Eric Church Brings 'Machine,' Greatest Hits to Little Rock

by Julian Spivey

Julian Spivey Photo

Eric Church brought his Free The Machine tour to North Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena on Thursday, February 19, for a fantastic night of music that included his latest album, Evangeline vs. The Machine, in order from start to finish and a whole lot of greatest hits.

At 48, Church isn’t as raucous as he used to be in concert, and it hasn’t even been that long since I’ve seen him live (the summer of 2023 was the last), but he seemed as if he was more fulfilled on Thursday night. Maybe it was just me, but it felt like he was more emotional, almost bowled over by the response and love he received from the crowd all night.

The set began with his eighth studio album, Evangeline vs. The Machine, played in order, which might be the first time he’s done that in his career. It’s at least the first album I’ve experienced him doing it live. It’s not my favorite Church album, and I honestly don’t understand it all, as it feels like Church views it as a linear, complete piece, yet it doesn’t seem to connect thematically for me. That being said, there are some great Church songs on the album, like “Bleed on Paper” and “Hands of Time,” two of my favorite country songs from 2025.

Church has changed his sound a little bit for the ‘Evangeline’ album, with horns, more strings and a choir included, which led to a huge ensemble on stage with him for the tour. Some longtime fans of Church have had a hard time adjusting to the new sound and added musicians, but I think it’s a unique foray into something different for the veteran performer – and let’s face it, stuff like “Hands of Time” and “Bleed on Paper” are quintessentially Eric Church.

Following the eight-song ‘Evangline’ album, it was essentially a “greatest hits” performance for the remainder of the set, with every album throughout Church’s career having at least one hit performed.
This portion of his set began with “Desperate Man,” from his 2018 album of the same name, and went into hit after hit like “Homeboy,” “Creepin’,” “Give Me Back My Hometown” and more.

One of the most fun moments of the night was when Church’s “Smoke a Little Smoke,” off his 2009 album Carolina, melded into the Creedence Clearwater Revival/Ike and Tina Turner hit “Proud Mary,” sung by Joanna Cotten, Church’s longtime backup vocalist. This mix was one of the highlights of the night with the horn section and choir, which remained on stage for most of the “greatest hits” portion of the set.

My favorite Church songs: “Mr. Misunderstood,” “Sinners Like Me” and “Springsteen” were all played in the vicinity of each other in the set, with “Springsteen” being the final performance with the extended group of musicians before the choir, horns and string section left for the evening.

The next segment of the evening featured just Church, Cotten and the Eric Church Band, the band that’s been with him his entire career. They performed some of Church’s most notable hits like “Drink in My Hand,” “Record Year” and “Talladega,” before ending with the non-single “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag,” from his 2006 debut album Sinners Like Me.

Church and Cotten then finished the evening out alone on stage with just their voices and Church’s guitar, a segment that Church truly seemed to enjoy and get emotional about. The two performed “Like Jesus Does,” “These Boots,” “Some of It” and “Mixed Drinks About Feelings” together. Church told the audience he hadn’t planned on ending the evening this way before launching into the night’s final performance of “Holdin’ My Own,” off his 2015 album Mr. Misunderstood. It was a fitting way to bring his 29-song set to a close, focusing on his career, which is hard to believe is celebrating 20 years in 2026.    

Virginia country-rock band 49 Winchester opened the show on Thursday night with a fantastic set mixing songs from their albums III (2020), Fortune Favors the Bold (2022) and Leavin’ This Holler (2024), as well as the new song “Bringin’ Home the Bacon,” off their upcoming album, Change of Plans, which comes out on May 15.

My favorite performances from their set were the incredible “Russell County Line,” “Tulsa” and “Anchor.”

If you haven’t heard of 49 Winchester before, I highly recommend checking them out.