Eric Church Recalls the Country Music Legend Who Invited Him on Tour When No One Else Would Book Him

In the early days of his career, Eric Church’s propensity for breaking the rules made it difficult for him to find venues and touring bands that would book him—until one fateful day when a country music legend invited him on his 2011 “Locked and Loaded” tour.

Church might have had difficulties with previous bands who wanted him to abide by certain set or sound guidelines, but based on the ‘Mr. Misunderstood’ artist’s first encounter with his future headliner act, we think it’s safe to say these two artists were the perfect match.

Videos by American Songwriter

The Country Music Legend Who Invited Eric Church On Tour

When Eric Church was still cutting his teeth as a rising country musician in the mid-2000s, he landed an opener slot on Rascal Flatts’ “Me & My Gang” tour. But the newcomer had strict guidelines about how long and loud his set should be—guidelines he promptly broke during a not-so-lowkey show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The band promptly fired Church from the tour and replaced him with a different up-and-comer, Taylor Swift.

In an act of pseudo-rebellion, Church formed the “Me & Myself” tour, which routed through all the same cities as the Rascal Flatts. Church would perform at smaller clubs while the band played the larger venues, but this “stick it to ‘em” method only got Church so far. “About 15 years ago, I was starting my career, and we were having a hard time getting anybody in country music to let us come play shows with ‘em,” Church recalled at the “Toby Keith: American Icon” tribute show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on July 29, 2024.

“Toby Keith was the guy that called and said, ‘Hey, why don’t you come play shows with me?’” Church continued. “There is no way I’m standing here today if it wasn’t for Toby Keith.” Church and Keith embarked on their 44-city run in the summer of 2011, which included stops in the Great Lakes area, West Coast, East Coast, and down South through North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.

The First Time Eric Church Ever Met Toby Keith

Eric Church’s dismissal and subsequent tour re-routing in 2006 was certainly a testament to his love of doing things his own way, and his first meeting with Toby Keith was a testament to the fact that Keith did, too. Days after Keith died from stomach cancer in February 2024, Church visited Country 102.5 to discuss the late country star—including the first time he ever met Keith on Broadway.

“I have a thousand Toby Keith stories—some I can share and some not—but the first time I met Toby, we both frequented a bar in Printer’s Alley in Nashville called The Fiddle and Steel Guitar Bar,” Church said. “I remember walking in my first time, and apparently, some of the patrons had been harassing a bartender behind the bar.”

“As I walked in, Toby had taken the guy harassing the patrons and had drug him by his shirt collar all the way down the bar,” he continued. “I walked in the door, the guy dropped in front of me, and I look up, and there’s Toby Keith. I kinda stuck my hand out and said, ‘Hi,’ and we met. Toby was always a guy that did things his own way, and I think of that fondly now when I think of him.”

Photo by AFF-USA/Shutterstock