Jason Aldean is sharing his thoughts on Eric Church‘s controversial decision to miss a scheduled performance to attend a basketball playoff game. The country superstar says it’s not something he thinks he could do.
“I don’t know that I could cancel a show to make it to a game,” Aldean tells Loni Love and Melissa Peterman from E! News‘ Daily Pop. “I feel like people buying a ticket to come see your show, you kind of have to hold up your end of the deal on that.”
“I don’t know if I could pull it off,” Aldean adds in commenting on Church’s decision, which has stirred controversy among his fans online and received widespread media coverage.
Church was slated to play a gig on his Gather Again Tour at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, on April 2. He sent a message out to his fan club, the Church Choir, on March 30, informing them that his plans had changed for what he admitted was a “selfish” reason: Church and his family will attend the NCAA Men’s Final Four matchup between Duke and North Carolina in New Orleans.
“This Saturday, my family and I are going to stand together to cheer on the Tar Heels as the team has made it to the Final Four,” he writes to his fans. “As a lifelong Carolina basketball fan, I’ve watched Carolina and Duke battle over the years, but to have them matchup in the Final Four for the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament is any sports enthusiast’s dream.”
The country superstar acknowledged that it was a big ask for him to make of his fans who already had plans to attend the show.
“This is also the most selfish thing I’ve ever asked the Choir to do: to give up your Saturday night plans with us so that I can have this moment with my family and sports community. However, it’s that same type of passion felt by the people who fill the seats at our concerts that makes us want to be part of a crowd at a game of this significance.”
Some fans tweeted their support of Church’s decision and praised him for his loyalty to the Tar Heels, but a number of others pointed out the lengths fans have to go to in attending a show. A few Choir members posted that they had already purchased airfare and lodging so they could see Church perform, and so far, there’s no word of a makeup date for the San Antonio show.
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 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.