Eric Church Recalls How His Music Changed After Losing His Brother, the Las Vegas Shooting, and a Health Scare

While loving the career he fashioned for himself in country music, Eric Church watched as his life drastically changed in 2017. Although already finding his voice in the genre, country music was devastated in October 2017 when a gunman opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest music festival. The attack ended up killing 60 people and wounding hundreds more. Not long after, Church’s life took another spiral when he suffered from a blood clot. And in 2018, he lost his brother, Brandon. Dealing with the stress and heartbreak in such a short amount of time, the singer explained how the tragedies impacted his music. 

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Sitting down with Willie Geist on Sunday Sitdown, Church didn’t shy away from some of the tough moments in his life. Although sensitive subjects to discuss, the country singer remembered the series of tragic events. “The relationship between the artist and the fans, in that moment in time, is sacred. And those bullets shattered that. 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.”

With Church trying to process those raw emotions at the time, he insisted that his music shifted. “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.”

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Eric Church Wanted To Save Country Music

After the Route 91 Harvest music festival, Church released three albums Desperate Man in 2018, Heart & Soul in 2021, and his upcoming album Evangeline vs. the Machine. The new album is expected to hit shelves on May 2nd. 

While embracing the sudden shift in his music, Church remembered his early years in country music and how he thought he was a gift to Nashville. Like many artists before him, Church believed he had the power to save country music. Although it didn’t need saving, the singer still wanted to offer his services. “I expected to go into Nashville and go, ‘You’re welcome. I’m here to save you guys.’” 

Reality quickly set in as Church admitted, “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.” A teachable moment for the country star, Church continued to push forward, showcasing his ability to transform tragedy into lyrics.

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