The inspiration for Eric Church‘s new album, Evangeline vs. The Machine, struck when the superstar headlined Stagecoach in 2024.
“I went out there and played, just myself and a choir. And it just added a different color,” he recalls. “And I started thinking about strings and horns and orchestra. And it’s probably the oldest form of music, is orchestra music.”
The Chief also saw this as a chance to remind listeners of another musical tradition he values: listening to an album in order from start to finish.
“There’s no break. When you start it [with] ‘Hands of Time,’ there’s not a break in any of the songs,” he explains. “You’re gonna go through eight straight tracks, even on the digital versions. You don’t stop.”
It’s an effort from Eric to get fans to value music the way he does.
“I’ve come from an album generation, born in the ’70s,” he tells ABC Audio. “So music, a lot times now, is what happens in the background of our lives. But it means more than that to my life. So we wanted to make an album that would represent that.”
Eric will play two sold-out Evangeline vs. The Machine shows at The Pinnacle in Nashville on Friday and Saturday.
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