool part of the story, my grandpa was the chief of police in Granite Falls, North Carolina. Everybody called him ‘Chief’. Everybody. My dad called him chief as his son-in-law, so it was just very neat to me, that across generations, it became my nickname naturally and nobody knew about it being my grandpa’s nickname, nobody.” How cool is that? I have to imagine it meant a lot for him to be part of this event, and Governor Stein called it a “pleasure” to present Eric with the flag of North Carolina alongside the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, noting how proud his grandfather would be of everything he’s done for NC: “It was a pleasure to present Eric Church with the flag of North Carolina alongside the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police. Eric’s grandfather served as the Chief of Police of Granite Falls, and I know he’d be proud that Eric is continuing to give back to their community. Eric, we are grateful North Carolina keeps calling you home.” It’s very much deserved, and it’s great to see him getting recognition for all of the hard work he’s put in for his fellow North Carolinians, something he no doubt learned, and saw in -action, from his grandpa Rusty. You can see some of the photos here: View this post on Instagram Eric also treated everyone to a performance of “Carolina,” which you can watch here: View this post on Instagram Eric is also slated to give the keynote address at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s spring commencement in May. Until then, he will continue his trek on his 2026 Free the Machine tour, which continues tonight in Washington, D.C. You can view the full list of dates below. 2026 Free the Machine Tour Dates: Jan. 22 || Washington, D.C. || The Anthem || Caylee Hammack Jan. 23 || Washington, D.C. || The Anthem || Caylee Hammack Feb. 5 || Omaha, Neb. || CHI Health Center || Ella Langley Feb. 6 || Sioux Falls, S.D. || Denny Sanford PREMIER Center || Ella Langley Feb. 7 || St. Paul, Minn. || Grand Casino Arena || Ella Langley Feb. 12 || Toronto, Ont. || Scotiabank Arena || Ella Langley Feb. 13 || Buffalo, N.Y. || KeyBank Center || Ella Langley Feb. 14 || Albany, N.Y. || MVP Arena || Ella Langley Feb. 19 || North Little Rock, Ark. || Simmons Bank Arena || 49 Winchester Feb. 20 || Kansas City, Mo. || T-Mobile Center || 49 Winchester Feb. 21 || St. Louis, Mo. || Enterprise Center || 49 Winchester Feb. 26 || Tulsa, Okla. || BOK Center || Stephen Wilson Jr. Feb. 27 || Fort Worth, Texas || Dickies Arena || Stephen Wilson Jr. Feb. 28 || Austin, Texas || Moody Center || Stephen Wilson Jr. Mar. 5 || Knoxville, Tenn. || Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center || 49 Winchester Mar. 6 || Greensboro, N.C. || First Horizon Coliseum || 49 Winchester Mar. 7 || North Charleston, S.C. || North Charleston Coliseum || 49 Winchester Mar. 19 || Birmingham, Ala. || Legacy Arena at the BJCC || 49 Winchester Mar. 20 || Atlanta, Ga. || State Farm Arena || 49 Winchester Mar. 27 || Hollywood, Fla. || Hard Rock Live || Kashus Culpepper Apr. 3 || Greenville, S.C. || Bon Secours Wellness Arena || Ashley McBryde Apr. 4 || Charlotte, N.C. || Spectrum Center || Ashley McBryde Apr. 10 || Jacksonville, Fla. || VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena || Ashley McBryde Apr. 11 || Tampa, Fla. || Benchmark International Arena || Ashley McBrydeThe post Eric Church Honored By The North Carolina Association Of Chiefs Of Police For His Personal Ties To Law Enforcement & Philanthropic Efforts For Home State first appeared on Whiskey Riff.