Eric Chuch Is ‘Hopeful and Quite Confident’ Concerts Will Return in 2021

Like all artists, Eric Church wasn’t able to tour for most of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and only a few days into 2021 it’s still unclear when it will be safe for live shows to return. Speaking to his record label, Church shared his thoughts on a potential return to the stage, revealing that he hopes to be playing again for fans during the second half of this year.

“I think, for me, the thing I’m looking forward to most next year is getting around the corner from this virus and getting some kind of normalcy,” he said. “I’m confident that next year is when we’ll finally put this in the rearview at some point in time. We’re all looking for a vaccine early in the year and the more we can take the cases down between January and May, I think the higher likelihood that we’ll be on a stage somewhere in the fall, late summer/fall, and then certainly into the fourth quarter. So, I’m looking forward to that.”

The 43-year-old noted that “there may be some early stuff where we can’t be at capacity,” but he’s “looking forward to being back at capacity” and seeing fans “grouped up and arms around each other’s shoulders and just, I miss that.”

“I miss playing,” he explained. “I miss the camaraderie. I miss going town to town and doing that. It’s just what I was born to do, and I miss seeing the fans. Next year, we’re all hopeful, I’m hopeful and quite confident, actually, that next year will be the year that we get to start doing that and then hopefully more and more as we go. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

In November, Church was honored with the CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year, and he shared backstage that it was “hard” for him to accept the award because of the losses so many people experienced in 2020. “If you look at the CMA, whatever award show you want to say, there’s not really been winners this year,” Church told PopCulture.com and other media in a virtual pressroom. “Nobody’s played, nobody’s done the things that we normally do. It’s been a year, to me, of losses. It’s been a year of managing those losses. So it was really hard for me to accept this award, which I have wanted forever, not for me, but for the people that work so hard and they push those carts up and down ramps and they stay up all night long. Not me or the band, but the guys that put us on stage.”