Eric Church takes pride in bringing people together. One could describe the Chief’s latest entrant into the musical world as this: A ride. Evangeline vs. The Machine was designed to be listened to from front to back, and is a look into the genius of Church when he simply asks the question, “How far can I push this thing?” He elaborated on why he chose to do that in his recent interview with CBS Mornings: “First of all, I think it’s an honor to be anything that you do a long time. To be able to do music… it was such a moonshot for me to ever be able to have one successful song or one successful album. I feel like the more successful you are, the more you should push that boundary. That comes from the artists that I grew up with that had that creative compass. To me, people sometimes when they get successful, they pull back, and they do what made them successful. Because they are making money and they stay there. I think that’s the time that you do push the boundaries.” There’s no doubt Eric Church pushes the boundaries. And another thing that the Chief is exceptional at is bringing people together. The artist has crafted high-energy songs for fans to sing along to for two decades now, and he’s fully aware that on any given night, he has a unique crowd at his concerts. Two people that normally wouldn’t ever stand next to each other or hold a conversation are suddenly lifting beers up in the air together as Church breaks into “Drink in My Hand.” Music – along with sports and entertainment – is one of those special things that we have that can cut through our differences. Eric Church doesn’t just stand up on the stage, belt out hit after hit, and then go home. Rather, he’s keenly aware that his music – even if it’s just for a couple of hours – is bringing people together. To him, that’s a very beautiful thing, and he cherishes it every time he gets in front of a microphone: “I see it every night. When we go to these cities and play in front of 15,000 and 20,000 people, I know that a majority of those people that are watching me do not agree with the person beside them. But for those three hours, they do. And they are all pulling on the rope the same way.” He’s previously talked about how he loves using music as an element of good, especially in the live show. That’s especially come up a lot as Church has continued to play and expand on the good versus evil theming within Evangeline vs. The Machine. As a fan, it’s interesting to see the awareness that the Chief has as an artist. Clearly, he knows that as he’s gotten bigger in music, he’s slowly built up the ability to focus on things bigger than music… and that’s what makes Church such a special artist in this day and age. You can view Eric Church’s full interview in the video below: The post Eric Church On The Power Of Live Music To Unite People Who Don’t Agree On Everything: “For Those 3 Hours They Do” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.