Eric Chert took people to church on Stagecoach's Mane Stage at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif. on Friday night (April 26), but not everyone in attendance for his closing set on the festival's opening night was ready for some religion.
The country superstar put together a unique set that clearly put a lot of thought into it, from the stained glass and 16-person choir to the setlist that included covers of “Hallelujah,” “Take Me to the River,” “Stand By Me,” ” I'll Fly Away', 'When the Saints Go Marching In' and even 'Gin and Juice'.
“This was the hardest set I've ever tried,” Church said in a press release issued after the show. “I've always found that going back to where it started, chasing who Bob Seger loves, who Springsteen loves, who Willie Nelson loves, you chase it back to the beginning. The origin of all these is still its purest form. And we don't do that as much anymore. It felt good in the moment to come back, get a choir and do that.”
“For me, it's always been a record thing, a performance thing, I've always been the one who said, 'Let's do something really, really weird and weird and take a chance.' Sometimes it doesn't work, but it's okay if you live on that edge, because that edge, that edge, is where all the new kids are going to gravitate to anyway. So if you can always challenge yourself in that way, it always cuts sharper than any other edge,” he said.
For much of the set, the only accompaniment was Church on guitar, the choir and frequent collaborator Joanna Cotton, but his full band joined at the end for a handful of Church tunes, including “Country Music Jesus” and ” Springsteen”.
For some fans, the show was an exciting opportunity to see a (probably) once-in-a-lifetime set, while for others, it was too much of a departure from his regular live show. To be fair, Church has mixed it up at festival gigs before: at 2019's CMA Fest he did a 17-song acoustic mix, and at last year's CMA Fest he played a seven-song set that featured some hits with new covers and some covers, including Little Feat's “Sailin' Shoes,” which left some casual attendees scratching their heads, surprised Church. “I was shocked because I played the show I went out there to play” tour-hall-of-fame-1234787599/” target=”_blank”>he said Rolling rock. “We had a time slot and I went over there to play that slot and try to show a little bit, a glimpse, of what I've been working on for this tour.”
Some of the attendees were blown away by the unique show at Stagecoach:
Others, not so much, with reports on social media of attendees leaving mid-show to watch Nickelback perform on the Palomino stage. Palm Springs Desert Sun Journalist Brian Blueskye described the scene as an “unplugged jam session” that “sent festival-goers out of the Empire Polo Club starting about 15 minutes in, a spectacle that could best be described as Moses parting the Red Sea” in his criticism.
Stagecoach representatives did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Church said he declined to comment beyond Church's statement.
After well-received sets Saturday night (April 29) from Post Malone (with Dwight Yoakam, Sara Evans and Brad Paisley) and Miranda Lambert (with Reba McEntire), Stagecoach wraps up Sunday with a closing set by Morgan Wallen. .
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/eric-church-stagecoach-2024-fan-reactions-1235668489/
