Eric Church took his fans to church — literally — during his headlining set on the first night of the 2024 Stagecoach Festival on Friday night (April 26).
Church hit the stage to close out a full day of music that had already included performances from Jelly Roll, Elle King, Dwight Yoakam, Hailey Whitters, Josh Abbott Band, Paul Cauthen and more.
The country superstar performed on a set that was made to look like a church, complete with stained-glass windows.
Church delivered a mostly acoustic set at the annual festival, accompanied by a 16-person choir that included longtime collaborator Joanna Cotten. His set was highlighted by covers including “Hallelujah,” “Take Me to the River,” “Stand by Me,” “Danny’s Song” and “Gin and Juice.”
Church’s band rose from beneath the stage to join him on the last few songs of the evening, giving fans in attendance a truly one-of-a-kind show.
“This was the most difficult set I have ever attempted,” Church says in a press release. “I’ve always found that taking it back to where it started, back to chasing who Bob Seger loves, who Springsteen loves, who Willie Nelson loves, you chase it back to the origin. The origin of all that is still the purest form of it. And we don’t do that as much anymore. It felt good at this moment to go back, take a choir and do that.”
“For me, it’s always been something with records, with performances, I’ve always been the one that’s like, ‘Let’s do something really, really strange and weird and take a chance,'” Church adds.
“Sometimes it doesn’t work, but it’s okay if you’re living on that edge, because that edge, that cutting edge, is where all the new guys are going to gravitate to anyway. So if you can always challenge yourself that way, it always cuts sharper than any other edge.”
Miranda Lambert is set to headline the second night of the festival on Saturday (April 27), and Morgan Wallen will wrap things up when he headlines the third and final night on Sunday (April 28).
The 2024 Stagecoach Festival is set to run from April 26-28, 2024, at Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif.
PICTURES: Eric Church, Jelly Roll + More Rock 2024 Stagecoach Festival Day 1
Eric Church, Jelly Roll and many more top country artists hit the stage to entertain the crowd on the first day of the 2024 Stagecoach Festival on Friday (April 26).
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
2024 Country Music Festivals Guide
Enjoy an updated list of country music’s best festivals, across America, Canada, Great Britain and more. This list of 2024 country fests will be updated to reflect postponements, cancelations or lineup adjustments.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes