Eric Church delivered a commencement speech at the University of North Carolina the best way he knew how: with his guitar.
Eric Church Gives a Musical Commencement Speech at UNC
The country singer was an honorary guest at the graduation ceremony for the Tar Heels’ Class of 2026 on Saturday (May 9). He admitted that he threw out several attempts at a written speech before stumbling upon the perfect solution.
In a fit of frustration, he picked up his guitar to get his mind off his struggles. He then realized he needed to figure out a way to deliver his speech using the very instrument in his hands.
His speech opened with a few strums across the strings, and he talked about the importance of keeping them in tune. From there, he related each string to a valuable piece of advice for the students to take with them.
Eric Church Uses His Guitar to Teach Valuable Life Lessons
Beginning with the low E string, he talked about having a firm foundation in your life — in other words, your faith.
“The people who tend to their faith in ordinary seasons do not come undone in extraordinary ones,” he told the students.
From there, the A string was designated the “family” string, as he encouraged graduates to protect their families and invest in those who matter most. The D string took on the identity of a partner or spouse.
“The person you choose to share your life with is the most important decision you will ever make outside of your faith,” he pointed out.
Next, he talked about resilience and ambition, connecting them with the G string. He encouraged the graduating class to not only want things, but to go after them wholeheartedly.
“The world has more than enough people standing at the edge of their own potential waiting for a permission slip that was never gonna arrive.”
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Church then dove into the pitfalls of social media, designating the B and high E strings to community and your unique gifts, respectively.
“Your generation faces a temptation no generation before has ever faced,” he told the students. “The temptation to perform for everyone and belong to no one.”
He expressed the importance of being in community with others, being vulnerable with one another and serving those around you.
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The country singer also warned graduates about comparing themselves to what they see online. The temptation, he explained, is to either give up trying or conform to what appears on their feeds — “a lie dressed up in really good lighting,” as he put it.
“The world does not need another cover song, it needs an original,” he reminded them before encouraging the class to keep their strings in tune and not be afraid to make adjustments.
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He then closed things out by playing his hit song “Carolina.”
Did Eric Church Attend UNC?
While the country hitmaker did not attend the University of North Carolina, he has been a lifelong, die-hard fan. He even canceled a show in Texas so he could attend the Tar Heels’ Final Four matchup with Duke during the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Church graduated from Appalachian State in 2000 with a degree in marketing. UNC presented him with an honorary degree after he delivered his speech.
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-plus 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.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes