In 2017, Eric Church had a year that helped him mature as a musician and become much more humble. It was a formative time for him, but not a process he would wish on anyone.
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Prior to his upcoming album release, Eric has spoken about what helped pull Evangeline vs. The Machine together. It's a new direction for the country musician, and has been shaped by the direction his life has taken. Some huge events have taken place for Church, and in particular, Nashville humbled him.
Of his early career, Church said, "I expected to go into Nashville and go, 'You're welcome. I'm here to save you guys.' They didn't like my songs, they didn't like my voice, they didn't' like my writing. They didn't like... even the bartending didn't work."
Speaking to Willie Geist for Today, Eric Church spoke of the struggles of 2017. One of the moments that changed him forever took place during the events of the Route 91 Harvest Festival. The largest mass shooting in US history rocked the country. 60 people were senselessly murdered at an event Church performed at. The effects were profound and changed his approach to his art.
"The relationship between the artist and the fans, in that moment in time, is sacred. And those bullets shattered that." However, the struggles of 2017 didn't stop there for Eric Church. His life was determined to take more twists and turns.
"Right after that, I had a health scare, I had a blood clot, and thought I was gonna die. And then my brother died. So all this happened within a matter of months," he told Geist. These events humbled Eric Church, and have influenced his music.
A More Mature Eric Church Going Forward
Since the events of that fateful year, Eric Church has taken a more mature approach. This is not just evident in his upcoming album, but also in his outward appearance. He's not trying to be that full frontal, all-out performer anymore.
Looking back on the year, he said, "I think up until that point, you can listen to music maybe, and you can see that I was brash, arrogant in a lot of ways, but it changes when you have those things happen to you. I think it made the music more humble, and maybe more observant."
It will be interesting to hear just how much his hard year has influenced that Eric Church sound.
