Most of Eric Church’s fans couldn’t recognize the award-winning country star as he took a lap around the arena at a recent show.

Church, famously nicknamed “Chief,” “went undercover” at his concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He explained in a clip shared on Instagram over the weekend that he’d had a discussion “about whether or not I could take my sunglasses off and go to my own show. I said I could, and people around me said I couldn’t.” Church agreed to “a little bet, and we’re gonna see if I was right or they were right. …I’m going to go see if I can make one lap on the concourse and see if anybody recognizes me.”

The “Springsteen” hitmaker ditched his signature sunglasses and wore his own merchandise. He often said “hey,” “chief,” and more as he walked by concertgoers making their way through the venue. Church declared the bet a “success” when “one person” recognized him.

Church will continue to play on his headlining “Free The Machine Tour” through mid November, and he recently announced 2026 tour stops with Caylee Hammack, Ella Langley, 49 Winchester, Stephen Wilson Jr., Kashus Culpepper and Ashley McBryde on select dates. The tour arrives after Church released his latest studio album, Evangeline vs. The Machine, earlier this year.

“I believe in that time-tested tradition of making records that live and breathe as one piece of art,” Church said when he released Evangeline vs. The Machine. “An album is the ultimate creative expression, and the way we consume art now just takes the edges off that creativity. It’s built to confine it, to choke it out. With this record, it’s really my way of fighting for the creative spirit, that spirit of ‘Evangeline.’ Because I know that where we are in the world, it probably shouldn’t exist. But it does. It can live here. It can run free here. And, the best music has to fight the hardest to get out.”

Watch Church go “undercover” at his own concert here:

Brooke Taylor