CHURCH’S SANCTUARY

SITTING ON A ROCKING CHAIR ON THE DECK OF HIS lakeside cabin, Eric Church raises his finger to his mouth and then points in the distance. His property is only twenty minutes from the din of Nashville, yet the silence is deafening. There’s the faintest whoosh, whoosh as a blue heron sails over the sparkling blue water. In some Native American traditions, the blue heron symbolizes self-reliance and the ability to evolve with wisdom and determine life’s outcome via the circumstances you create. That’s also an apt description of how Church has shaped his career. His stubbornness and conviction are the stuff of legend on Music Row, beginning with his 2006 debut, Sinners like Me, through five more studio albums, selling close to eight million copies and garnering more than eight billion streams. Last November, he finally won the coveted Entertainer of the Year award from the Country Music Association after years of losing out to the likes of Garth Brooks and Luke Bryan. “It’s just a trophy,” he says. “But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t matter given all the work we’ve done.”

It’s never “I” or “mine” with Church; it’s always “we” or “our.” “I’m just the brand, the Tide on the shelf,” he says. “It’s up to others to sell me.” He maintains a tight circle. His band has been or and rarely venturing out in public without his trademark Ray-Bans.