Stagecoach is known for its surprises and, on Friday night, Eric Church delivered one of the most unexpected in the California country music festival’s history. The question facing fans is, was it a good surprise or a bad one?
As the opening night headliner, Church’s set was highly anticipated. He hadn’t headlined Stagecoach since 2016 and is currently in the midst of a 19-show residency at his Nashville bar Chief’s that finds him getting up-close and candid with fans and testing out new songs. When he appeared on the Mane Stage at 9:45 p.m. to the sounds of a church organ and sat down on a chair with only his guitar, it was clear this wasn’t going to be a typical festival performance. Few things Church does can be described as such.
Opening with a rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” the songwriter spent the next hour and 15 minutes playing a…
