Evangeline vs. The Machine Eric Church

• 1 Hands Of Time 03:33
• 2 Bleed On Paper 05:39
• 3 Johnny 05:03
• 4 Storm In Their Blood 03:30
• 5 Darkest Hour 05:48
• 6 Evangeline 04:40
• 7 Rocket's White Lincoln 04:03
• 8 Clap Hands 03:45
• Total Runtime 36:01

Info for Evangeline vs. The Machine

Eric Church, one of country music’s most fearless storytellers, marks another ambitious and sonically rich chapter in his groundbreaking career with Evangeline vs. The Machine.

A self-proclaimed “album artist,” Church has always championed the power of cohesive storytelling, and Evangeline vs. The Machine is no exception. “An album is a snapshot in time that lasts for all time,” Church shares of the creative approach behind the highly-anticipated new project. “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,” he adds. “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 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.”

Lead single “Hands Of Time,” impacting Country radio on March 24, is available now as a preview of that endeavor. “As I get older, I’m looking for things that make me feel not as old,” Church explains of the track. “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.”

Among the other songs featured on the album is “Darkest Hour,” released ahead of the project to support relief efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in September 2024, with all of Church’s publishing royalties donated to provide ongoing funds in support of a more resilient future for his home state of North Carolina. “That song had the chance to change things—it already has,” Church reflects. “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.”

Also included is “Johnny,” a soul-stirring reinterpretation inspired by “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and the Covenant School tragedy, which Church has previewed in limited settings at both his Chief’s To Beat The Devil residency and the recent Country Radio Seminar, leaving audiences in awe. “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’.”

Eric Church

Eric Church
Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and 10-time GRAMMY nominee Eric Church has spent the past year-plus releasing new music at a relentless pace; providing a glimpse into the marathon session during which he spent nearly a month writing and recording a song per day – including current Top 5 single “Hell of a View” – while sequestered in rural North Carolina. The resulting project, his critically acclaimed new triple album, Heart & Soul, is available now.

Just as unique as Church’s approach to recording and releasing music is his tenacity on the road. During his most recent outing, 2019’s Double Down Tour, Church played back-to-back nights of two unique shows in each market sans opening act, giving every city’s fans six-plus hours of his iconic music. The tour also featured a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where he broke the venue’s concert attendance record with more than 56,000 fans in attendance and became the first artist to sell out the venue with a solo lineup. Church also took to the field at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, February 7 to perform the National Anthem with R&B star Jazmine Sullivan ahead of Super Bowl LV and will return to the road for The Gather Again Tour this fall.

A seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner, and 10-time GRAMMY nominee, Church has amassed a passionate fanbase around the globe known as the Church Choir as well as a critically acclaimed catalog of music. His previous album, Desperate Man, earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album (his third nod in the category) and produced his most recent No. 1 hit, “Some Of It.” Additional releases include the Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), the Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and the 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”), as well as 22 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified singles.

This album contains no booklet.