When Eric Church’s Evangeline vs. The Machine Live shows at The Pinnacle (May 23 and 24) were announced in March, the superstar and CMA Entertainer of the Year winner told fans it would be a pair of performances like nothing they’d ever seen. The Church Choir quickly sold out the underplays at just 4,500-capacity-times-two before ever hearing the album that was released on May 2, 2025. And the anticipation was at its peak by showtime!
As fans entered the venue, they were met by camera controllers and security in hazmat suits embroidered with Church’s Evangeline vs. The Machine album insignia “M” signifying the “Machine” before a 27-minute visual intro that appropriately included Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine,” played. The crowd erupted upon seeing his 6-piece band, 4-piece horns, 4-piece strings, 8-piece choir and vocalist Joanna Cotten entering the stage to “Run Like Hell” chanting “Chief, Chief” before the North Carolinian appeared up center stage.
Performing his eighth studio album front-to-back before transitioning into his catalog hits reimagined with this expanded musical collaboration – including “Desperate Man,” “Give Me Back My Hometown,” “Sinners Like Me,” “Mistress Named Music” and “Springsteen” among others – the two-hour set saw Church equally as ardent as the audience.
“We created a show that’s only gonna be seen for these two nights,” Church said on stage Saturday night. “My favorite times as a music fan is knowing I’m seeing something live. Not on YouTube, not on TikTok, but live, as I knew I’d never be in that moment ever again. And that is the power of music… and the genesis of these shows.”
Whether transitioning from Evangeline vs. The Machine’s album closer “Clap Hands” to “Desperate Man,” or citing the sax-solo on “Springsteen,” Whiskey Riff notes Church’s album release shows “showed off not only his country music street cred but also wove in the rock, blues and soul sounds that have influenced the man behind the sunglasses.”
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