Eric Church: Putting A New Set List Together Has Been ‘Maddening’
Eric Church is just days away from kicking off his “Heart & Soul Tour,” and he admits with his new triple album to promote on the show, putting together a setlist has not been easy.
Eric said, “The hardest thing I’ve done thus far in my career is this setlist. It’s not a normal record; it’s three. So, you add 28 songs to what we already had going, which is a pretty stacked and packed setlist, and when you start to try to get rid of stuff and change it every night – which I’m committed to; we’re still going to play the different set, we’re going to give people different experiences – it has been maddening.”
Church released a behind-the-scenes video prepping for the new tour, in which he offers, “It’s the most musical we’ve ever been. To see the way the new music happens in the show is something that I’m excited just to see and, also, we’re trying to reimagine songs that we’ve played 100 times, playing them differently, and that’s just fun. It’s fun for us to do.”
He teases, “There’s going to be a lot of songs that fans aren’t gonna recognize at first, that we’re gonna start singing, and they’re going to go ‘oh yeah, that’s that song.’ So, I think it’s just fun after this many years to change it up and make it about music; make it musical. I’m just excited to see the reaction.”
Eric also discussed playing on the 2,400 square foot multi-level stage – which will be positioned in the center of each arena floor and accompanied by 11 busses, 20 trucks, a 127,000-pound lighting rig, and four 836 square foot video walls. He said, “I’ve never played a stage like this in my career… I’ve never seen anybody play one like this. There’s really no front… It’s kind of like a cage match. I mean once we get out there the crowd is everywhere. They’re behind you, they’re on the sides, and I love that…. The reason it’s called ‘The Gather Again Tour’ is we want people on top of us, and they will be.”
The Gather Again Tour
Sept. 17, 2021 Rupp Arena Lexington, Ky.
Sept. 18, 2021 Nationwide Arena Columbus, Ohio
Sept. 24, 2021 Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Cleveland, Ohio
Sept. 25, 2021 KeyBank Center Buffalo, N.Y.
Oct. 1, 2021 Alerus Center Grand Forks, N.D.
Oct. 2, 2021 Canada Life Centre Winnipeg, Manitoba
Oct. 8, 2021 PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh, Pa.
Oct. 9, 2021 Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pa.
Oct. 15, 2021 Ball Arena Denver, Colo.
Oct. 22, 2021 Scotiabank Saddledome Calgary, Alberta
Oct. 23, 2021 SaskTel Centre Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Oct. 29, 2021 Rogers Arena Vancouver, British Columbia
Oct. 30, 2021 Climate Pledge Arena Seattle, Wash.
Nov. 12, 2021 Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tenn.
Nov. 13, 2021 Ford Center Evansville, Ind.
Dec. 3, 2021 SNHU Arena Manchester, N.H.
Dec. 4, 2021 UBS Arena Belmont Park, N.Y.
Dec. 10, 2021 The Anthem Washington, D.C.
Dec. 11, 2021 The Anthem Washington, D.C.
Dec. 17, 2021 Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, S.C.
Dec. 18, 2021 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, N.C.
Jan. 7, 2022 Pinnacle Bank Arena Lincoln, Neb.
Jan. 8, 2022 Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Sioux Falls, S.D.
Jan. 14, 2022 Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
Jan. 15, 2022 Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa, Ontario
Jan. 21, 2022 Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids, Mich.
Jan. 22, 2022 Little Caesars Arena Detroit, Mich.
Feb. 4, 2022 KFC Yum! Center Louisville, Ky.
Feb. 5, 2022 Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Ind.
Feb. 11, 2022 CHI Health Center Omaha Omaha, Neb.
Feb. 12, 2022 Wells Fargo Arena Des Moines, Iowa
Feb. 18, 2022 T-Mobile Center Kansas City, Mo.
Feb 19, 2022 BOK Center Tulsa, Okla.
Feb. 25, 2022 Hampton Coliseum Hampton, Va.
Feb. 26, 2022 Spectrum Center Charlotte, N.C.
March 4, 2022 Amway Center Orlando, Fla.
March 5, 2022 Amalie Arena Tampa, Fla.
March 11, 2022 United Center Chicago, Ill.
March 12, 2022 Enterprise Center St. Louis, Mo.
March 18, 2022 Resch Center Green Bay, Wis.
March 19, 2022 Resch Center Green Bay, Wis.
March 25, 2022 Legacy Arena at the BJCC Birmingham, Ala.
March 26, 2022 Simmons Bank Arena Little Rock, Ark.
April 1, 2022 Dickies Arena Fort Worth, Texas
April 2, 2022 AT&T Center San Antonio, Texas
April 8, 2022 Toyota Center Houston, Texas
April 9, 2022 Smoothie King Center New Orleans, La.
April 15, 2022 Moda Center Portland, Ore.
April 16, 2022 Spokane Arena Spokane, Wash.
April 29, 2022 ExtraMile Arena Boise, Idaho
April 30, 2022 Vivint Arena Salt Lake City, Utah
May 6, 2022 Pechanga Arena San Diego, Calif.
May 7, 2022 STAPLES Center Los Angeles, Calif.
May 11, 2022 Golden 1 Center Sacramento, Calif.
May 13, 2022 T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nev.
May 14, 2022 Gila River Arena Glendale, Ariz.
May 20, 2022 Madison Square Garden New York, N.Y.
Eric Church 20 Of His Best Songs
