Eric Church Honors Influences At One-Night-Only SiriusXM Event

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Eric Church performs during SiriusXM event. Photo: Catherine Powell/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Eric Church returned to the Neon Steeple stage last night (Nov. 19) at his venue, Chief’s on Broadway, for a one-night-only event with SiriusXM. The show, originally scheduled for late September, was postponed by the North Carolina native in response to the disastrous effects of Hurricane Helene stating, “I’m devastated by the destruction in the mountains of western North Carolina…To all the families and first responders, you are in our prayers and we are doing everything we can to get you the help you need now.”

In the two months since the storm, Church has made good on that promise, helping raise nearly $25 million for relief efforts with “Concert For Carolina” and bringing awareness to the situation through his track “Darkest Hour.”

Eric Church performs during SiriusXM event. Photo: Catherine Powell/Getty Images for SiriusXM

With relief efforts well underway, Church’s focus returned to music for the night as he took the stage in a packed room of SiriusXM listeners and fans. He kicked off the show by explaining to the crowd that this full-band performance would be a tribute to his musical influences, “The [stained glass] windows you see behind you are the influences of my life. So tonight, we are going to do something different and play these influences and how they relate to what we do.”

He started the night by weaving in his first inspiration, Johnny Cash’s “Long-Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man” between his own tracks,“How ‘Bout You” and “Lotta Boot Left to Fill.” Next, with the Stone’s tongue and lip stained glass behind him, Church segued into The Rolling Stone’s “Gimme Shelter” and his hit “Chattanooga Lucy.”

“I wouldn’t be here today without the face you now see behind me, Mr. Bob Seger. He saved my life at a time when my life needed saving and has inspired a lot of my life and music, including that last song. So, we are going to do a couple of Bob songs.”

In a fiery performance alongside his longtime backup singer, Joanna Cotten, Church chose “Ramblin’ Gamblin Man” and “Get Out Of Denver” to pay homage to who he referred to as his “desert island artist”—an artist he could listen to every day were he stranded on a desert island.

Eric Church performs with Joanna Cotton during SiriusXM event. Photo: Catherine Powell/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Next, he nodded to artists Hank Williams Jr., Tina Turner and The Band with tracks “Country Boy Can Survive,” “Proud Mary” “The Weight,” “Ophelia,” “Atlantic City,” while seamlessly blending in his hits “Homeboy” and “Bad Mother Trucker.”

For his final tribute of the night, Church spoke about one of the biggest influences in his life, “I want to throw it back to a guy that has the center window back here, Bruce Springsteen. Over the years, we have become friends and we are going to try to pay homage to him, you guys and what we have built here at Chief’s.”

As Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” faded out, the familiar chords of Church’s hit song “Springsteen” took center stage, bringing the crowd to their feet and an end to the special performance.

Fans can listen to the show on SiriusXM when Eric Church Outsiders Radio takes over Y2Kountry (Channel 57) on Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. CT, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. CT and Nov. 24 at 12 p.m. CT. The concert will also be available to stream via the SiriusXM app.

John Nix Arledge
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