If Eric Church Had Been Singing During the 80'S and 90'S He Would Have Fit in Quite Well with the Highwaymen Country Supergr

Eric Church Entertains at St. Leonard VFD&RS Concert

Posted by Dick.Myers_Editor On 06/04/2012

If Eric Church had been singing during the 80’s and 90’s he would have fit in quite well with the Highwaymen country supergroup. The group comprised of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson were the leaders of the country outlaw movement at the time. Today Church fits right into the outlaw mode, but with his own style that blends hard driving country rock with an appeal to traditional country fans as well, Church showed off his talent Saturday to an appreciative, raucous crowd at the kickoff concert of the 2012 Community Concert Series at St. Leonard Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad's Bayside Toyota Pavilion. With Church’s “Springsteen” sitting at Number 3 on the Billboard country charts, he is riding a wave of popularity that could propel him to his second Number 1 song after his signature “Drink in My Hand,” which hit the top spot in January. Church broke onto the music scene in 2006 with his debut album “Sinners Like Me” which included top 20 hits “How About You,” “Two Pink Lines” and “Guys Like Me.” His second album “Carolina” produced three more hit singles and his third album “Chief” hit Number 1 last year, and produced the hit singles “Homeboy” and :”Drink in My Hand.” The North Carolina native, who is 35 years old, bought a guitar at age 13, began writing songs and as they say, “the rest was history.” After graduating from Appalachian State he became engaged and his future father=in=law tried to talk him into a corporate life and away from music, but Church persisted. The opening act was an up-and-coming singer/songwriter Logan Mize who has toured with such groups as Lady Antebellum, the Band Perry and Charlie Daniels Band. Concerts at the pavilion are coordinated and executed by a 100-percent volunteer effort of fire and rescue squad members. No one who works at the concerts is paid for a minute of their time. In many cases the volunteers take time off from their jobs to help. The rest of the 2012 concert series is; Luke Bryan on July 6, Lynyrd Skynrd on July 22, and Big and Rich on September 1. Tickets can be purchased through www.ticketmaster.com, by calling 1-800-551-SEAT, or dropping by the firehouse on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon.

If you took photos at the concert that you would like to see in our slideshow please send them to [email protected]

Page 1