While the home of country music, Nashville also featured more than a few bars owned by country stars. Just to name a few, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, and several others own a bar or restaurant in the area. And for Eric Church, he watched his bar, Chief’s, gain fame after Wallen threw a chair from the rooftop area. Although old news, Church’s bar gained attention over the weekend when fans thought they were watching the singer. But unknown to them, the singer was an impersonator.
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For fans of Church, they knew the singer liked to surprise the crowd at his bar with a special performance. Happening several times in the past, fans thought they were in for a treat when the singer supposedly took the stage. But what they didn’t know, the singer was actually Cody Martin. He was the singer for an Eric Church tribute group called Take Me to Church.
Already performing earlier in the night, Martin took the stage once again to perform “Springsteen.” As the song started, the crowd quickly grew. Believing they were watching Church, many took their phones out to capture the moment. And while Martin nailed the song, his ability to completely embrace the persona of Church was the true talent.
[RELATED: Taylor Swift Is a Woman of Her Word: Why Eric Church Owns Her First Gold Album]
Eric Church Preparing For The Free The Machine Tour
Although some fans considered themselves bamboozled by the impersonator, they can still see Church perform throughout his Free the Machine Tour. Releasing his latest album, Evangeline vs. the Machine, in May 2025, he looked to hit the road to support his work.
Kicking off the tour on September 12th in Pittsburgh, PA, the singer will travel the country until November 15th, with one last concert in Inglewood, CA. He will be accompanied by Elle King, the Marcus King Band, and Charles Wesley Godwin.
Thrilled about what he accomplished with his new album, he shared a post when the record first dropped, giving fans a glimpse into the recording process. He wrote, “I believe in that time-tested tradition of making records that live and breathe as one piece of art. An album is the ultimate creative expression, and the way we consume art now just takes the edges off that creativity. It’s built to confine it, to choke it out. With this record, it’s really my way of fighting for the creative spirit, that spirit of ‘Evangeline.’ Because I know that where we are in the world, it probably shouldn’t exist. But it does. It can live here. It can run free here. And, the best music has to fight the hardest to get out.”
(Photo by: Ralph Bavaro/NBC via Getty Images)
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