Eric Church Admits He Was ‘Emotionally Drained’ Following End of Holdin’ His Own Tour

Eric Church headlined one of the biggest tours of the year, of any genre, when he went out on his Holdin’ My Own Tour, playing for hours without an opening act, and becoming one of the most talked-about tours, and artists, of the year.

But the work it took to complete such a feat, and the responsibility Church held, understandably took a toll on him, especially after he played his final show.

“I didn’t really know where to be when the tour wrapped,” admits Church. “I was emotionally drained, physically drained, voice shredded and didn’t really know what to do when you didn’t have go somewhere the next week and play, because it had been such a — it was almost like a battle. Week to week was like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to get through these three. We’re here, here and here.’ Ten to 12 hours of music in three or four nights, it becomes one of those things that I have to mentally prepare for, especially on the Thursday night show, the first of three. I know I’ve got to do a night and then I’ve got to do it again and again. So, it was just such a focal point of my entire life and career that that’s all I focused on week to week — I never looked past the next three or four, ever. Really, I got to where I never looked past the next show.”

Church’s longtime manager, John Peets, had the wisdom to offer counsel for Church after his final show, which Church gladly heeded.

“He said, ‘You don’t know this, but I want you to take some time and I want you to process. I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire, not only country, in my entire career,’” Church recalls. “‘You should take some time and process what that is, what that means … Just take some time.’ And that’s what I’ve been trying to do between then and now. I’m trying to figure out what that is and then really what my job is to figure out where we go from here and that’s what I’m working on now.”

Church released a 15-LP vinyl box set made up of live recordings from his Holdin’ My Own Tour, 61 Days in Church. The set is available for purchase solely on his website.