Morgan Wallen and Eric Church are close friends now. But, it wasn’t long ago that Wallen was dreaming of working alongside the “Hell Of A View” singer. The East Tennessee native, who first blew up the charts with his breakthrough smash “Whiskey Glasses,” has long referred to Church as his musical hero and attributed him to being one of his biggest influences.
Now that the two artists run in the same circles as country stars, Wallen has gotten to know Church on a personal level, and shares that the two have become good buddies and have gotten comfortable enough to joke around with each other.
“We Just Have A Great Friendship”
“Yeah. Eric Church has become a big part of my life. We don’t talk every day, but we talk weekly. I respect him so much, and look up to him so much, and now I have access to his knowledge and just things that he’s been through,” Wallen recently told Music Mayhem.
Wallen added, “Mostly, we just have a great friendship. We joke around. We laugh just like most friends do, but I also have him as someone who is looking out for me in a way, as someone who has been through this before. And yeah, [I’m] super grateful for that.”
Since becoming pals, the two artists have collaborated. Church appears on Wallen’s current highly ambitious 36-track album One Thing At A Time, which dropped in the spring of 2023. Church’s vocals are featured on “Man Made A Bar,” which appears as track No. 4 on the album. Despite the fact that neither Wallen nor Church penned the song (the tune was written by Rocky Block, Jordan Dozzi, Larry Fleet, and Brett Tyler), Wallen called the experience of duetting with Church “mind-blowing.”
Wallen Admits “It’s Pretty Mind-Blowing” To Have A Duet with His Musical Hero
“It’s pretty mind-blowing, man,” he told ET Canada of getting to duet with Church. “During the Outsiders Tour, I believe it was 2014. That was the first concert I ever was in Knoxville at Thompson Boling Arena. I was 21 years old, and I was just blown away [and] I already was a huge fan, you know, just because of his style of writing and his style of music. I just fell in love with everything that he did. Once I saw him in concert that kind of ignited a real fire in me that maybe I could be like that one day.”
“I had a full circle moment last year, playing in a stadium with him in Minneapolis. So that was pretty surreal,” he continued. “Then being able to have a song with him. You know, me and him have grown really tight… I hit him up, and I’m like, ‘Hey. I think this song would be perfect for us, and he said, ‘Man. I’m game to do whatever.’ So he came in. That day in the studio with him was one that I’ll never forget. It’s been really cool to have him as a friend, as a mentor, and as a collaborator.
Eric Church Also Wrote Wallen’s “Quittin’ Time”
In addition to collaborating on “Man Made A Bar,” Church appears as a writer on “Quittin’ Time,” a track from Morgan Wallen’s record-breaking sophomore project, Dangerous: The Double Album.
“Quittin’ Time” is the song that got Wallen his “initial contact” with Church, and since then the pair have formed quite the friendship.
“Since then I’ve been able to spend some time with him and get to know him a little bit better,” Wallen previously shared. “Which is cool for me, just because of how much he means to me musically. I feel like I don’t know if that would have happened without this song.”
Church previously sang Wallen’s praises, telling Billboard, “He’s real damn good, and he’s authentic, That’s the key. Morgan is not trying to be somebody else. He’s just doing him. It’s refreshing to see and hear.”
Eric Church also shares the same respect for Wallen. During a previous tour stop, the North Carolina-born star shared the stage with Wallen. He later posted the moment on Instagram and added the caption: “Always a good time sharing the stage with @morganwallen. Can’t wait for Minneapolis!”
Eric Church And Morgan Wallen Are Both On Tour
Church is in the midst of his 2023 The Outsiders Revival Tour, which marks his first fully outdoor tour. The trek, which launched on June 22 in Milwaukee, WI, runs through Sept. 30, where it will wrap up in Tampa, FL.
Meanwhile, Wallen has returned to the stage as part of his massive One Night At A Time World Tour following six weeks of vocal rest. The 63-show trek, which includes an international run of stops, will conclude on Dec. 3.
