Eric Church issues a challenge to his fellow country stars on pushing the boundaries

Getty Images/Mike Coppola

Are country singers playing it too safe these days? That’s the opinion of the genre’s resident “Outsider,” Eric Church.

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In a new interview with “The Indianapolis Star,” Eric warns fans coming to see his Holdin’ My Own Tour that he’s going to play for more than three hours. It’s an endurance test of a concert that features a ton of album cuts, along with Eric’s hits like “Springsteen” and “Kill a Word.”

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Now that he’s had some success as a country star, Eric feels like he’s earned the right with his fans to do things his own way.

He says, “The genre would be a lot better, and I think all genres would be a lot better, if people who had the leeway used it and pushed a little more. An artist who’s successful can push it quite a bit. They’ve built up the equity to do that. I always try to use every bit of that equity. Then I have to go find some more after I use it all up.”

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The long concerts are just one example of how Eric blazes his own trail as a country artist. He and his team recently researched and canceled 25,000 concert tickets that were bought by scalpers and then placed on sale at a higher price. That’s not something you’d see most artists taking the time to do, but Eric feels it’s important to stick up for his fans as they follow him as an artist.

In a warning to scalpers, Eric says, “You come at us, we’re going to go after you in return. You come after our fans? Well, let’s just say we see you, we know how you are, and we’re coming for you with 10x the vengeance.”

Go to EricChurch.com for tour dates and ticket information.

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