See, This Is Why Eric Church Is One of the Good Guys

Of course, if you’re part of Eric’s “Church Choir,” you don’t need to be convinced why Eric Church is one of the good guys in country music. But many traditional country fans, independent country fans, and Americana listeners have been conditioned to be speculative of anything from the mainstream over the years, including Eric Church, who let’s face it, has always been more rock than country, and can rub some folks the wrong way at times with the whole “Chief” attitude and aviators.
But similar to Dierks Bentley and a few others, Eric Church has proven throughout his career to be one of the ones you don’t feel bad rooting for, at least when it comes to using his position to prop up others who deserve a boost. Take his music or leave it, he’s always been one to champion the little guys, the legends, and the up-and-comers when it comes to booking his tour openers, and collaborating on his albums.
Eric Church is a fan of country music’s “Outsiders” if you will. That is why for his “Outsiders Revival” tour, Church will be reviving the practice of featuring some of the cooler folks in country music as opposed to whatever boilerplate star the industry is trying to shove down the public’s throats at the moment.
Cody Jinks, Whiskey Myers, Ashley McBryde, Koe Wetzel, Lainey Wilson, Midland, Parker McCollum, Travis Tritt, Elle King, Paul Cauthen, Jackson Dean, Morgan Wade, Muscadine Bloodline, Shane Smith & The Saints, Hailey Whitters, Jelly Roll, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and even The Red Clay Strays have all been tapped as openers for Eric Church’s 2023 tour dates.
In fact, what was strange was how on Church’s last few tours, he decided to go with no openers at all. Another shakeup in Eric’s 2023 tour is he’ll be playing amphitheaters instead of arenas, taking the show outside to soak up the summer weather. “We have never done an outdoor summer tour. Never headlined amphitheaters. Never brought a summer experience to your town that featured artists we want to share the summer with,” Eric Church says.
Sure, Whiskey Myers and Cody Jinks don’t exactly need a hand up from anybody these days. But with their more aggressive sounds, cross pollinating with Eric Church fans is an excellent opportunity for these artists. Ashley McBryde and Ray Wylie Hubbard are two artists who will personally attest to how important Eric Church has been to their careers—Ashley in having a major hand in launching it, and Ray in opening his music up to a new generation.
For artists like Shane Smith & The Saints and The Red Clay Strays, this will be the biggest stages they have ever played. Whether you catch one of these dates or not, it’s cool to see the spotlight on some worthy folks.
Eric Church 2023 “Outsiders Revival” Tour Dates
* denotes festival date
April 14* – Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / Fort Lauderdale Beach Park – Tortuga Music Festival
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 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 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 23* – Minot, N.D. / North Dakota State Fairgrounds – North Dakota State Fair
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. 18 – Orange Beach, Ala. / The Wharf Amphitheater (Lainey Wilson, Jackson Dean)
Aug. 19 – Orange Beach, Ala. / The Wharf Amphitheater (Lainey Wilson, Jackson Dean)
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. 15 – Albuquerque, N.M. / Isleta Amphitheater (Paul Cauthen, Hailey Whitters)
Sept. 16 – Phoenix, Ariz. / Ak-Chin Pavilion (Jelly Roll, Paul Cauthen)
Sept. 22 – Atlanta, Ga. / Ameris Bank Amphitheatre (Whiskey Myers)
Sept. 23 – 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

January 11, 2023 @ 7:31 pm
I need a biopic chronically the turbulent relationship of Trigger and Eric church. Could be the Walk the Line of this era of country music.
Either way, thanks for the write up Trig!
January 11, 2023 @ 8:45 pm
Hey, I call it like I see it. You cancel a major concert for a basketball game, you get the poison pen. You prop up cool artists, you earn my praise.
January 11, 2023 @ 8:55 pm
Which is something I always appreciate here – fair and honest assessments.
But I can’t lie, there are times I’m nostalgic for those early Church articles. Eric Church brought out some of the funniest lines from young and angry Trigger. Your rants from that era were just golden. You’ve mellowed in your old age.
January 12, 2023 @ 7:32 am
This is why criticism is not “cancellation.” Saying someone was wrong, that instance, is not a demand for them to get up on the cross and sacrifice themselves to the woke mob. I will feverishly defend my own right to be an asshole online lol.
January 12, 2023 @ 12:31 pm
I found it interesting Travis tritt is one of the openers. I think he was one of the more critical outspoken people when eric cancelled that show. Goes to show you can disagree with someone and yet move forward and be professionals and put it in the rear view mirror. Something marren Morris and Brittany aldean could learn.
January 12, 2023 @ 12:43 pm
criticizing an action is different from “writing off” that person altogether. This used to be a normal thought pattern for the majority.
January 12, 2023 @ 12:44 pm
And Margo Price. I liked some of her music but she’s such a demonstrable disingenuous hypocrite that I avoid her music now.
January 12, 2023 @ 12:45 pm
So maybe I’m being a hypocrite to a degree
January 13, 2023 @ 8:53 am
It’s a good point. I disagree with a lot of Travis Tritt’s opinions but I still enjoy his music and respect him.
January 11, 2023 @ 8:42 pm
the Milwaukee date is as amphitheater headliner for summerfest, so can you see more than just Eric Church and Elle King that day, once the rest of the day’s lineup is released.
January 12, 2023 @ 3:11 pm
Why not give Tim Hall and Buffalo County an opportunity to open on some of your dates… his original material is incredible… look him up on Facebook and thx
January 12, 2023 @ 1:25 am
I am disappointed in this. No significant gaps where he could potentially get back over to the UK. That said, one of the good guys.
January 14, 2023 @ 8:49 am
Feel your pain, but this tour doesn’t even come close to NEW England. Takes me back to the bad old days when country acts would avoid the American Northeast and never go overseas, although there were exceptions made in the UK, where Don Williams and a few others had followings.
January 12, 2023 @ 3:02 am
Looks like he told his booking agent not to schedule any shows during march madness.
January 12, 2023 @ 4:53 am
why is Ray Wylie Hubbard’s name so small and low down. that pisses me off ngl
January 12, 2023 @ 7:01 am
I hadn’t actually listened to EC until a couple years ago so I googled “Eric church best song” and was not interested in listening again. That said, he seems like a really cool guy and he likes Little Feat so he’s good with me. And there is not a chance in hell I’m going out to the gorge to watch EC and Jelly Roll.
January 12, 2023 @ 8:03 am
Most of Eric Church’s best songs are his deeper album cuts, vs his most well-known radio hits. You still may feel the same after exploring those as well, but just wanted to give a heads up in case you wanted to dig a little deeper in the catalogue.
January 13, 2023 @ 3:06 am
Love a lot of the Chief album cuts, and Mr. Misunderstood is just a great album back to front.
January 13, 2023 @ 12:29 pm
I checked out a bit but I can tell within seconds whether I like the production and overall sound and to me it sounds very clean and overly polished and definitely not something I will probably ever get into. But I am not at all his target audience. That said, I don’t have to like the music to think he seems pretty cool. Might give that album a listen though.
January 13, 2023 @ 1:19 pm
Agreed that Mr. Misunderstood is his best album. Heart & Soul were also big letdowns in my opinion, but I have a high standard for Church as he’s always been one of my favorites.
January 12, 2023 @ 8:05 am
Maybe I’ll forgive him for canceling on those badass seats I had in the round…
January 12, 2023 @ 8:30 am
Eric was my gateway drug to country and more importantly to this site. Specifically the Mr. Misunderstood album. Which is not all that country but I found the writing fantastic. I actually am not a fan of much of his catalog before that record. So for me this is very very cool to see all these artists I’ve found through SCM on his tour. I’m most excited to see the Red Clay Strays make the cut. They are something special.
January 12, 2023 @ 11:38 am
Came here to say this very thing. I was an early member of the “Church Choir,” back in the day. Someone sent me a link to one of Trigger’s more epic rants about EC and said, “This guy’s talking shit about your boy!” That was over a decade ago. I’m still a sucker for some of those early records of his, but this site massively expanded my musical tastes and boundaries! I second the Red Clay Strays bit, too. I saw them twice at 3rd & Lindsley last year, and those boys really are something special!!
January 12, 2023 @ 9:32 am
The last Eric Church show I went to was a bit disappointing. He certainly played up his “chief” stage persona and I don’t car for those type of theatrics. I always give him credit for brining along great openers though and feature some incredibly talented backup singers on his songs and at his shows.
January 12, 2023 @ 10:59 am
I beat my wife, AND I work at a women’s shelter because I like women.
I’m one of the good guys.
January 12, 2023 @ 11:58 am
Hope there are no sports ball games on any of those dates.
January 14, 2023 @ 8:39 am
“Sports ball games.” How to say you’re not a sports fan without saying you’re not a sports fan. Nothing wrong with that, but there are little things that are red flags in that regard — calling runs in baseball “points,” spelling Super Bowl as “Superbowl,” etc.
January 12, 2023 @ 5:59 pm
Looks like some good show, I like Eric and dont even have a problem for delaying his shows for the UNC championship game. But from the looks of it most off that crowd are already established stars, I am sure they could have used the bump a few years ago more than they do now.
January 12, 2023 @ 10:48 pm
Parker McCollum, ughh.
January 13, 2023 @ 7:19 am
What’s wrong with Parker McCollum?
January 13, 2023 @ 10:12 am
Hailey Whitters confuses me, a lot.
Big Loud artist
Plays borderline kitschy radio pop country, supported by superstar writers
Named Rolling Stone’s #1 Country/Americana Album of 2023
Currently on tour, not selling out low capacity rooms at $15/ticket
Named support on EC’s “Outsiders” tour
It’s just odd.
On another note, happy to see Koe get some shine. Guy catches hell for making the kind of music he wants to make, but his albums keep getting better. 2022’s Hell Paso was great.
January 13, 2023 @ 10:58 am
I really like Hailey Whitters and I thought he last album was fine, but the writing left some to be desired compared to her previous albums, and I was really surprised to see it top so many end-of-year lists as well. I didn’t even think it was the best for the mainstream, though it was definitely better than par. Some of that may have been just wanting to highlight a woman, or just the echo chamber at work. But Ashley McBryde, Molly Tuttle, and others had just much more superior projects in my opinion.
January 13, 2023 @ 11:40 am
100%. I honestly just clicked on the RS list because I knew Ian Noe’s album was on it and was curious what they wrote. The top of that list was pretty questionable – lots of handicap points added to what’s between the artist’s legs and/or their preferences in the bedroom.
January 13, 2023 @ 1:17 pm
It was an Eric Church album review over a decade ago popping up in a google search that brought me to this site for the first time. I stuck around and discovered pretty much all of my favorite bands soon after thank to your recommendations, spotlights, and reviews.
Glad he’s going to be making similar introductions to these artists himself at his shows.
January 13, 2023 @ 3:42 pm
I’ve been enjoying Paul Cauthen a lot lately, it’s weird stuff but catchy.
January 14, 2023 @ 7:33 am
good lord Eric Church sucks balls
January 16, 2023 @ 3:34 am
Nah. Not interested in mainstream “country” artists that are signed and anti gun.
January 20, 2023 @ 10:22 am
Hoping to make it the the VA show for him and Jinks ????????
June 21, 2023 @ 10:57 am
Just here to complain about the horrific ticketing gauging and process that is Ticketmaster for these shows. I bought a “presale” ticket that was marked up $300 more than the opening day of ticket release. Awesome way to say thanks to eager fans. They added another show date and there are a ton of tickets that weren’t sold and also being resold given the rip off. Now June 2, 2023 Ticketmaster is saying it’s sold out with no ticket resell option. Fuck Ticketmaster and maybe Eric, too.