NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will explore the life and ever-growing career of 10-time GRAMMY nominee and CMA Entertainer of the year Eric Church in its newest exhibition, Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul, presented by Gibson. The exhibit will chronicle Church’s unique path to stardom, from his early years playing late-night gigs in bars and writing songs in Nashville to his current prominence as one of country music’s most authentic voices and revered rule-breakers. The exhibit, which opens July 13 and runs through June 2024, is included with museum admission.
Having long eschewed industry norms with a sound and approach uniquely his own, the man praised by The Wall Street Journal as “knowledgeable and respectful of country’s history, but not shackled by it” has held tight to his artistic identity throughout his more than two decades in Nashville, earning a devoted audience and amassing an impressive list of accolades, including 10 Billboard #1 country radio hits and over 50 million units sold across multiple Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum-certified albums. A revered storyteller, Church has also written or co-written almost all of the songs he has recorded and released. He continues to fill sold-out venues with his raucous live show, as well as challenge his own musical approach with every new level of success he achieves.
“Eric Church has done it his way completely,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “His steadfast artistic vision and authenticity resonate deeply with audiences, and he continues to serve as an important collaborator and renegade role model for generations of country music artists.”
The exhibit will include musical instruments, song manuscripts, stage wear, tour memorabilia, awards, photographs and more from Church’s personal collection. Photos of artifacts featured in the exhibit can be found here. More information about the exhibit can be found on the museum’s website.
Examples of items to be displayed include:
- the Harmony H-303 three-quarter-size acoustic guitar that belonged to Church when he was a child.
- Ray-Ban Aviator Mirror sunglasses worn by Church onstage.
- the Von Dutch trucker hat Church bought at a Mississippi truck stop in the late 2000s and began wearing onstage.
- the outfit worn by Church on the album cover of The Outsiders and at the CMA Awards in 2013, which includes a Rogue two-tone leather jacket, John Varvatos shirt and Diesel jeans.
- a sculpture made from vinyl records of various sizes, which replicates the soundwave of Church’s recording of “Record Year” and was used as a prop in the 2016 music video for the song.
- a Gibson Eric Church Hummingbird Dark guitar. Church contributed to the design of the limited-edition guitar and used it on his “Double Down Tour” (2019).
- the Tom Ford purple suede jacket that Church wore when he and Jazmine Sullivan sang the national anthem at Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, in 2021.
In support of the exhibit’s opening, the museum will host a public program, Writers’ Round: The Songs of Eric Church, featuring Luke Laird, Jeremy Spillman and others, on Saturday, July 15, at 2:30 p.m. in the museum’s Ford Theater. The writers will perform and share the stories behind the songs they have crafted with Church. To reserve tickets to the program or learn more about the exhibit, visit the museum’s website.
The exhibit’s announcement comes ahead of Church’s CMA Fest performance at Nissan Stadium this Saturday, June 10 and the kickoff of The Outsiders Revival Tour on June 22. The first fully outdoor tour of his career will feature a rotating lineup of emerging artists across varying dates, Whiskey Myers, Cody Jinks, Jelly Roll, Ashley McBryde, Koe Wetzel, Lainey Wilson, Midland, Parker McCollum, Travis Tritt, Elle King and Paul Cauthen, plus Jackson Dean, Morgan Wade, Muscadine Bloodline, Shane Smith & The Saints, Hailey Whitters, Ray Wylie Hubbard and The Red Clay Strays.
For more information, visit www.ericchurch.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and Instagram@ericchurchmusic.
Eric Church 2023 Tour Dates
* denotes festival dates
June 10* Nashville, Tenn. / Nissan Stadium CMA Fest
June 16* Central Point, Ore. / Jackson County Expo Rogue Music Festival
June 17* Santa Rosa, Calif. / Sonoma County Fairgrounds Country Summer Music Festival
June 22 Milwaukee, Wisc. / American Family Insurance Amphitheater Elle King
June 23 Detroit, Mich. / Pine Knob Music Theatre Ashley McBryde, The Red Clay Strays
June 24 Cleveland, Ohio / Blossom Music Center Ashley McBryde, The Red Clay Strays
June 29 Charleston, S.C. / Credit One Stadium Ashley McBryde, The Red Clay Strays
June 30 Charleston, S.C. / Credit One Stadium Parker McCollum, Morgan Wade
July 1 Virginia Beach, Va. / Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater Parker McCollum, Morgan Wade
July 6 Toronto, Ontario / Budweiser Stage Koe Wetzel, Shane Smith & The Saints
July 7 Toronto, Ontario / Budweiser Stage Koe Wetzel, Shane Smith & The Saints
July 8 Pittsburgh, Pa. / The Pavilion at Star Lake Koe Wetzel, Shane Smith & The Saints
July 14 Cincinnati, Ohio / Riverbend Music Center Travis Tritt, Muscadine Bloodline
July 15 St. Louis, Mo. / Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Travis Tritt, Muscadine Bloodline
July 21* Cheyenne, Wyo. / Cheyenne Frontier Days Arena Cheyenne Frontier Days
July 23* Minot, N.D. / North Dakota State Fairgrounds North Dakota State Fair
July 27 Rogers, Ark. / Walmart AMP Midland, Ray Wylie Hubbard
July 28 Dallas, Texas / Dos Equis Pavilion Midland, Ray Wylie Hubbard
July 29 Austin, Texas / Germania Insurance Amphitheater Midland, Ray Wylie Hubbard
Aug. 4 Raleigh, N.C. / Coastal Credit Union Music Park Cody Jinks
Aug. 5 Bristow, Va. / Jiffy Lube Live Cody Jinks
Aug. 11 Indianapolis, Ind. / Ruoff Music Center Cody Jinks
Aug. 12 Chicago, Ill. / Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Cody Jinks
Aug. 13* Des Moines, Iowa / Iowa State Fairgrounds Iowa State Fair
Aug. 17 Orange Beach, Ala. / The Wharf Amphitheater Lainey Wilson, Jackson Dean
Aug. 18 Orange Beach, Ala. / The Wharf Amphitheater Lainey Wilson, Jackson Dean
Aug. 19 Orange Beach, Ala. / The Wharf Amphitheater Lainey Wilson, Jackson Dean
Aug. 24 Saratoga Springs, N.Y. / Saratoga Performing Arts Center Lainey Wilson, The Red Clay Strays
Aug. 25 Holmdel, N.J. / PNC Bank Arts Center Whiskey Myers
Aug. 26 Philadelphia, Pa. / Freedom Mortgage Pavilion Whiskey Myers
Sept. 8 Portland, Ore. / RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater Jelly Roll, Hailey Whitters
Sept. 9 George, Wash. / Gorge Amphitheatre Jelly Roll, Hailey Whitters
Sept. 10 George, Wash. / Gorge Amphitheatre Jelly Roll, Hailey Whitters
Sept. 15 Albuquerque, N.M. / Isleta Amphitheater Paul Cauthen, Hailey Whitters
Sept. 16 Phoenix, Ariz. / Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre Jelly Roll, Paul Cauthen
Sept. 21 Atlanta, Ga. / Ameris Bank Amphitheatre Whiskey Myers
Sept. 22 Atlanta, Ga. / Ameris Bank Amphitheatre Whiskey Myers
Sept. 23 Charlotte, N.C. / PNC Music Pavilion Whiskey Myers
Sept. 24 Charlotte, N.C. / PNC Music Pavilion Whiskey Myers
Sept. 29 West Palm Beach, Fla. / iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre Whiskey Myers
Sept. 30 Tampa, Fla. / MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre Whiskey Myers
Oct. 7* Bristol, Tenn. / Bristol Motor Speedway Country Thunder Bristol
Oct. 15* Sacramento, Calif. / Discovery Park GoldenSky Festival