Eric Church showed up to the Jacksonville, Fla. stop on his Free the Machine Tour on Friday night (Apr. 10) with an unexpected accessory: A medical boot on his left foot.
Turns out, he’d broken that foot just 48 hours before. But that didn’t stop Church from playing the full show, which was the penultimate date on his long tour.
“I have made it 44 tour dates unscathed,” he joked to the crowd.
He also explained how he broke the foot, admitting that he wished it was a cooler story.
How Did Eric Church Break His Foot?
“I jumped out of bed, forgot about a suitcase at the end of the bed. I kicked the s–t out of that suitcase,” Church recounts. “And I broke my left foot.”
“So tonight, what I lack in mobility, I’m gonna make up in passion,” he concluded as the crowd laughed and cheered their support.
No one in the crowd seemed to mind the fact that Church wasn’t running back and forth over the stage. Several social media users said they were just impressed that he was able to play the full show. One noted that he performed for two and a half hours on the broken foot.
Eric Church Pokes Fun at His Broken Foot With Performance of “These Boots”
Church was clearly finding the humor in the situation, too. He gave a performance of “These Boots,” a track off his 2006 Sinners Like Me album, and cracked up with his backing singer Joanna Cotten in between lines.
To match the situation at his Friday night performance, Church changed a lyric in the song to sing that his boots had to “nearly kick that suitcase across the room.”
When is Eric Church’s Next Show?
Church wrapped the Free the Machine Tour on Saturday (Apr. 11) in Tampa, Fla. According to his tour calendar, his next stop is a performance at a Nashville benefit for Parkinson’s disease on Apr. 15.
Read More: Country Stars Who’ve Suffered Vocal Injuries
He’s also booked for a performance at Trombone Shorty’s all-star birthday party in New Orleans on Apr. 25.
After that, Church will get a chance to put his feet up — for a couple of months, at least. His next scheduled show isn’t until late June.
Top 50 Eric Church Songs: His Greatest Hits and Best Deep Cuts
He’s been known to sample R-Rated burners and sage truth-tellers — and then there are two songs about murder. So, Eric Church’s songs fall into rows, but there are a lot of rows in his 15-year-plus catalog.
His best song? Taste of Country asked fans, staff and the industry to weigh in and then looked at chart success, sales data pop culture importance to choose No. 1 from No. 50. Songs with strong lyrical content rank high. Songs with creative production rank high. Songs with both ended up in the Top 5.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
