What’s it going to take for Chief to finally get the recognition he deserves? Of course Eric Church has won one CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year, and been nominated for the top prize four times at the CMA Awards and three times by the ACM Awards. But it’s been 6 years since Church has received a CMA Award nomination, and 5 years since he’s even been up for a trophy at the ACM Awards. This should be the year those streaks end. It’s been nearly a year since Church released his latest album, Evangeline vs. the Machine, and took a creative risk most in country music would never dream of taking. The album featured only 8 tracks, unlike the 20+ track mega-albums that most artists are releasing these days, and was backed by a full orchestra and choir. Unlike other albums where it’s easy to skip around and pick out your favorite tracks to listen to, the album was one cohesive work, with each song flowing into the next with an orchestral transition that made it one big 38-minute work of art. It was a masterpiece. Which meant that when it was time to take the album on the road for his Free the Machine Tour, there was only one thing to do: Take the orchestra and choir with him and perform the entire album front to back. Now, I say that like it’s obvious, but the truth is there is nobody else in country music who would dare try – or even think of – doing any of that. Nobody else is touring with a 25-piece ensemble that includes a horn section, a string section, and a full choir, and nobody else would open up every stop on their tour by playing their entire album in order. (For most artists these days, playing an entire album front to back would take up the entire show). But that’s why Church is such a creative genius who’s so far ahead of the pack: It may have been out of the box, and it was certainly pushing the envelope, but for him it seemed natural. Nobody in the crowd second-guessed a thing when Roy Agee performed a trombone solo, or when Michelle McClary played a French horn introduction to “Evangeline.” And the crowd roared every time Armand Hutton “gave them that low down” on “Smoke a Little Smoke,” with his booming bass voice echoing through arenas. @_aaronryan Friday night Church. “Smoke a Little Smoke” & “Proud Mary.” @Eric Church #ericchurch #joannacotten #fyp #countrymusic ♬ original sound – Aaron Ryan It was a creative feat unlike any other we’ve seen – and Church executed it to perfection. While most artists save their biggest hits for the end of their concerts, the Free the Machine tour featured “Springsteen” smack dab in the middle of the setlist – and served as an exit point for many of the musicians on stage, whittling the ensemble down to just Church, Joanna Cotten, and his original band for the second half of the show. And by the end of the night, it was usually just Church with his guitar, playing whatever he felt like playing, often digging deep into his bag of tricks to brush off songs that are rarely heard on tour these days. But there were also plenty of surprises along the way courtesy of special guests, in the form of the opening acts that Church brought along with him on tour. I was lucky enough to be in Texas when Church welcomed Stephen Wilson Jr. to the stage for back-to-back performances of “Seven Spanish Angels,” and I can tell you that I will forever be chasing the high that I felt in that moment. And along the way, crowds were also treated to duets with incredible artists like Ashley McBryde, Ella Langley, 49 Winchester, Marcus King, and others. That’s one thing that’s special about an Eric Church show: You never know what you’re going to get. You can look up previous setlists online before the show, but those are useful for about 9 songs. After that, you’re just along for the ride as Church decides where you’re going – and often, those decisions are made on the spot. The Free the Machine tour was truly unlike any other in country music. Church regularly played for 3 hours on each of the 46 scheduled dates, and with two dates left on the schedule he’s managed to play more than half of the songs he’s released in his career – by my count there are only 40 of 108 that haven’t made an appearance on the tour so far. Can you imagine any other artist breaking out that much of their catalog on a single tour? But the most magical part of the tour isn’t the setlist or the orchestra: It’s the feeling inside the room as an “army of Friday night soldiers” gather together, roar at the noise of the poet’s rhyme, and create memories backed by melodies from one of the greatest artists of our generation. It’s watching Church clearly have as much – or more – fun on stage as everyone in the crowd. It’s getting to hear Joanna Cotten’s powerhouse vocals give goosebumps to all those sweaty people standing shoulder to shoulder. And it’s knowing that, as Church closes his show with “Through My Ray Bans,” you can rest assured that he means it when he says he wishes things could stay the way he sees them at that moment: Just 15,000 people coming together for their love of music. In the past year, Church has released a new album, performed two sold-out album release shows in Nashville, took over Red Rocks for three different shows on three separate nights (including one fully acoustic), continued to step up for his community in North Carolina that’s still recovering from Hurricane Helene, was recognized with the ACM Icon Award at last year’s ACM Honors, and this weekend he’ll wrap up a tour unlike any other in the history of country music. If that’s not a resumé worthy – in fact, demanding – to be recognized as Entertainer of the Year when nominations are announced, I don’t know what else it’s going to take. I know nominations come out soon for the ACM Awards, and will be revealed later this fall for the CMA Awards. I just hope voters do the right thing.The post Eric Church’s ‘Free The Machine’ Tour Is Further Proof That He’s The Entertainer Of The Year first appeared on Whiskey Riff.