Eric Church Teases His Explosive Concert Film “Evangeline Vs. The Machine” With a Blistering “Knives of New Orleans” Performance.LC

linh chi2 hours ago

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Back on October 1oth, Eric Church announced that he’s teaming up with IMAX in a first-ever partnership among IMAX, MCA, Mercury Studios and Q Prime South to deliver an exclusive, two-night concert experience to select movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, February 13, 2026, and Saturday, February 14, 2026, titled Eric Church: Evangeline vs. The Machine Comes Alive.

Church wasn’t done, however. Just a week later on October 17th, he’d announce that a 19-track live album, containing all the tracks present in the concert film and sharing the same name, will also be released in tandem with the movie on Friday, February 14th.

For fans of Church (myself included), this is nothing short of a dream come true. While we’ve seen the “Springsteen” singer dip his toes into plenty of different ventures, ranging from humanitarian efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene to his ownership of his Nashville bar, Chiefs, we’ve never seen Church attempt to capture his world-famous, electric live shows in full IMAX/movie theater quality.

Last night, the North Carolina native took to his YouTube channel to give fans a preview of what’s to come on Eric Church: Evangeline vs. The Machine Comes Alive and posted a live performance of none other than the fan-favorite deep cut from 2015’s Mr. Misunderstood, “Knives Of New Orleans.” And it is nothing short of perfection.

Undoubtedly, the track is one of the greatest songs in Church’s legendary discography. Though many point to “Lightning” as Church’s best murder ballad, “Knives Of New Orleans” arguably does it better. What sets it apart from many other murder ballads is that he never details what he did. He never explicitly states who he killed or how he did it; he simply leaves it up to the listeners’ imagination, making it even more terrifying as he wails, “I did what I did,” in the outro.

What really jumps out beyond the established point of how great the song and any of Church’s live performances of it are, is how well director, Reid Long, shot and edited the performance.

Long, who directed past Church music videos such as “Some Of It,” “Mr. Misunderstood,” “Record Year” and “Round Here Buzz,” has a long history of directing music videos with the likes of Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde and more. With that being said, however, this marks the first time he’s directed a full-length concert film. Judging by the quality of this “Knives Of New Orleans” performance video, he knocked it out of the park.

With so many different angles capturing different vantage points throughout the venue, you truly get the feel that you’re right there at The Pinnacle in Nashville during the performance. Couple that with some fantastic close ups capturing both Church, his band and the crowd, you have an expertly crafted sequence that’s going to translate incredibly well throughout the entirety of the concert film.

As for Eric Church: Evangeline vs. The Machine Comes Alive itself, it will capture both of the North Carolina native’s sold-out nights at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee back in May, complete with all the offerings from the Free The Machine Tour such as his six-piece backing band and his newly added horn, string and choir section.

Discussing why he chose the two nights at The Pinnacle for the exclusive IMAX event, Church said that it was one of the most memorable sets of shows he’s ever played in his career.

“I’ve played a lot of shows. I’ve never had two nights like these where the room felt literally transported. We went to a different plane, musically, artistically, emotionally. It was unforgettable and I’ll remember it the rest of my days.”

Tickets have yet to go on sale. However, you can sign up to be notified when they become available on IMAX’s website now.