Live from Nashville. Eric Church is gearing up to put out a live album called Evangeline vs. The Machine Comes Alive, which was recorded live over two nights during shows at The Pinnacle in Nashville earlier this year, one that church described as one of the most unforgettable of his life. The album not only features the entire Evangeline vs. the Machine album from front to back, but also hits from some of his previous albums like “Sinners Like Me,” “Desperate Man,” “Hell Of A View,” and of course, “Springsteen.” He describes the shows as “electric,” and he wanted to capture all of that magic in the form of this live album: “This live album is special. It has been a while since the band and I had played a large club like the Pinnacle. Those two nights were electric. And listening back, the magic of those nights has definitely been captured.” Of course, he put out an extensive series of live albums called 61 Days in Church, which spanned five volumes and a staggering 160 songs in total that were recorded in 2017 during his iconic Holdin’ My Own Tour, but he hasn’t done any sort of live project since then, and I still go back to some of those covers he did often. And today, he’s giving fans one more taste of what’s to come on the live album with “Johnny,” a deeply personal song that was was inspired by the Charlie Daniels’ 1979 classic, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which of course finds the main character Johnny challenging the Devil to a fiddle playing contest: “Johnny, rosin’ up your bow and play your fiddle hard ‘Cause Hell’s broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals the cards And if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold But if you lose, the Devil gets your soul” As you probably know, Johnny ultimately beats the Devil and wins both his soul and a golden fiddle, though Eric’s song is a little less hopeful. He makes several references to Johnny and lyrics from the Charlie Daniels song, in addition to questioning the cruel world we live in and begging Johnny to come back and beat the Devil. “I was thinking to myself this morning, Watching my boys play, How different my life was when I was their age, Now machines control people, and people shoot at kids, I shutter to think about what the next thing is, And Johnny oh Johnny, where did you go? The Devil’s broke out of Georgia, And he’s feasting on our souls, There’s fire on the mountain, and flames are closing in So run and get your fiddle boy, And send him to hell again,  I know redemption comes, but it’s taking way too long, Can’t you see it in our faces can’t you hear on our songs? Yeah we’re holding onto hope, But we’re hanging by a thread, Won’t you put on your rattlesnake boots and crush that serpent in” It’s a chilling, beautiful song, and clearly a sign of the times that represents the hopelessness I think a lot of people have been feeling over the last several years, as well as the broader scope of how much the world has changed with so much technology and everything else these days. Eric previously revealed that the song was actually written the day after the tragic shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School in 2023: “About a year ago we had a shooting here in Nashville and where my kids go to school, is about a mile from that school. And I’m gonna tell you something, the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, parent or otherwise, is dropping them off at that school the day after that shooting, and watching them walk inside. And I sat in the parking lot for a long time, and as fate would have it Charlie Daniels was playing “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” And I remember thinking, ‘Man, we could use Johnny right now’ because the Devil is not in Georgia. He is everywhere, and I went home and wrote ‘Johnny.’” It shows off his incredible songwriting, as he penned it alongside Luke Laird and Brett Warren, and the whole live production really gives the song a grand and striking sound, which you could only accomplish with a live recording like this. It’s how a live recording should sound, bigger and richer than a studio cut, and he more than accomplished that with this song. Evangeline vs. The Machine Comes Alive is due out next Friday, February 13th, 2026, and includes 19 tracks in total. You can listen to “Johnny” here: “Johnny” Evangeline vs. The Machine Comes Alive Track List: 1. Hands Of Time (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 2. Bleed On Paper (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 3. Johnny (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 4. Storm In Their Blood (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 5. Darkest Hour (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 6. Evangeline (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 7. Rocket’s White Lincoln (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 8. Clap Hands (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 9. Desperate Man (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 10. Give Me Back My Hometown (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 11. Homeboy (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 12. Sinners Like Me (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 13. Creepin’ (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 14. Knives Of New Orleans (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 15. Smoke A Little Smoke (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 16. The Outsiders (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 17. Hell Of A View (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 18. Mistress Named Music (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025) 19. Springsteen (Live At The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN / May 24, 2025)The post Eric Church Releases Epic Live Rendition Of “Johnny” From Upcoming ‘Evangeline Vs. The Machine Comes Alive’ Album first appeared on Whiskey Riff.