Eric Church and Jason Aldean. Mark Humphrey/AP/Shutterstock; John Salangsang/Shutterstock
Country singer Eric Church sparked controversy after canceling his upcoming concert to attend an NCAA Final Four game and now, his peers are weighing in on the backlash.
“I don’t know that I could cancel a show to make it to a game,” Jason Aldean said during a Thursday, March 31, appearance on E! News’ Daily Pop. “I feel like people buying a ticket to come see your show, you kind of have to hold up your end of the deal on that.”
The 45-year-old “Big Green Tractor” crooner continued: “I don’t know if I could pull it off.”
Church, 44, made headlines earlier this week when he announced that his Saturday, April 2, show in San Antonio, Texas, had been scrapped so he could watch his favorite team play in the Final Four.
“This Saturday, my family and I are going to stand together to cheer on the Tar Heels as the team has made it to the Final Four,” the “Guys Like Me” singer wrote in an email to ticket holders. “As a lifelong Carolina basketball fan, I’ve watched Carolina and Duke battle over the year but to have them matchup in the Final Four for the first time in history of the NCAA Tournament is any sports enthusiast’s dream.”
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While the North Carolina native noted his actions were “selfish” to ask fans to “give up your Saturday night plans with us so that I can have this moment with my family and sports community.”
Church added: “However, it’s that same type of passion felt by the people who fill the seats at our concerts that makes us want to be part of a crowd at a game of this significance.”
Following the musician’s announcement, several fans were notably upset by the last-minute decision.
“He canceled the show which is so weird to me that he didn’t postpone the show. He canceled. Like, that to me is the thing I would be really irritated by,” Bobby Bones said during a Wednesday, March 30, episode of his The Bobby Bones Show, alleging that Church was letting his fans down. “In my life, there are only a few things that I would go, ‘Hey, I can’t do the show.’”
The Dancing With the Stars season 27 champ continued: “He sends a note out, and you gotta give him credit, and he’s like ‘it’s the most selfish thing I’ve ever asked.’ … Yes, it is selfish, but he admits to that. He could’ve just said, ‘Uh, [I] got COVID.’ The problem is when he shows up at the game with a fake mustache on. I can’t hate it because I would do it similarly, only in those circumstances: Death, Arkansas sports [and if I was] sick, in that order.”
Church, who is currently on his “Gather Again” tour across the U.S., has yet to publicly address the backlash.
