Eric Church Gives A Rare Glimpse Of The Setlist For His Upcoming ‘Free The Machine Tour’

Locked and loaded. With the Free The Machine Tour kicking off in just ONE week in Pittsburgh, Eric Church has been steadily preparing for his first full-length tour since 2023. Bringing along the criminally underrated Charles Wesley Godwin as well as Marcus King and Elle King, the Chief is looking to pick up right where he left off two years ago. The tour itself has what it takes to be an all-timer for the “Springsteen” singer. With the addition of Evangeline vs. […] The post Eric Church Gives A Rare Glimpse Of The Setlist For His Upcoming ‘Free The Machine Tour’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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Eric Church Gives A Rare Glimpse Of The Setlist For His Upcoming ‘Free The Machine Tour’

Locked and loaded.

With the Free The Machine Tour kicking off in just ONE week in Pittsburgh, Eric Church has been steadily preparing for his first full-length tour since 2023. Bringing along the criminally underrated Charles Wesley Godwin as well as Marcus King and Elle King, the Chief is looking to pick up right where he left off two years ago.

The tour itself has what it takes to be an all-timer for the “Springsteen” singer. With the addition of Evangeline vs. The Machine in his discography, coupled with the inclusion of the choir and string section he’s been playing with, namely during his killer three-night run at Red Rocks, each show has the potential to be one of the unique concerts fans in attendance have ever seen.

If you’ve ever been to one of his concerts, you’ll know how often he likes to switch things up. Whether it’s different renditions of songs, covers or last-minute inclusions of deep cuts, no Eric Church concert will ever be the same. With that being said, however, he did just reveal a rough version of the setlist exclusively on Apple Music and Shazam to let fans know what to expect (for the most part) throughout the tour.

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Unsurprisingly, Church plans to include a heavy dose of Evangeline vs. The Machine throughout the tour, with all eight songs on the album present on the setlist. Though I’d imagine that some of these will be swapped out for deep cuts at varying times from show to show, expect him to play a lot of the album, especially tracks like “Hands of Time,” “Darkest Hour” and “Johnny.”

As expected, smash hits such as “Springsteen,” “Record Year,” “Drink In My Hand,” “Talladega,” “Smoke a Little Smoke” and “Give Me Back My Hometown” are all listed on the playlist. I couldn’t imagine him not playing these at a standard show (unless he wanted to get really experimental, much in the vein of his 2024 Stagecoach performance), so no real surprises here.

Absent from this Apple Music setlist are fan-favorite, concert staples like “These Boots,” “Love Your Love the Most,” “Like Jesus Does,” “Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Mr. Misunderstood” and “Knives of New Orleans.” Notably, “Some Of It,” one of Church’s seven solo #1 hits, is also missing.

If you take an overall look at the setlist itself, it feels like Church is forgoing a lot of his early discography, with only one song each from Sinners Like Me and Carolina (“Sinners Like Me,” “Smoke a Little Smoke”). Desperate Man and the entirety of the Heart & Soul triple album also get a similar treatment, also only getting one song each (“Desperate Man,” “Hell of a View”).

Apple Music Setlist

“Hands of Time”
“Desperate Man”
“Johnny”
“Mistress Named Music”
“Smoke a Little Smoke”
“Bleed On Paper”
“Homeboy”
“Sinners Like Me”
“Creepin'”
“The Outsiders”
“Darkest Hour”
“Record Year”
“Hell of a View”
“Rocket’s White Lincoln”
“Give Me Back My Hometown”
“Chattanooga Lucy”
“Talladega”
“Storm In Their Blood”
“Drink In My Hand”
“Clap Hands”
“Round Here Buzz”
“Evangeline”
“Springsteen”

Again, it’s key to keep in mind that pre-released setlists such as these are not definitive by any stretch of the imagination, simply serving as a taste of what the artist plans on keeping in heavy rotation throughout the tour. Knowing Church, there will be a revolving door of different songs being played each night, along with some key deep cuts and some covers.

Personally, I’d love to see Church pull out some classics like “Lightning,” “Those I’ve Loved,” “Two Pink Lines” and maybe even “Hippie Radio” at some point.

Free The Machine Tour Dates

Sept. 12 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || PPG Paints Arena || Elle King
Sept. 13 || Columbus, Ohio || Nationwide Arena || Elle King
Sept. 18 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Wells Fargo Center || Elle King
Sept. 19 || Boston, Mass. || TD Garden || Elle King
Sept. 20 || Brooklyn, N.Y. || Barclays Center || Elle King
Sept. 25 || Green Bay, Wisc. || Resch Center || Marcus King Band
Sept. 26 || Milwaukee, Wisc. || Fiserv Forum || Marcus King Band
Sept. 27 || Des Moines, Iowa || Wells Fargo Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 2 || Detroit, Mich. || Little Caesars Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 3 || Lexington, Ky. || Rupp Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Gainbridge Fieldhouse || Marcus King Band
Oct. 10 || Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 11 || Cleveland, Ohio || Rocket Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 23 || Salt Lake City, Utah || Delta Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 24 || Boise, Idaho || ExtraMile Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 25 || Spokane, Wash. || Spokane Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 6 || Vancouver, B.C. || Rogers Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 7 || Portland, Ore. || Moda Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 8 || Seattle, Wash. || Climate Pledge Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 13 || Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 14 || Fresno, Calif. || SaveMart Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 15 || Inglewood, Calif. || Intuit Dome || Charles Wesley GodwinThe post Eric Church Gives A Rare Glimpse Of The Setlist For His Upcoming ‘Free The Machine Tour’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.