Eric Church Doubles Down on Disastrous Stagecoach Set

Eric Church Defends Stagecoach Set After Hate ... I Took a Risk!!!

Eric Church is doubling down on his spiritually-charged Stagecoach set ... despite the fact his performance appears to have left a lot of attendees thoroughly underwhelmed.

In response to the criticism -- check X and you'll see what we're talking about -- Eric defended his appearance at the famed music festival this weekend as the "most difficult set" of his career ... explaining he attempted to take a risk with an unexpected lineup.

For those who missed it, EC gave an unplugged performance of hymns and gospel covers, prompting several festivalgoers to bounce to Nickelback’s set at another stage. He was seated for most of the show ... and like we said, there really wasn't much to it besides him, his guitar and a choir.

He added ... "I’ve always found that taking it back to where it started, back to chasing who Bob Seger loves, who Springsteen loves, who Willie Nelson loves, you chase it back to the origin. The origin of all that is still the purest form of it. And, we don’t do that as much anymore. It felt good at this moment to go back, take a choir and do that."

It seems Eric's 16-person choir and church-inspired decor didn't leave fans moved, with many blasting the set as odd, out of place and straight-up off-putting for Stagecoach. But, according to Eric's update ... this was his goal from the beginning, so he's standing by it.

He continued ... "For me, it’s always been something with records, with performances, I’ve always been the one that’s like, ‘Let’s do something really, really strange and weird and take a chance.' Sometimes it doesn’t work, but it’s okay if you’re living on that edge, because that edge, that cutting edge, is where all the new guys are going to gravitate to anyway."

Remember, Eric pulled a similar stunt during the 2019 CMA Fest ... where he did a 17-song acoustic medley.

However, those who stayed for Eric's whole Stagecoach set were eventually treated to his hits, including "Country Music Jesus" and "Springsteen." FWIW, some liked what they saw.

After all the backlash this time around, it'll be interesting to see if Eric's invited to headline Stagecoach for a 6th time next year. Sounds like folks aren't feeling what he's dishing lately.