Eric Church Delivers Acoustic Headlining Set At Country Stampede In Kansas As Last Minute Fill-In For Luke Bryan

Not bad for a last-minute call from the bullpen.

Luke Bryan has been battling illness recently that caused him to refund the entire crowd at his show in Arkansas last week after powering through vocal issues:

@sonya_roberson

Luke Bryan refunded all of our tickets because he lost his voice #fyp #foryou #lukebryan #arkansas

♬ That’s My Kind Of Night – Bridge – Luke Bryan

After performing that show, Luke announced that he would be rescheduling his shows this past weekend in Dallas, Texas and LaFayette, Louisiana. But he’s still on the mend, and earlier this week announced that he’s going to have to take another weekend off to recover.

Luke was scheduled to headline a trio of festivals this weekend, including Country Stampede in Bonner Springs, Kansas on Thursday, NEBRASKAland Days on Friday, and Country Jam Colorado on Saturday night. But he was also forced to cancel those appearances – and call up a friend to fill in for him.

Eric Church is replacing Luke at all three festivals, but getting his entire operation on the road on such short notice forced Church to come up with something new for the crowds.

In a statement announcing the performances, Church said he was bringing along longtime backup singer Joanna Cotten for what he promised would be “something unique and spontaneous.”

“Festivals are part of the fabric of what made us who we are. Happy to fill in for Luke while he’s on the mend. Not a lot of time to plan or get the whole crew and band together, so I’m bringing Jo and we’re gonna do something unique and spontaneous.”

And last night, at Country Stampede in Kansas, he delivered.

Taking the stage with just his guitar and his powerhouse backup singer Joanna Cotten (who should be a superstar in her own right), Church promised the crowd everything he had given the circumstances:

“Luke’s a little under the weather. And he said, ‘Man, I need a favor. We’ve got these three festivals.’ And I’ve played these festivals. I grew up playing festivals.

And he said, ‘If I have to cancel, nobody’s gonna get to see a show those three nights. Will you go play the shows?’

I said, ‘Man, half my band’s out of the country.’ I said, ‘I can bring myself and a guitar.’…

Here’s the way this works. I’m gonna give you everything I have with all I have. You guys give it back to me all night and we’ve gonna have a hell of a night.”

@cassthebadass13

Luke Bryan called out sick for three of his shows so Eric Church is stepping in to cover. Just him. Acoustic. One man band. He’s a great artist who sings about real things but this wasn’t a headlining act. Such a wasted Thursday night. #CountryStampede #EricChruch #LukeBryan #guitars #countrymusic #bonnersprings #16years

♬ Drink In My Hand – Eric Church

And that’s exactly what happened.

Of course ahead of the shows there was a lot of chatter about Church’s 2024 Stagecoach performance, in which he delivered an acoustic set with a gospel choir that featured covers of everything from “Oh Happy Day” to Snoop Dogg’s “Gin & Juice.”

That performance drew mixed reactions. But this one? This was vintage Eric Church – and the crowd loved it.

Church rolled through his hits like “Springsteen” and “Heart On Fire,” and of course broke out some covers during an extended “Mistress Named Music” medley.

@q104kc

Eric Church performed acoustically in Bonner Springs as he is filling in for Luke Bryan at Country Stampede #kansascity #ericchurch

♬ original sound – Q104 Kansas City

Unlike his last acoustic festival performance, it seems like the crowd was loving this one…and for good reason. This was vintage Eric Church, the Chief at his best. It was all about the songs, and true to his promise, Church gave it all he had – and the crowd gave it right back.

@seriesofunfortion

@Eric Church filling in for @Luke Bryan with an Acoustic set. Pretty awesome crowd! #Ericchurch #azura #lukebryan #acoustic #takemetochurch #recordyear #countrystampede #kansas #sick

♬ original sound – Series of unfortunate events

It’s not the first time Chief has delivered a full set acoustic due to logistical issues. There was a show a few years ago when his band got sick, and rather than cancel, Church decided to go on with the show solo. And then there were two shows back during COVID when the band wasn’t available, and he did the same thing.

There aren’t many artists who would attempt to do something like this, which is a shame, because it strips out all of the smoke and mirrors that have been added to live performances these days and takes it back to what it’s really about.

If you have tickets to the shows these next two nights, you’re in for something special.

@kcconcertclips

#ericchurch #mrmisunderstood #acoustic #kansascity #azuraamphitheater #sandstone #countrystampede

♬ original sound – KCconcertclips

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