ERIC CHURCH BRINGS ‘BLOOD, SWEAT & BEERs’ 

To CHAIFETZ ARENA 

ON FRIDAY, APRIL 20

tickets go on-sale on Friday, January 20 at 10 a.m. at metrotix.com

(St. Louis – January 13, 2012) Country music’s ‘Chief’ Eric Church makes a stop at Chaifetz Arena at Saint Louis University during his 2012 Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour with special guests Brantley Gilbert and Blackberry Smoke on Friday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $34.75 and $42.50 and go on-sale on Friday, January 20 at 10 a.m. at MetroTix.com, charge by phone at             314-534-1111       and the Chaifetz Arena Box Office. VIP tour packages are available for purchase through EricChurch.com.

With word-of-mouth long fueling Eric Church’s sweat-soaked, sold-out crowds, he had a personal record-breaking year in 2011. His third release, Chief hit the No. 1 spot atop the Billboard Top 200 and Country Album charts, selling over 145,000 albums in its first week. Chief also produced Church’s highest charting singles including “Homeboy” peaking as the No. 13 Billboard Country Song and “Drink in My Hand” which is currently the No. 5 Billboard County Song and No. 40 on the Billboard Top 100.  Church won a 2011 ACM award for Top New Solo Vocalist and was nominated for Top New Artist.

Church catapulted into national success with the release of his debut country album, Sinners Like Me, which produced radio hits “How ‘Bout You,” “Two Pink Lines,” and “Guys Like Me.”  His follow-up, Carolina, went on to sell over 500,000 copies and was certified Gold. Carolina spawned top hits “Love Your Love The Most,” “Hell on the Heart” and “Smoke A Little Smoke.” 

Brantley Gilbert made his debut at No. 2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart upon releasing Halfway to Heaven Deluxe in September and along with the original has already sold over 300,000 albums to date. His first single “Country Must Be Country Wide,” recently scored the No. 1 Billboard Country Song. As a celebrated songwriter, Gilbert has penned three No. 1 hits – Jason Aldean’s “My Kinda Party” and “Dirt Road Anthem,” as well as his own “Country Must Be Country Wide.” He received his first nomination at the 2011 CMA Awards for Song of the Year.  Blackberry Smoke is a southern rock band hailing from Atlanta, Georgia who supported the Zac Brown Band during their 2011 summer tour. 

RECORD-BREAKING TICKET SALES INSPIRE EMI RECORDS NASHVILLE’S ERIC CHURCH TO ANNOUNCE SECOND LEG OF 2012 HEADLINING TOUR: 

THE BLOOD, SWEAT & BEERS TOUR

"Drink In My Hand" Marks Church's First-Ever Top 5 and Climbing Single on Country Billboard Charts

 

Nashville, Tenn– Few albums demanded attention in 2011 like Eric Church’s CHIEF, and subsequently ticket sales for his headlining tour are smoldering with the plea. Having broken Jason Aldean's record for the highest number of tickets ever sold for a live event at the Landers Center in Southaven, MS, and experiencing near sell-outs in additional markets, Church will now bring his “delightfully overemphatic outlaw aspirations and snarling power chords,” as SPIN describes them, to fans in Atlantic City, New York City, Orlando, Nashville, Minneapolis and more,  (full list below). Meanwhile, the Best Country Album of the Year 2012 GRAMMY nominee is celebrating  his first-ever top five and climbing single on the Country Billboard charts, "Drink In My Hand."

Due to overwhelming demand, Church will now headline several coveted venues including Nashville's Bridgestone Arena and the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO for the first time in his career. “Every good artist reaches a watershed moment and Eric Church has arrived at his with CHIEF,” wrote The Boston Globe; and there’s no challenging their prediction now as Church garnered placement on numerous “Best Of” lists for 2011.

The torch-bearing project was named No. 1 on Rob Harvilla’s SPIN List of the 20 Best Country & Americana Albums of 2011. Moreover, it was one of NPR’s Top 50 Albums of the Year," No. 19 on Rolling Stone's “50 Best Albums of 2011," No. 9 on Amazon’s “ Best Country Albums of 2011,” and named one of "The most memorable music moments of 2011: Best use of falsetto in a country song" by Los Angeles Times, among others.

Tickets for upcoming dates are on-sale now and fans also have the option to purchase a special “VIP Package” where they’ll be treated to an exclusive VIP pre-concert party and intimate acoustic performance from Church backstage. For more information and to purchase, visit www.ericchurch.com.

The full list of Church’s upcoming tour dates is below, with an asterisk (*) denoting a new addition.

Eric Church The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour Dates

1/19      Fort Smith, AR- Fort Smith Convention Center

1/20      Cape Girardeau, MO- Show Me Center

1/21      Southaven, MS- Landers Center

1/26      Madison, WI – The Alliant Energy Center

1/27      Saginaw, MI- The Dow Event Center

1/28      Terre Haute, IN- The ISU Hulman Center

2/2        Savannah, GA-Savannah Civic Center

2/3        Knoxville, TN-Thompson Boling Arena

2/4        Norfolk, VA-Ted Constant Center

2/16      Greenville, SC-Bi-Lo Center

2/17      Salisbury, MD- Wicomico Civic Center

2/18      Greensboro, NC-Greensboro Coliseum

2/23      Battle Creek, MI-Kellogg Arena

2/24      Cleveland, OH-Wolstein Center at CSU

2/25      Ft. Wayne, IN- Allen County War Memorial Col.

3/1        Portland, ME- Cumberland Country Civic Center

3/2        Lowell, MA- Tsongas Center at UMASS Lowell

3/3        Indiana, PA- Kocalchick Center

3/8        Oklahoma City, OK- Chesapeake Energy Center

3/9        Jonesboro, AR – ASU Convocation Center*

3/10      Orange Beach, AL- Amphitheater at The Wharf

3/14      New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom*

3/15      Binghampton, NY - Broome County Arena*

3/16      Reading, PA - Sovereign Center*

3/17      Atlantic City, NJ - Etess Arena*

3/22      Estero, FL - Germain Arena*

3/23      Orlando, FL - UCF Arena*

3/24      Tallahassee, FL - Tallahassee Civic Center*

4/12      Tupelo, MS – BancorpSouth Arena*

4/13      Bossier City, LA - Centurylink Center*

4/14      Auburn, AL - Alpha Psi Rodeo*

4/19      Evansville, IN - Ford Center*

4/20      St Louis, MO - Chaifetz Arena*

4/21      Pikeville, KY - Eastern KY Expo Center*

4/26      Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena*

4/27      Lexington, KY - Rupp Arena*

4/28      Bloomington, IL - US Cellular Coliseum*

5/3        Springfield, MO - JQH Arena*

5/5        Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena*

5/10      Toledo, OH - Huntington Center*

5/11      Hoffman Estates, IL - Sears Centre*

5/12      Youngstown, OH - Covelli Center*

5/17      Minneapolis, MN - Target Center*

5/18      Topeka, KS - Landon Arena*

5/19      Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre*

Opening acts for various dates include Brantley Gilbert, Sonia Leigh, Blackberry Smoke, Jon Pardi, The Cadillac Black and Drake White.

For more information on Eric Church and to become a member of the Church Choir and request a personal meet-and-greet, visit www.ericchurch.com.