COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM TO OPEN NEW EXHIBITION, ERIC CHURCH: COUNTRY HEART, RESTLESS SOUL

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