Eric and his mother Rita Church on stage at the North Carolina Hall of Fame ceremony on Oct. 15, 2015 at Gem Theater. Photo credit: Daniel Coston
Long before receiving a CMA Entertainer of the Year nomination and shattering venue attendance records on his The Outsiders World Tour, Eric Church beguiled audiences in gritty dive bars with solo renditions of his then lesser-known hits amidst his show while giving his band a break from grueling three hour a night-plus set. Last night, Church found himself back in a small theater in North Carolina in a familiar yet slightly different situation after breaking in through a second story balcony, but still standing on stage with his trademark aviators and an electric guitar in hand wondering what in the hell he should play.
