Isn't Eric Church's Contentious Stagecoach Set What He's About?

by Julian Spivey

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Eric Church did something unique on Friday night (April 26) as the Day 1 headliner at the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, Calif.

The country music superstar effectively took the audience to church, while also managing to piss off many in the process. It feels like the kind of thing only Church could do.

I watched the set via the Amazon Music stream on Prime Video, which will continue to take place over the next two nights at the festival.

Church completely threw his regular show to the side and did something I’ve never seen him do and I’m not sure he’s ever done before. He crafted a specific set filled with some of his greatest hits intertwined with many of music’s greatest hits in general that revolved around his song “Mistress Named Music” off his 2015 album Mr. Misunderstood, which was something he certainly seemed to be on Friday night.

It seemed to be a night of paying tribute to the music that shaped him starting with mostly gospel and branching into soul and even a bit of West Coast hip-hop, mostly written and popularized by black artists. Church performed atop a stool, just his guitar and a large mostly black group of vocalists behind him in front of a set adorned with stained glass windows.

It was the kind of set that led to a man named Jason Feffer on Twitter bringing up an interesting theory: “I wonder if all the angry MAGA #Stagecoach viewers understand the point that Eric Church is using his platform to make. That similar to Rock n Roll, Country music owes everything to black – primarily gospel – music.”

I don’t know if there’s any truth to that theory or if Church was just being Church (a man known for doing things his way) but it struck me as interesting, especially amidst all of the talk recently surrounding Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album.

The use of politics in Feffer’s tweet might have some shaking or scratching their head but as someone who was following the controversy that Church’s set brought up on Twitter politics seemingly had a lot to do with the conversation. There were many upset by Church’s set claiming the artist was “virtue signaling” and one even stated: “Hey, get over your white guilt and play some fucking country music” even though much of what Church performed on Friday night was country music. Also, Stagecoach may be deemed country music’s Coachella because it shares a venue but Nickelback was performing at the same time as Church at a different location on the grounds and tomorrow night will feature a set by Post Malone. Church’s music sounded a good deal more country than the artist on the Mane Stage (it’s intentionally spelled that way) before him, Jelly Roll.

When I set down to watch Church’s set I expected to do a normal concert review of a normal Church set filled with hits from his 20 years in the music business. But it turned into something much more interesting to me with all of the vitriol I was seeing online. I’ve seen Church live in concert at least five times and he’s always done his normal show of playing the hits and fan-favorites. I would expect him to do so on his tour. People come out for those shows to see him specifically and they’re going to want the Church music they expect. I think that’s to be expected.

But when you go to a festival you’re not just going for one artist. You’re going to see a bucket load of artists and you’re going as much for the spectacle of it all. I think if an artist wants to try something new or interesting it’s the perfect opportunity to do so and Church seems to have crafted a special night of music to him specifically that he wanted to share with this audience – maybe he had a pointed message behind it or maybe he didn’t – and that’s his prerogative. His stage, his show.

And if you didn’t like what you saw tonight please go to one of his tour stops because you will get the kind of show you want from him.

Frankly, I enjoyed it. I didn’t need to see him sing “Drink In My Hand” or “Homeboy” again. It was a lovely change of pace to get to hear him do Jackie Wilson’s “Higher and Higher,” Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” and The Impressions’ “People Get Ready.” It was a kick hearing him bust out a Corb Lund tune (“Dig Gravedigger Dig”) of all things. And when he did perform his songs like “Sinners Like Me,” “Like Jesus Does” and “Springsteen” they were done in soulful, fresh new ways that gave new life to them.

​I was entertained by the entirety of Church’s performance – the songs, the response online and just the guts to go out there and try something new and different and not give a damn what others thought of it.

Isn’t that what Eric Church has been all about?