Watch Eric Church Go Unrecognized As He Walked Around Incognito At His Own Concert

Would you have recognized the Chief?

When you think of Eric Church, you probably envision him and his signature look that’s usually brought together by a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses.

That’s probably why nobody recognized him when he decided to ditch the shades and walk around the arena at his own concert.

Church was in Grand Rapids, Michigan last night for a show at Van Andel Arena on his Free The Machine tour. But before the show started, he decided to take a little stroll around the concourse and test the theory that he could go unrecognized at his own show. As Church recalled:

“Today at 7:00 I put on eyeglasses. I put on my own shirt, had my face on it. I put on a Chief hat. And I made one lap around the concourse. Not one damn one of you sons of bitches recognized me. But I won my bet.

I was walking around going, ‘Chief, let’s go Chief.’ Nobody.”

Now, it may be hard to believe that Church was able to stroll the concourse incognito and go completely unrecognized at his own concert. But luckily, he shared video proof that shows him walking around and even interacting with fans, none of whom seemed to know who he was – except for one person.

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A post shared by Eric Church (@ericchurchmusic)

I talked to Chief at his meet and greet last night and he told me the story about going around unrecognized, and you could tell just how amused he was that he was able to pull this off. (Doesn’t hurt that he won $100).

Church is rarely seen without his sunglasses, which actually started as more of a practical choice than one he made for style. As he discussed with

“I wear contacts, and I’m 6’3”, so on these little stages they have these par can lights. I’ve always had a condition with my eyes where they don’t lubricate real well. It’s not a big deal… until you put a contact in and stand in front of par can lights. So every night, I was losing a contact, I was losing both contacts.

I was blind half the show. This went on for a while. Finally, one of my band members said, ‘Hey, have you thought about wearing shades tonight?’ Nobody cared. There were 15 people there. Nobody was at these shows. So my band member said, ‘Put the shades on.’ So I did it, and… it worked. I didn’t lose my contacts. It shielded the heat.”

These days they’ve become part of his persona, something that Church says helps him get into the mentality of showtime:

“Overtime, it became a little bit of, I don’t want to say a cape. But it became a little bit of a cape. Because I was able to put the shades on, and after I’d play a couple of shows, (it signified that) it’s showtime. It gave me a different mentality. It gave me a different mindset.

And then it stuck, once Chief happened, then it was like (my thing). I’m the only guy that goes to the beach and takes my shades off. I become anonymous as soon as I pull them off. It’s the Clark Kent opposite.”

Apparently he wasn’t kidding: He really does become anonymous, even at his own concert.

‘Free The Machine’ Tour Dates

Oct. 11 || Cleveland, OH || Rocket Arena || Marcus King
Oct. 23 || Salt Lake City, UT || Delta Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 24 || Boise, ID || ExtraMile Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 25 || Spokane, WA || Spokane Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 6 || Vancouver, BC || Rogers Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 7 || Portland, OR || Moda Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 8 || Seattle, WA || Climate Pledge Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 13 || Sacramento, CA || Golden 1 Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 14 || Fresno, CA || Save Mart Center at Fresno State || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 15 || Inglewood, CA || Intuit Dome || Charles Wesley Godwin
Jan. 22 || Washington, D.C. || The Anthem || Caylee Hammack
Jan. 23 || Washington, D.C. || The Anthem || Caylee Hammack
Feb. 5 || Omaha, Neb. || CHI Health Center || Ella Langley
Feb. 6 || Sioux Falls, S.D. || Denny Sanford PREMIER Center || Ella Langley
Feb. 7 || St. Paul, Minn. || Grand Casino Arena || Ella Langley
Feb. 12 || Toronto, ON || Scotiabank Arena || Ella Langley
Feb. 13 || Buffalo, N.Y. || KeyBank Center || Ella Langley
Feb. 14 || Albany, N.Y. || MVP Arena || Ella Langley
Feb. 19 || North Little Rock, Ark. || Simmons Bank Arena || 49 Winchester
Feb. 20 || Kansas City, Mo. || T-Mobile Center || 49 Winchester
Feb. 21 || St. Louis, Mo. || Enterprise Center || 49 Winchester
Feb. 26 || Tulsa, Okla. || BOK Center || Stephen Wilson Jr.
Feb. 27 || Fort Worth, Texas || Dickies Arena || Stephen Wilson Jr.
Feb. 28 || Austin, Texas || Moody Center || Stephen Wilson Jr.
Mar. 5 || Knoxville, Tenn. || Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center || 49 Winchester
Mar. 6 || Greensboro, N.C. || First Horizon Coliseum || 49 Winchester
Mar. 7 || North Charleston, S.C. || North Charleston Coliseum || 49 Winchester
Mar. 19 || Birmingham, Ala. || Legacy Arena at the BJCC || 49 Winchester
Mar. 20 || Atlanta, Ga. || State Farm Arena || 49 Winchester
Mar. 27 || Hollywood, Fla. || Hard Rock Live || Kashus Culpepper
Apr. 3 || Greenville, S.C. || Bon Secours Wellness Arena || Ashley McBryde
Apr. 4 || Charlotte, N.C. || Spectrum Center || Ashley McBryde
Apr. 10 || Jacksonville, Fla. || VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena || Ashley McBryde
Apr. 11 || Tampa, Fla. || Benchmark International Arena || Ashley McBrydeThe post Watch Eric Church Go Unrecognized As He Walked Around Incognito At His Own Concert first appeared on Whiskey Riff.