Nearly two decades into his career, country music maverick Eric Church is set to release one of his most ambitious projects yet, a sprawling 19-track live album titled *Evangeline vs. The Machine Comes Alive*. Announced in October 2025, the album captures performances linked to Church’s 2025 studio release *Evangeline vs. The Machine*, showcasing hits like “Hands of Time,” “Bleed On Paper,” and “Springsteen” with expanded instrumentation.
Country maverick Church delivers his most ambitious project yet with a 19-track live spectacle featuring expanded orchestration.
The live recordings feature an impressive musical collective of approximately 50 performers, including the Eric Church Band, an 8-piece choir, 4-piece string section, 4-piece horn section, and longtime collaborator Joanna Cotten on vocals. This expanded ensemble creates a rich, orchestral sound rarely heard in contemporary country music, blending Church’s rock and country influences with cinematic musical elements. This approach aligns with the unique production elements of his album where he collaborated with 50 people instead of his usual band.
Prior to the album’s release, Church sold out two 4,500-capacity underplay shows where audiences experienced an immersive 27-minute visual introduction referencing Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine.” The performances captured the energy of devoted fans wearing Eric Fucking Church merchandise throughout the venue.
These performances featured security in thematic hazmat suits, interactive crowd chants, and elaborate stage production reflecting the album’s central theme – the tension between creativity (“Evangeline”) and modern consumption culture (“the Machine”). The production quality achieved rivals professional studio recordings, demonstrating how audio interfaces and modern equipment have revolutionized live performance capture.
The Red Rocks Amphitheatre hosted three distinctive Church performances in July 2025, each highlighting different aspects of his artistry. The July 14 show featured the full ensemble production, while July 15 showcased a raw performance with his original band.
The trilogy concluded with an intimate solo acoustic set on July 16, demonstrating Church’s versatility across performance formats. The album’s mixing process employed volume balancing techniques to preserve the dynamic range between the intimate acoustic moments and full ensemble crescendos.
The live album serves as a precursor to an upcoming IMAX film featuring footage from these performances. This multimedia approach extends beyond traditional concert documentation, amplifying the visual and cinematic qualities of Church’s stage production while challenging audience expectations through unexpected musical elements and immersive presentation.
Through this ambitious project, Church continues his artistic mission of emphasizing album-oriented creativity in contrast to the single-release approach dominating modern music consumption, reinforcing his reputation as one of country music’s most innovative performers.
