Entertainment Music Country Music Eric Church Addresses Polarizing 2024 Stagecoach Performance: 'This Was the Most Difficult Set I Have Ever Attempted' "Sometimes it doesn't work," Church said of his set on Friday, April 26 in a press release statement By Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan is a Staff Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has previously appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Vogue and more. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 29, 2024 02:15PM EDT Eric Church performs at the T-Mobile Mane Stage during the 2024 Stagecoach Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 26, 2024 in Indio, California. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Eric Church knows he took a gamble on his 2024 Stagecoach set. On Saturday, April 27, the country star, 46, addressed his polarizing, gospel set that took place on the Mane stage of the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif. during the festival's opening night on Friday, April 26. Church's set featured a 16-person choir, which included longtime collaborator Joanna Cotten, as well as covers of songs like Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah,” Al Green's “Take Me to the River,” Ben E. King's “Stand By Me,” and Snoop Dogg's “Gin and Juice.” While some fans called his performance "iconic," others called him a "complete energy suck" and commented on how they were disappointed by him sitting on a stool and performing covers with a choir. Eric Church performs onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in November 2023. Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage Eric Church Announces 19-Date Residency at His Nashville Bar Chief's: 'Most Unique Show I'll Probably Ever Do' “This was the most difficult set I have ever attempted,” the "Man Made a Bar" singer said in a press release statement. “I've always found that taking it back to where it started, back to chasing who Bob Seger loves, who Springsteen loves, who Willie Nelson loves, you chase it back to the origin. The origin of all that is still the purest form of it. And we don't do that as much anymore. It felt good at this moment to go back, take a choir and do that.”Church then addressed his decision to take a risk with his set. “For me, it's always been something with records, with performances, I've always been the one that's like, ‘Let's do something really, really strange and weird and take a chance," he added. "Sometimes it doesn't work, but it's OK if you're living on that edge, because that edge, that cutting edge, is where all the new guys are going to gravitate to anyway. So if you can always challenge yourself that way, it always cuts sharper than any other edge.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Eric Church attends the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's new exhibit Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in July 2023 in Nashville. Jason Kempin/Getty Morgan Wallen and Eric Church's 'Man Made a Bar' Hits No. 1 at Country Radio 5 Days After Chair-Throwing Arrest In honor of the grand opening of his Nashville bar Chief's on Broadway on April 5, Church announced Eric Church: To Beat the Devil, a 19-date concert residency at the venue. "These shows at Chief’s will be one of a kind, only for Chief’s and with some songs that will only ever be performed during these shows," he said in a statement about the residency in March. The shows kicked off on April 5 and will continue through June 9. Close