Eric Church Plans New Music, But Not Touring for a Long Time
Like everyone else, most of Eric Church’s music plans have been put on ice due to the Coronavirus. But he is planning on releasing new music sooner than later, though any tour plans will be coming later than sooner.
On April 18th, Eric Church teased a new song in a very Eric Church sort of way with an impassioned plea for fans not to give into fear (see below), and be confident that we will overcome the COVID-19 crisis. The new song also has a very Eric Church title. It’s called “Through My Ray Bans.” It was written before the Coronavirus with Luke Laird and Barry Dean, and was more inspired by his experience at the Route 91 Harvest Festival massacre where he performed the night before the fateful event, but Church says it works very well for addressing the bigger issue we’re all facing at the moment.
There’s no word on when exactly “Through My Ray Bans” will hit the market, but in a new interview with the Associated Press, Eric Church is saying he’s got new music on the way, and a lot of it.
“I don’t know if this is an album, if it’s two albums, if it’s three,” he told the AP. “I feel confident enough with the material that people will get to hear all of these songs at some point.”
The output is the result of Eric Church isolating himself in a cabin in North Carolina with a handful of writers and his band (well before isolation became a requirement), and writing and recording a song each day for 28 days. That means he’s got 28 songs in the can, ready to go, including “Through My Ray Bans.”
Also in the interview, Eric Church lets fans know to not expect him to tour anytime soon. While some artists are still holding out hope for some live dates later this year, if not this summer then perhaps in the fall or winter, Eric Church is not expecting to take the stage for a good long while.
“For me, I think it’s summer or fall of ’21. I am going on the promise of a vaccine. I’m going on the possibility of a therapeutic that could change the game,” Church said. “When people come back, they have to feel that it’s OK to be there, that they can experience it the way they want to experience it. They should be able to go up and throw their arms around the person next to them. They should not be scared about being three feet away and not six.”
Of course, an Eric Church concert falls well into the mass gathering classification that may take longer to come back to than club dates and mid-sized festivals, and as a major label artist, he can wait it out a couple of years before launching a big arena tour. But his words still give good insight on how some in music plan to approach returning after life returns to normal after COVID-19.
When the question of who will answer this call is asked, thousands will raise their fist and say I will, we will. pic.twitter.com/0K0bujiAu1
— Eric Church (@ericchurch) April 18, 2020
Di Harris
April 28, 2020 @ 9:25 am
“They should not be scared about being three feet away and not six.”
Not all of us drank the purple powdered drink.
Steel
April 28, 2020 @ 10:37 am
Agreed, DJ, much respect to Eric Church for taking the virus seriously and deciding not to tour until he knows it will be safe for his fans to attend. It’s disappointing when artists get brainwashed by groups that don’t understand science.
thegentile
April 28, 2020 @ 10:45 am
steel, di is saying the opposite of that and misinterpreting church’s quote.
i applaud church’s approach to wait until it’s safe.
Jenny
May 13, 2020 @ 6:56 pm
He was well aware of Di’s intent. I thought it was a perfect reply.
Anon
April 28, 2020 @ 12:24 pm
The science that said don’t wear a mask, no do where a mask? The science that the close everything is based off of a high school science project? That now shows that only older, with poor health conditions science?
Science changes all the times with more data that we know, it could totally be fine before their is a vaccine. The whole talking point about “science” is one of the worst things that has come out in the last few years due to there being plenty of good and bad science. You can make data say whatever you want for whatever your propaganda is. Its a great way for dumb people to sound smart, who dont actually read the studies and see if they’re actually reproduceable, but since someone at x university said it, it must be true! even if it wasn’t ever peer reviewed or started with crappy data leading to crappy results.
The Original WTF Guy
April 28, 2020 @ 2:07 pm
Anon, it helps if when you write, it has some semblance to the language in which you are purporting to be writing.
It seems as if you don’t have a lot of confidenece in science. But I’m guessing if there was some “science” that showed up tomorrow suggesting that we should open up things 100% you would be totally on board with it.
thegentile
April 28, 2020 @ 2:09 pm
i’m sorry, is your point to listen to the professionals or not listen to the professionals? because you’re making points for both arguments. on one hand, you are making fun of the scientists that said don’t wear a mask initially because we didn’t have the data, but then you say science changes all the time lending credence to their adapting as more data came in. but the stance from day one has been that older people and those with health conditions are the most susceptible, not the only, just the most. that hasn’t changed.
Jake Cutter
April 28, 2020 @ 2:25 pm
Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts.
thegentile
April 28, 2020 @ 2:34 pm
ooft. now that’s an outstandingly bad take.
Jake Cutter
April 28, 2020 @ 2:42 pm
Yeah, who would say such a dumb thing?
Jake Cutter
April 28, 2020 @ 5:02 pm
Poor Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel prize in Physics, the Albert Einstein award, The National Medal of Science, and many others. Little was he able to predict a day when his famous quote from his speech to the National Science Teachers Association would be called “an outstandingly bad take” by thegentile, on the SCM comments forum. If he only knew…maybe he wouldn’t have been so integral in field of quantum electrodynamics, particle physics, and the Manhattan Project. #legacydestroyed
DJ
April 28, 2020 @ 3:42 pm
Amen sister- if only in spirit!
Di Harris
April 28, 2020 @ 4:31 pm
Howdy DJ!
Hope you’re having a nice evening.
Benjamin
April 28, 2020 @ 10:35 am
After the jaw-dropping marathon that was the Double Down tour, I don’t blame him one bit for taking his sweet time to get back on the road and enjoy his family
Harris
April 28, 2020 @ 11:11 am
Off topic sort of but I have wanted to share with other country fans how funny Eric church’s 61 Days in Church album is because he forgets lyrics to every single cover he does on there. Come on Eric you don’t know all the words to The Weight? Please note I’m a big enough Eric church fan to have actually listened to them all.
Mark M
April 28, 2020 @ 11:56 am
To be fair the weight has like 6 verses.
In the middle of two 3 hour sets every weekend youre bound to drop a couple of words here and there.
Jack W
April 28, 2020 @ 1:05 pm
Not looking, I think it’s five. In the Last Waltz version, it was Levon, then Mavis, then Pops, then Rick, then everybody. Well, that was fun.
Mark M
April 28, 2020 @ 1:07 pm
You are correct!
Now take a load off, Fanny.
hoptowntiger94
April 28, 2020 @ 5:34 pm
On that Willie Nelson tribute that aired a few Sunday’s ago, Church made up his own lyrics to “Me and Paul.”
It must be his thing.
Jake Cutter
April 28, 2020 @ 11:43 am
Not a huge fan of his music myself, but I appreciate it and I appreciate him doing things with Rhiannon, etc. And, I try not be toooo much of a cynic but… that video. When you can’t tell the difference between all these Corporate TV commercials coming out, and the announcement of a new song…I don’t know, it’s just getting old already? Too soon to say that? Maybe it’s just me. I know I’m a cynic about certain things.
Scrapple77
April 28, 2020 @ 1:07 pm
Yes – Big EC fan, but I actually cringed watching this. Talk about a buzzword salad.
“I don’t believe this damn virus [a non-sentient being] has any idea what it is up against.”
“The American resolve…” [to start gathering in public again at places like the beach, disregarding guidance intended to protect each other from the virus]
“Healed by prayer.” [OK.]
“I feel for our enemy, for it has no chance, it has no prayer.” [58,281 dead in the U.S. alone, already]
Maybe Toby Keith will have a guest feature?
Jake Cutter
April 28, 2020 @ 1:36 pm
Haha exactly – so It’s not just me then!
Jack W
April 29, 2020 @ 1:55 pm
I just watched it and I must say I am taken aback. Does he feel for cancer and heart disease, too? I’m being sarcastic, of course. The whole video makes me wonder if he thinks his core fans are idiots.
I quite like his last two albums and I appreciate what he has done to help independent roots music artists. But Jeez…
Jake Cutter
April 29, 2020 @ 4:25 pm
Honestly if it wasn’t so inappropriate for it to be so, I’d say it has to be satire. You couldn’t make an SNL spoof any better or obviously corny than that.
Jack
April 28, 2020 @ 12:46 pm
Eric was just recently confirmed to be playing shows in London, Dublin and Glasgow in March 2021 as part of the C2C Festival but his statement here seems to conflict with that. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Jerry Clower's Ghost
April 28, 2020 @ 12:56 pm
Only the Country Music Jesus would put out a full blown marketing video announcing he’ll be sitting on his ass for the next year and a half.
LB
April 28, 2020 @ 2:09 pm
I feel like it’s kind of expected that artists who don’t already have tours scheduled aren’t going to rush back out for shows right away…I’m glad he’s waiting but this grand announcement seems a little over the top.
CountryKnight
April 28, 2020 @ 3:06 pm
Eric,
Go back to your “Sinners Like Me” sound.
Corncaster
April 28, 2020 @ 4:40 pm
Church is rich enough to say this kind thing. The rest of us need to work.
People who made country music used to understand that.
I don’t give a crap what Eric Church does.
Stringbuzz
April 28, 2020 @ 5:48 pm
I was a huge fan and saw him multiple times until he priced me out of tix.. this wasn’t the small mid size venue to arena jump either.. his tix constantly went up each arena show that till not worth it anymore.. there are people that will pay it I guess.. he can be a bit cocky sometimes but need confidence to because me that big.. didn’t really feel this video though
Stringbuzz
April 28, 2020 @ 6:02 pm
I made no sense lol will stick to keyboards lol
Massatucky
April 28, 2020 @ 7:28 pm
I think he’s better then most of what’s on the radio. His too cool for school attitude, and his rolling stone interview really has me passing on him and his music now.
OlaR
April 29, 2020 @ 12:04 am
Name of the song: “Through My Ray Bans”.
Name of the album: Backseat of my…..(depends on the highest bidder…right now it’s) Audi Diesel. So the name will be Backseat of my Audi Diesel. Vorsprung durch Technik Baby.
Producer of the album: Ronald McDonald.
One highlight of the album will be a duet with Garth Brooks called “Entertainer Of The Year”.
Justin
April 29, 2020 @ 6:28 pm
And what happens if there is never a vaccine? Some people aren’t realistic as far as thinking we need to social distance until there is a vaccine that may not ever come. Sooner rather than later we will have to go back to our lives. The point is to not overwhelm hospitals.