20-03-2025
Eric Church to release his latest album, 'Evangeline vs The Machine, in May
A perpetual desire to perfect the art of country music is at the core of Eric Church's latest album "Evangeline vs The Machine," out May 2, 2025, via EMI Nashville.
His desire to, as a press statement notes, "champion the power of cohesive storytelling" has driven him to take his latest album as "a snapshot in time that lasts for all time."
'I believe in that time-tested tradition of making records that live and breathe as one piece of art — I think it's important. I've always let creativity be the muse. It's been a compass for me. The people that I look up to in my career and the kind of musicians I gravitate to never did what I thought they were going to do next – and I love them for it. I never want our fans to get an album and go, 'Oh, that's like (his 2011 breakout album) 'Chief' or that's like this.'"
"Painstakingly, I lose sleep at night to try to make sure that whatever we do creatively, they go, 'Wow, that's not what I thought.' I think that's my job as an artist," adds the former Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year award winner.
The album's trio of announced songs highlights Church's desire to directly engage with how deeply impacted he is by the changing nature of our collective emotional state during evolving times.
The lead single 'Hands Of Time reflects how Church notes that "as I get older, I'm looking for things that make me feel not as old. I can honestly say that when I hear music or see something from my past, I feel like I did then; I relate to what it was then. I really believe that a good way to handle that is with music."
'Darkest Hour,' released in Sept. 2024 to support relief efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, with all of Church's publishing royalties donated to provide ongoing funds in support of his home state of North Carolina.
'That song had the chance to change things — it already has. The greatest concert I've ever played was the Concert for Carolina — that's the greatest thing I've been involved with. This song played a big part of that night and is a rallying cry for the people there that still need a lot of help. As a person who writes and performs a song, seeing it truly impact people's lives is the greatest thing you can hope to accomplish," Church adds.
He also pushes his artistry via the recently only live-previewed "Johnny," which is not just a reinterpretation of The Charlie Daniels Band's 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia.' It's also inspired by his thoughts about the Covenant School tragedy.
'About a year ago, we had a shooting here in Nashville at the Covenant School,' he explained when introducing the song during CRS. 'Where my kids go to school, my two boys, is about a mile from that school. I will tell you something, the hardest thing I've ever done in my life — parent or otherwise — is dropping them off at that school the day after the shooting and watching them walk inside."
"I sat in the parking lot for a long time, and as fate would have it, as I was pulling out, Charlie Daniels was playing, 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia.' I remember thinking, man, we could use Johnny right now, because the Devil's not in Georgia, he's everywhere. I went home and wrote 'Johnny'.'
Hands Of Time (written by Eric Church, Scooter Carusoe)
Bleed On Paper (written by Tucker Beathard, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
Johnny (written by Eric Church, Luke Laird, Brett Warren)
Storm In Their Blood (written by Eric Church)
Darkest Hour (written by Eric Church)
Evangeline (written by Eric Church, Luke Laird, Barry Dean)
Rocket's White Lincoln (written by Eric Church)
Clap Hands (written by Tom Waits)
Fans can also pre-order an Amazon Music exclusive 'Evangeline vs. The Machine' vinyl in translucent light blue, available on or directly in the Amazon Music app, with fast and free shipping for Prime members via
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville's Eric Church to release 'Evangeline vs The Machine' album
