Eric Church made a surprise appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday evening (Dec. 10) to perform alongside the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry, Ashley McBryde.
After accepting her induction trophy from Terri Clark, McBryde invited Church to join her on Country music’s biggest stage to recreate their 2017 performance of McBryde’s fan-favorite hit, “Bible and a .44.”
“I figured since the first time I had ever played in an arena or seen 19-to-25,000 people in one building at the same time or use in-ear monitors was when Eric put me on stage in Chicago,” McBryde told the crowd as Church entered the stage. “We should do this one for old times’ sake, yeah?”
Church agreed, saying, “let’s do it!” The longtime friends went on to perform the tune for the capacity crowd.
The North Carolina native then concluded the evening’s show with an acoustic solo set.
“I’m going to play you a new song [that] nobody’s heard,” Church told the audience before performing an unreleased new track.
Strumming an acoustic guitar, Church then performed the new song inspired by his father, Ken Church.
“I wear jeans and boots / I drink not lite beer / sometimes I tell the truth / or what you want to hear / when I’m dealing cards / always keep one hidden / I like to buy used cars cause my daddy did / When I shoot the bull / I keep a loaded gun / And a gas tank full / In case I need to run / I love to sing along / To all the Haggard hits / I get the words all wrong / Cause my dad did / when the going gets tough / and the tough get going / it’s just in my blood / to move on / yeah, I’m a grown ass man / But I’m still a kid / I do what I do / Because my dad did,” Church sang.
Church then recalled growing up and listening to different tunes in the backseat of his Dad’s Pontiac that he eventually began to play for his children.
“My dad, when I was four or five years old, he used to have this beige Pontiac, which was a really desirable color…in 1981,” Church said as he reminisced. “He had the bench backseat, no seatbelts, none of that safety…shit. And I remember as he would play songs, I can remember being in the backseat listening to him sing and I would honestly bounce across that bench seat, window to window, playing air guitar and drums.”
He continued, “And as I got older – I have two boys – and as I was playing my boys songs, I found that it was the same songs my dad used to play me. There was a song a couple records ago that I did called ‘Hippie Radio’ and I was a kid that was raised on ‘Hippie Radio.’”
The “Hell Of A View” singer then praised McBryde and congratulated her on her Opry induction. “I want to say congratulations to Ashley McBryde. She’s one of the good ones, she’s a rare one of one and Country music’s very lucky to have her,” he said before going into his final song of the evening. Church performed his fan-favorite tune, “Hippie Radio,” which earned a roaring ovation.
Church previously shared how his father’s attitude and mentality was instilled in him.
“My dad is a… I’m trying to find the right words to describe him. My dad is a great guy, honest guy, very call it like he sees it, which is where I get a lot of that,” Church said (per Whiskey Riff). “No BS. I’m gonna tell you how I feel whether you like it or not. I’m that guy, I’m me… my dad’s that way, so I get a lot of that from him. There’s also an honesty and an integrity that my dad carries himself with that I’ve always admired.”
“My daddy’s always preached, and it’s something that rung true, he’s always preached authenticity. He’s always preached being honest and being true,” he added. “My [Dad is] from a small town, you know it’s a blue collar town, and he’s just always been pretty even-keeled; never too high and never too low. He’s always been honest and authentic. I think it’s a good template. It has been for me thus far, especially with this industry, ‘cause it’s really easy to get high and low. So, I think just keeping everything in perspective and trying to be real, and I think people can sense that, and I certainly will tell my kids the same thing.”
During the show, McBryde officially became a member of the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday evening (Dec. 10). She is the Opry’s 228th member. The “Bonfire At Tina’s” singer was welcomed as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry by her friend Terri Clark after the pair performed “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” together, the same tune that earned McBryde a standing ovation on the night of her Opry debut on June 16, 2017.
Back in October, Garth Brooks surprised Ashley McBryde with the invitation to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry during a live broadcast of CBS Mornings. At the time, McBryde was in the middle of an interview in support of her brand-new project Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, when Brooks appeared via video from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in Music City.
