Eric Church Kicks Off Free The Machine Tour
(EBM) Eric Church kicked off his 2025 Free The Machine Tour with stops in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Friday (Sept. 12) and Columbus, Ohio on Saturday (Sept. 13), bringing critically acclaimed eight-song Evangeline vs. The Machine, rounded out with performances of his biggest hits, to the northeast in his first of 22 arena shows this year.
With a chorus of backup singers in tow, Church belted out his 27-song setlist on opening night to an enthusiastic crowd, noting, "You don't just pick any city to start your tour... We've done some damage together over the years."
After rolling through all eight songs of Evangeline vs. The Machine consecutively, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette remarked, "Tom Waits would have been stunned watching it climax with an arena country crowd clapping to his 'Clap Hands' while the band made a stomping clatter."
Church then delved deeper into his catalog, singing Platinum and multi Platinum-certified hits including "Desperate Man," "Smoke A Little Smoke," "Drink In My Hand" and more, while also hitting deep cuts and Church Choir favorites, "Knives of New Orleans" and "Through My Ray-Bans."
Prior to playing his 8x-Platinum No. 1 hit "Springsteen" midway through his set - instead of saving it for the end of show like usual - Church jokingly recalled his early touring days, when he was opening for Kenny Chesney following the release of his 2011 album Chief. "I walk out there, and I'm full of myself... we just had this big Chief album, and I said, 'You know what I'm going to start with? I'm going to start with 'Springsteen,'' he shared. "It was the biggest hit we had, and I remember, I was talking to Chesney pre-show, and he goes, 'What are you opening with tonight?' And I said, 'Springsteen.' And he goes, 'Hahaha, seriously? Are you nuts?' Yes. Certifiable."
Free The Machine Tour continues this week with stops in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts and Brooklyn, New York with Elle King. Tickets to remaining shows are available at EricChurch.com.
Free the Machine Tour
Sept. 18 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Wells Fargo Center || Elle King
Sept. 19 || Boston, Mass. || TD Garden || Elle King
Sept. 20 || Brooklyn, N.Y. || Barclays Center || Elle King
Sept. 25 || Green Bay, Wisc. || Resch Center || Marcus King Band
Sept. 26 || Milwaukee, Wisc. || Fiserv Forum || Marcus King Band
Sept. 27 || Des Moines, Iowa || Wells Fargo Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 2 || Detroit, Mich. || Little Caesars Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 3 || Lexington, Ky. || Rupp Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Gainbridge Fieldhouse || Marcus King Band
Oct. 10 || Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 11 || Cleveland, Ohio || Rocket Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 23 || Salt Lake City, Utah || Delta Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 24 || Boise, Idaho || ExtraMile Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 25 || Spokane, Wash. || Spokane Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 6 || Vancouver, B.C. || Rogers Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 7 || Portland, Ore. || Moda Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 8 || Seattle, Wash. || Climate Pledge Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 13 || Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 14 || Fresno, Calif. || SaveMart Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 15 || Inglewood, Calif. || Intuit Dome || Charles Wesley Godwin
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