Converting the Skeptics: A Curated Guide to Eric Church

Deep cuts, weird tunes and songs for the uninitated

Welcome back to Don’t Rock the Inbox! Marissa here. Now, we know it is BEYONCÉ time in country music land (and…in the universe at large), and we’re 100% going to be going down that road with you soon, yeehaw. We are going down that road with so much gusto, in fact, that we decided to bring you our Friday roundup a day early so you can clear your schedule to go immerse yourself fully in Cowboy Carter land. I know it’s what we’ll be doing.

But first, we’re trying something new for our weekly roundups - themed, curated guides coupled with a playlist. We have a lot of fun plans for this feature, which are for paying subscribers only (you’ll still get our regular curated picks every other week). Sometimes we’re going to have artists weigh in with us - stick around, it’s gonna be fun. Subscribe to get access, and listen along. We’re starting by going to Church (it’s just so damn hard not to pun).

PHOTO CREDIT: JOE PUGLIESE

Eric Church: he’s one of my all-time-favorites, and while he’s definitely one of the few mainstream/music row artists who are appreciated outside of the Nashville sphere, I don’t think his full scope and artistry is truly recognized for just how defiant and recklessly creative it actually is - and not just “good for mainstream country,” one of the most actually harmful phrases there is masquerading as critical perspective. So, this week, I’m giving you my guide + curated playlist of my personal non-hit Eric Church songs, that I think will convert any skeptic once and for all.