Eric Church Details Ambitious Free The Machine Tour With Full Orchestra, Acoustic Finale [Exclusive]

Just days before the release of his brand new album, Evangeline vs. The Machine, Eric Church surprised fans with the announcement of his 22-city headlining arena tour, the Free The Machine Tour, which is set to kick off this fall. 

Upon the announcement, the country superstar shared, “From front to back, these shows will be different than anything you’ve ever seen or heard from us before,” leaving fans on the edge of their seats wondering what he has up his sleeve for this tour. 

Ahead of the 60th Annual ACM Awards, we caught up with Eric Church to get the details on the trek and he gave us a better idea of what to expect from this highly anticipated run of live shows.     

“We’re have an orchestra with us on stage and they’re going to be playing not only Evangeline vs. The Machine, but they’re going to join all our other songs,” he revealed while backstage at the ACM Awards. 

Fans know they can always count on Church to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience, and this tour will be no different. 

“So the show will start in a big way, orchestra wise, and then we’ll move into an OG world, which is kind of the band and Joanna [Cotten], and then I’ll probably end up ending it acoustic,” he said. “So we’ll do the whole thing big to small, which people have never seen us do it that way.”

As for the set list, Church teased, “And then the songs always change. I always change ‘em.”

Church gave fans a taste of his upcoming tour during the ACM Awards where he took the stage in Frisco, Texas to perform his latest single, “Hands Of Time.” 

Of the song, Church told us, “As I get older, as the gray hair comes out, I’m always looking for ways to make myself feel younger. Music does that for me,” he admitted to Country Now. “I can hear a song even now, I remember where I was at 18, 20 or 25, and that’s what the song is about. It’s about being able to handle the ‘Hands of Time’ with music.” 

HIs performance served as the live debut of the song and featured his touring band, horns, and five background vocalists.  

Church’s upcoming tour will feature special guests Elle King, Marcus King Band and Charles Wesley Godwin on select dates. Tickets for most shows are on sale now, with tickets for the Philadelphia date available beginning May 16. 

The trek is in support of his just-released Evangeline vs. The Machine album, which features eight tracks and is meant to be listened to from front to back.  

“It’s track one to track eight. There are no breaks. It just takes you for 38 minutes at that moment in time and it’s not done a lot these days,” he pointed out. 

The album also includes the previously released “Darkest Hour.”