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Eric Church, the famous country singer, recently gave one of the most powerful live performance shows of his career with an emotional tribute to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting in 2017.
The star-studded gala celebrated the Grand Ole Opry’s 100th anniversary, and among the night’s many highlights, Church’s rendition of Why Not Me stole the show. The tribute has pushed him back into the spotlight, with many fans showing interest in his personal life and his choice to wear sunglasses while performing.
In addition to his music, Eric Church is recognized for his signature look which includes wearing black sunglasses. Though some might see this as a stylistic choice, there is a more functional reason behind it.
Church has previously said that his sunglasses decision was made due to a stage issue he dealt with in the past. According to Yahoo News, being a tall performer, the powerful stage lights would dry out his contact lenses, often making them slip and fall out halfway through a performance. Talking about this decision he said:
"What’s funny is that it stuck. It was never thought out. We never thought, ‘This would be good.’ We actually at the time thought, ‘This is not good,’ you know? But it ended up being a thing."
Eric Church has been married to Katherine Church since 2008. The couple are known to keep their relationship behind closed doors. Katherine, a former music publisher, was an integral part of Eric’s songwriting process, as reported by People Magazine in 2023.
The pair got married in a private wedding on January 8, 2008, in the North Carolina mountains. They have two sons, Boone McCoy, born in 2011, and Tennessee “Hawk” Hawkins, born in 2015.
A look into Eric Church’s emotional tribute at Opry 100 and his philanthropy
On Wednesday night’s special evening, Eric Church performed at the Opry House in Nashville and opened up about his relationship to the tragic mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.
During the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a gunman opened fire on the crowd, while Church was on the stage performing, killing almost 58 people and injuring hundreds more. Church has said it was hard to return to the Opry stage in the wake of the tragedy, explaining during his speech at Opry 100, he said:
"I played the Opry stage after playing the festival in Las Vegas and I did not want to be here."
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On the other hand, he stated how the Grand Ole Opry and its audience helped him heal from the tragic event. Beyond his career as a musician, Eric Church and his wife also participate in many philanthropic works. In 2013, they established The Chief Cares Fund, a nonprofit organization that assists underprivileged families in Tennessee and North Carolina.
It also helps to support an orphanage in Nepal and provides aid in Haiti. In 2016 they gave $1 million for diabetes research in tribute to Eric’s parents.
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